# Drybulk Freight: Higher Hires for Big Vessel & Supply Chain Drama

> gCaptain reports that the Baltic Dry Index fell to about 1422 from roughly 2200 at the end of 2021, well below its early October 2021 peak near 5700. The slump is attributed to Chinese holiday slowdowns and steel production being held down ahead of the Winter Olympics. Shipowners expect Chinese steel output to rebound after the Games and bigger vessels are seeing higher hires.

- Date: 2022-02-08 · published 2022-02-08T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region China · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/42911-drybulk-freight-higher-hires-for-big-vessel-and-supply-chain-drama
- Commodities: [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md)

## Why it matters

Weak near-term bulk demand from China pressures freight rates, but expected post-Olympics steel restocking could support a recovery in dry bulk shipping costs.

## Read by commodity

- OCEANFRT: neutral

## Sources

- gcaptain.com: https://gcaptain.com/drybulk-freight-higher-hires-for-big-vessels-and-supply-chain-drama-easing-just-not-right-away/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.