INSIDE DRY FREIGHT

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2018

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TOP NEWS

Vitol invests in coal-to-oil venture as UN shipping fuel rules loom

Energy trader Vitol and coal miner Peabody Energy are partnering with start-up Arq to turn coal waste into a low-
sulphur oil product that could be an alternative fuel for shippers as new U.N. pollution rules loom, the companies
said in a statement. Global oil and shipping companies are looking at any and all options to avoid becoming a
casualty of the major market dislocations that the new standards will create when they come into effect in 2020.

Vale iron ore output up as rail network helps against trucker strike
Brazil's Vale SA on Monday reported second-quarter iron ore and pellet production that was a record for an April-to-
June period, using a vast rail network to get around the effects of a trucker strike that rattled the country's economy
in May. Vale's 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) of railways helped protect the world's top iron ore producer from the
nationwide protest over diesel prices, getting goods to port and delivering key inputs to mines and processing
plants.

Low water still hinders Rhine and Danube river shipping in Germany
Water levels on the Rhine and Danube in Germany remain low after recent dry weather and cargo vessels cannot sail
fully loaded on some sections of the rivers, traders said on Monday. The Rhine is too shallow for normal sailings from
Cologne to south Germany, traders said. All of the German section of the Danube is too shallow for full loads, they
said.

Israel's Zim to cooperate with Maersk, MSC on Asia-U.S. trade

Israel's Zim Integrated Shipping Services said on Thursday it will cooperate with Maersk Line and Mediterranean
Shipping Co (MSC) on the Asia-U.S. East Coast trade, providing a boost to Zim's Pacific services. Starting in
September the companies will operate together five loops between Asia and the U.S. East Coast. Zim will operate
one loop and the other four will be operated by Maersk and MSC, which are the members of the 2M Alliance.
Brazil freight price concerns may limit growth of soybean area
The imposition of minimum freight prices by the Brazilian government, which in practice raises logistics costs for
farmers, may limit the growth of the country's soybean area in the next harvest, consultancy INTL FCStone said on
Tuesday. Before a truckers' strike in May that led to the introduction of government-set prices, the consultancy
expected Brazil's soybean area to grow by 5 percent, driven by demand from China, analyst Ana Luiza Lodi said
during an event in São Paulo.

Brazil transport costs hurt fertilizer demand, soy area growth

Higher transportation costs in Brazil following a truckers' strike that crippled the country's logistics will hurt fertilizer
demand this year and may slow the growth in soy acreage in the next season, analysts said on Tuesday. Brazilian
demand for fertilizer will fall this year for the first time since 2015 due to disruptions caused by the strike and
increased transportation costs after the government agreed to set minimum freight prices in a deal to end the
demonstrations, according to INTL FCStone analyst Fábio Rezende.

China's imports to U.S. ports start peaking early amid tariff threat
Chinese imports to U.S. ports rose more than expected in June, suggesting that some retailers moved up orders to
insulate themselves from an intensifying trade war that threatens to send up costs on a growing number of
consumer products. Retailers such as Walmart Inc and Amazon.com face uncertainty due to U.S. President Donald
Trump's threat to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods, and the jump in imports from the country was likely
because of "pre-emptive buying in anticipation of the tariffs", said Ben Hackett, founder of international maritime
consultancy Hackett Associates.

German coal imports could fall 12 percent in 2018, trumped by green power
Germany's hard coal imports may fall for the third year in a row this year and by 12 percent from 2017 levels,
importers group VDKi forecast on Thursday, citing competition from renewable energy. The group forecasts imports
of 45 million tonnes in 2018. Total imports of 51.2 million tonnes in 2017 were already down 10.2 percent from a year
earlier, and well below a full-year prediction for 2017 of 54.6 million made by VDKi a year ago.

China June coal output dips to lowest since October

China produced 298 million tonnes of coal in June, down 1.4 percent to an eight-month low, the National Bureau of
Statistics said on Monday, as government checks on heavy industry aimed at cutting pollution curbed mining of the
fuel. Year-on-year output was up 1.7 percent, the bureau said.

2
China's iron ore imports fall on pollution curbs, higher stockpiles
China's iron ore imports dropped 11.6 percent in June from the previous month, customs data showed on Friday, hit
as Beijing intensifies its push to clean up the country's environment and by mounting stockpiles at ports. Arrivals
into the world's top importer of the steelmaking material reached 83.24 million tonnes last month, according to the
General Administration of Customs, down from May's 94.14 million tonnes and from 94.7 million tonnes in June last
year.

MARKET NEWS

BALTIC INDEX: The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index .BADI, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk
commodities, fell for a second straight session, on lower rates for capesize vessels.

(Inside Dry Freight is compiled by Rupali Shukla in Bengaluru)

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