# The Big Picture: Panamax Rates — Breakwave Advisors

> Panamax freight rates rallied sharply in February 2021, with Kamsarmax spot rates reaching about $22,659 per day, the highest in over ten years. Paper (FFA) contracts also surged before partly retreating. The rally was driven by a surge in US grain volumes on Panamax ships after two seasons of depressed shipments.

- Date: 2021-02-19 · published 2021-02-19T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/48848-the-big-picture-panamax-rates-breakwave-advisors
- Commodities: [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Record Panamax rates and US grain export volumes lift the cost of moving grain and soybeans to overseas buyers, which can widen US Gulf and Pacific basis differentials. Buyers should expect elevated freight to keep feed ingredient landed costs high.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: neutral
- OCEANFRT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2023-10-25 | [Signal Dry Bulk Weekly Report — Breakwave Advisors](https://feedsoft.ai/events/33809-signal-dry-bulk-weekly-report-breakwave-advisors.md) | -0.6% | +6.3% |
| SOY | 2024-02-28 | [Dry Weekly Market Monitor — Breakwave Advisors](https://feedsoft.ai/events/31873-dry-weekly-market-monitor-breakwave-advisors.md) | +0.8% | +6.0% |
| SOY | 2024-02-21 | [Dry Weekly Market Monitor — Breakwave Advisors](https://feedsoft.ai/events/31875-dry-weekly-market-monitor-breakwave-advisors.md) | -4.1% | +0.6% |
| SOY | 2023-08-15 | [Breakwave Bi-Weekly Dry Bulk Report - August 15, 2023 — Breakwave Advisors](https://feedsoft.ai/events/34762-breakwave-bi-weekly-dry-bulk-report-august-15-2023-breakwave-advisors.md) | -1.5% | -4.3% |
| SOY | 2019-04-26 | [The future of the Panama Canal: What’s next for grain and coal shipping - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/59492-the-future-of-the-panama-canal-what-s-next-for-grain-and-coal-shipping.md) | -3.3% | -4.4% |

## Sources

- breakwaveadvisors.com: https://www.breakwaveadvisors.com/insights/2021/2/18/the-big-picture-panamax-rates

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