In a sign that the global economy is cratering, the Baltic Dry Index — the main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities — extended its record decline last week on concerns that demand was falling fast.
The index is a barometer for the health of the global economy and is used as a canary in the coal mine for recession.
The Index’s downturn, along with the falling price of crude, have given Wall Street jitters about a potential recession.
The Baltic Dry Index is down about 98 percent from its peak of 11,793 points in May 2008, marking its lowest level since the records began in 1985, Reuters reported.
“Trade really is slowing. Bellwethers, from giant port operator DP World to the Association of American Railroads and purchasing-manager indexes worldwide, all point to decelerating volume. That bodes poorly for growth, but it is way too early to set alarms ringing outside the transport industry,” analyst Tim Worstall told the Wall Street Journal.
Maersk, the world’s largest shipping container operator by capacity, reported an 84 percent plunge in 2015 profit after its oil unit was hit by lower energy prices, and its shipping-container division got squeezed in slower global trade. Shares fell the most in almost a year on the news Wednesday.
The company posted a $182 million fourth-quarter loss, having reported a $655 million profit in the year-earlier quarter. Maersk Oil reported a net loss of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared with a profit of $189 million a year ago. Group revenue fell 22 percent, to $9.13 billion.
“Given our expectation that the oil price will remain at a low level for a longer period, we have impaired the value of a number of Maersk Oil’s assets,” said Chief Executive Nils Andersen.
Last October, Maersk Lines said it would cut its head count by 4,000 over the next two years and is merging its Asia Pacific and North Asia regions. It also canceled options to buy six giant Triple-E ships.
Industry executives said global container lines will mostly be in the red this year, with collective losses spiraling to $5 billion.
With Post Wires