Energy Crunch Crimping Europe Hurts Demand for Commodity Ships
- Demand is falling as European factories shut, China slows
- ‘You have a bit of a perfect storm to the downside’: Cargill
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The cost of shipping commodities like grains, metals and coal has fallen as soaring energy prices in Europe throttle global economic growth.
Manufacturers of products such as fertilizer, aluminum and vegetable oils are curtailing production in Europe as the energy crunch makes operating plants too expensive. That’s reduced the need for ships to transport so-called dry bulk freight, according to Cargill Inc., the world’s biggest agriculture trader, pulling down rates from their pandemic high.