The Baltic Exchanges Freight Index hit a three year low on Thursday, 19^th January. This freight index which measures the prices of dry commodities was down by approximately 50% in 2011. Dry bulk traffic includes commodities such as coal, iron-ore and grain.

Lessening demand for raw material from China is an issue of major concern for shippers in the region. When combined with economic instability in the Euro zone and overcapacity the current outlook for Baltic shippers is quite pessimistic.

The 19^th January low represents the lowest the index has hit since January 2009 and freight rates are under extreme pressure with…

The Cass Freight Index, which measures No0rth American shipping freight volumes, was up 0.75 in volume when compared with December 2010 and 15% up when compared to December 2009.

This strong December result is indicative of retailers maintaining low inventories and postponing delivery of shipments until the end of Q4, 2011.

The December results were very good news for US shippers as it followed two months of declining freight shipments. Shipment expenditure was up 1.8% when compared to November 2011 and expenditure was up a significant 18.8% when compared to December 2010.

The Cass Freight Index is a trusted…

At $573 per 40-foot-equivilant for Asia-European shipments, the Shanghai Freight Index has hit a record low. The overall index to major routes fell to 898.18, a drop of 2.3% in one week.

Sources are blaming an influx of new large container ships on the Euro-Asian route as being one of the principal reasons for this dramatic decline.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) launched in October 2009 has led to the creation of a new tool for exporters and carriers/freight forwarders to use as a hedge against fluctuating freight rates. There are fifteen routes indexed weekly by the SCFI…