Newbuilding Market Slowing Down as Holiday Season Nears
Newbuilding ordering activity has taken a back seat, as the Holiday Season approaches. In its latest weekly report, Allied Shipbroking said that “an anticipated slow-down was witnessed in the newbuilding market as we are approach the end of the year, with most buying appetite seemingly rescheduled for 2021. In the dry bulk market, the overall positive momentum in the freight market noted over the last couple of months has improved sentiment and revived interest. The number of projects being completed though in the year so far is anything but impressive. It is estimated that about 100 units have been ordered in 2020 so far, a far cry for their respective figure in 2019, with resilient newbuilding prices trimming appetite. In the tanker market, the low freight earnings and the poor sentiment has caused a decline in interest as of late. However, the softening noted in newbuilding prices has helped curb some of these concerns, especially in the oil product tanker sector. Additionally, an important rise in new orders has been witnessed over the last couple of weeks in the VLCC market. In the year so far, the total number of new contracts is estimated to have reached around 150 units, though this too is a figure much below its 2019 level. We expect newbuilding activity to slowly rebound at a fairly early point in 2021, in line somehow with the improved demand and freight earnings noted in this segment”, Allied said.