Norden Anticipates Growth in Dry Cargo Market Post-2025
In a strategic pivot, Norden, a historically significant tanker and dry cargo shipping giant, lays the groundwork for an anticipated resurgence in the dry cargo market beyond 2025. This preparation includes investing in 10 new vessels, spanning Capesize and Supramax categories, and leasing six diverse dry cargo ships.
The company’s bold moves come in the wake of challenging market dynamics. The current year has seen freight rates in the dry cargo market, encompassing commodities like coal, grain, and iron ore, plunge by a staggering 60%. Simultaneously, the product tanker market rates have slipped by 30% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, Norden reported a commendable Q2 profit of USD 108M and remains optimistic, forecasting a net profit between USD 330-430M for 2023.
Norden’s CEO, Jan Rindbo, underscores this optimism, highlighting the company’s return to the capesize sector, the dry cargo market’s largest segment, after a hiatus since 2016. Rindbo also points to the market’s current challenges as mere “normalization”. He finds solace in the rising dry cargo volumes to China and growth in ton-mile demand.
As Norden positions itself for future growth, it’s clear that the company is banking on the dry cargo market’s structural conditions. With a successful track record in capitalizing on market trends, as evident from their 2022 bet on the product tanker market, Norden’s moves in the dry cargo sector are worth watching. (read more…)
