Capesize Bookings to China Advance 29% in August, Clarkson Figures Show

Bookings of capesize vessels to haul dry-bulk commodities to China jumped 29 percent last month, according to Clarkson Plc, the world’s biggest shipbroker.

Producers and traders hired 67 of the ships in August for deliveries to the Asian nation, data from Clarkson Research Services Ltd. in London show. That was up from 52 in August. Iron ore makes up about 75 percent of capesize cargoes, according to ICAP Shipping International Ltd.

Lease rates for capesizes more than doubled to $34,488 a day in August, registering the largest monthly advance since May last year, according to the Baltic Exchange in London. China bolstered imports of iron ore in July after three monthly decreases, according to the latest available data.

Capesizes have a carrying capacity of at least 110,000 deadweight tons, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. in London.

Clarkson’s rentals data provide a snapshot of single- voyage, or spot, charters. The accords exclude long-term freight contracts that commodity producers and steel mills may have in place.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alaric Nightingale in London at anightingal1@bloomberg.net.

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