News of the freight market as of 03.02.2025

The Black Sea freight market continues to be under pressure due to minimal cargo offers and excess of vessels available for work. Fertilizer transportation remains the only stable factor, which supports shipowners in current conditions. However, hopes for grain price growth are not justified yet. Most market participants do not expect significant changes in the coming weeks, predicting stagnation of activity. Low freight rates make transportation unprofitable, and excessive tonnage increases competition for limited cargo volume. Weather conditions remain favorable, but this does not affect demand, as the lack of logistical difficulties reduces the need for additional transportation. In the long term, small changes are possible, but their dynamics will depend on global trends in the grain market.

The Mediterranean freight market also remains challenging for shipowners. Main cargoes are represented in limited volume, and competition for transportation is still high. Freight rates are kept at minimum values, and some deals are concluded even below previous levels. Given the current trends, market recovery is unlikely in the near future, which puts additional pressure on logistics companies in the region. Fertilizer shipments are the only positive factor, but their volumes are insufficient to seriously change the situation. Competition among shipowners continues to grow, which leads to further reduction of rates. Under such conditions, operators are forced to look for alternative routes or consider working in other regions to maintain profitability.

There is relative stability in Azov Sea, but high level of available tonnage limits the growth of rates. Weather conditions do not contribute to improvement of the situation, and increase in grain transportation volumes has no significant impact on the freight market yet. No significant changes are expected in the short term, and shipowners continue to face low profitability of transportation. Excess of tonnage creates additional pressure on rates, especially in grain transportation segment. Despite some increase in cargo traffic, shipowners cannot expect significant revenue growth due to high competition. In the long term, the situation may improve if demand for grain and other key cargoes grows, but currently no such changes are observed.