From Forbes:
The 7.9-magnitude earthquake that devastated China's Sichuan province on Monday has sent already-surging dry bulk shipping rates even higher over the last few days.
The sentiment is that as the production of commodities and the ability to transport them by rail from the affected areas to the coast is impacted by the earthquake, the coastal areas will need more imports since it won’t be able to rely on domestic supplies to satisfy demand. In the near term this is what’s pushing up shipping rates, said Jefferies analyst Douglas Mavrinac.
In the longer term the rebuilding efforts in the affected areas will require more construction materials that will need to be shipped in, which will push rates even higher, added Mavrinac....MUCH MORE
