29 October 2017

GMS Week 41 – PERFECT STORM!

A shocking collapse in price and sentiments over the last few weeks resulted in a grinding halt to a lot of the offerings / ongoing negotiations with end Buyers in the various sub-continent locations this week. Most sub-continent recyclers are entering the dreaded wait-and-watch mode to see where prices are headed, before committing themselves on new units. Depending on which report you rely on, prices have declined anywhere between USD 30/LDT to about USD 50/LDT since the peak seen during August / September.

Much of this can be attributed to the fact that local steel plate prices have been rather volatile, resulting in recycled material not moving quick enough from local yards. This has in turn left Recyclers increasingly reluctant to take in new inventory. In China, the Communist Party Conference has seen a halt to virtually all ship recycling activity and the lack of any meaningful negotiations and acquisitions is having a knock on effect throughout the Indian sub-continent and Turkish markets.

As local steel plate prices cooled (significantly) over the last few weeks and currencies (in both Turkey and India) depreciated overall as well, a perfect storm of declining prices and negative sentiments sweeps across the industry. Moreover, upcoming Diwali holidays will likely ensure that the lull in activity and sales will continue for at least another week. As such, most cash buyers remain unwilling to commit their unsold tonnage at some of the exploitative numbers currently being tabled by end users.

For week 41 of 2017, GMS demo rankings / pricing for the week are as below:


Source: hellenic shipping news. 17 October 2017

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