The Baltic Exchange Dry Index, which measures the cost of dry bulk shipping, continued to drop. Although not as good a proxy for commodity indices as it once was, the Baltic Dry’s fall is reckoned to reflect weakened demand for raw materials in China. The share prices of shipping lines in China and Japan are also sinking.
The Baltic Dry Index is an index covering dry bulk shipping rates and managed by the Baltic Exchange in London. According to Baltic Exchange, the index provides:
…an assessment of the price of moving the major raw materials by sea. Taking in 26 shipping routes measured on a timecharter and voyage basis, the index covers Supramax, Panamax, and Capesize dry bulk carriers carrying a range of commodities including coal, iron ore and grain.