Dry bulk freight markets rallied this week buyers extending coverage ahead of China’s Golden Week festival in 1-8 October. The rally came partly from an uptick in cargo demand but mostly from vessel supply disruptions stemming from the U.S. fees against Chinese vessels. This is causing Chinese dry-bulk vessel owners to avoid business to and from U.S. ports and tightening the availability of non-Chinese vessels. There is also an unusually large number of vessels loading from Argentina, which suggests China is avoiding not just U.S. soybeans but other products as well. The dynamics of port fees for Chinese vessels and China’s move to avoid booking U.S. ag products will have significant impacts on shipping rates for U.S. firms.&nbs...
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From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.