According to the Norwegian dry-cargo shipping company Golden Ocean the global dry cargo market is getting back on its recession-tripped feet, and one of the major resuscitators is the expanding Chinese real estate market.
Golden Ocean's interim financial statement, released on August 17, revealed a marked drop in year-on-year net profits – to around 101 million USD – but the combination of increased Chinese demand, and less influx of new dry-cargo tonnage than expected, has helped boost the company's overall confidence in the global dry cargo market.
According to Golden Ocean the Middle Kingdom's economy is showing strong signs of recuperation – not least because of the central government's various billion-dollar stimulus packages that appear to have taken considerable effect throughout China's economy. Real estate sales have been booming in the last couple of months, and the construction of new property is tuckering into about half of China's total steel consumption, in turn bringing up steel prices.
At the same time only about 22.5 million dead-weight tons of new dry-cargo carriers have rolled off the planks at the world's shipyards in the first half of 2009; significantly less than expected from the almost 70 million dead-weight tons of new shipping that filled the global order book at the start of the year. This unexpected situation is largely explained by delays at Chinese and South Korean shipyards.
Full story in Danish
News category: Norway
Published on this site: Aug. 18, 2009
Source: maritimedanmark.dk