# Panamax freight spikes in Pacific on Atlantic grain demand, US-China deal | S&P Global

> Panamax freight rates on Pacific routes surged on Thursday, with a Kamsarmax rate from North China jumping 90 percent day on day. The increase was driven by a flurry of South American grain cargoes and expectations of added US-China Phase 1 trade deal shipments.

- Date: 2020-01-17 · published 2020-01-17T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region Global · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/54984-panamax-freight-spikes-in-pacific-on-atlantic-grain-demand-us-china-deal-s-and
- Commodities: [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Stronger Panamax demand lifts ocean freight costs for South American soybeans and grains to Asia, supporting delivered prices for feed importers while Brazil races to export ahead of US volumes.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: neutral
- OCEANFRT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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% |
| SOY | 2021-02-26 | [Costly Panamax freight sees Capesize ore carrier loading grains](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48520-costly-panamax-freight-sees-capesize-ore-carrier-loading-grains.md) | +0.7% | +0.6% |
| SOY | 2020-10-19 | [Grain trade has supported Panamax freight rates but coal risk still remains](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50534-grain-trade-has-supported-panamax-freight-rates-but-coal-risk-still-remains.md) | +3.2% | +8.7% |
| SOY | 2017-07-07 | [Panama Mission focuses on logistics and freight reduction - Revista Cultivar](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69843-panama-mission-focuses-on-logistics-and-freight-reduction-revista-cultivar.md) | -0.8% | -3.1% |
| SOY | 2018-12-10 | [Panama Canal, Port of Itaqui sign agreement - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61481-panama-canal-port-of-itaqui-sign-agreement-freightwaves.md) | -1.8% | -1.1% |

## Sources

- spglobal.com: https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/coal/011720-panamax-freight-spikes-in-pacific-on-atlantic-grain-demand-us-china-deal

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