TOP 100 TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SITES
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| Perfect Storm: Why Too Many Dry Bulk Carriers Are Being Built Steven Hansen submits:Today is day two of Sea Asia 2009 shipping exhibition and conference in Singapore (see yesterday's article here). I am like a child in a candy store surrounded by the technology I love, talking ship talk, and arguing economics. And what I love about Asia business is their marketing skills – young ladies in short skirts. I have yet to see the entire exhibition. There was an interesting point made in a panel discussion explaining why too many dry bulk ships are being built. The story begins in the Amazon in 2004. Major storms caused flooding and several months of not being able to load commodities. The ships being backed up were the cape sized bulk carriers. The unloading facilities for this size of ship are limited worldwide. So not only were they backed up to load, there were significant waits for access to off-loading facilities. Cycle times were running 30% higher than normal.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Baltic Dry Index Rise Indicates Good Economic Tidings Prieur du Plessis submits: The Baltic Dry Index - a measure of freight rates for iron ore and bulk commodities - rose non-stop for 23 sessions until Wednesday, before declining somewhat Thursday. This surge represents a gain of 517% from its low on December 5. But one needs to put this in perspective: The Index fell by 94% from its high in May 2008, and therefore still needs to rise by a further 188% to match the previous peak. More importantly, this rise seems to be more than a snap-back rally and points to better economic tidings. This becomes apparent when considering the close relationship between China’s Purchasing Managers Index ((PMI)) for New Export Orders and the Baltic Dry Index, showing both indices turning sharply higher.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Questioning Berkshire Hathaway's BYD Purchase: Long-Term Economics? The Fortune magazine cover story for the 4/27/09 issue was "Buffett's Electric Car-Buffet Takes Charge", an interesting read about Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A, BRK.B) $230 million purchase of a 10% stake in a Chinese company called BYD (HKG:1211). BYD makes cell phone batteries, mobile phones, and electric cars. The purchase was announced 9/29/08 by Berkshire's MidAmerican Energy Holdings subsidiary and, according to Fortune, is still awaiting approval from the Chinese government.The article is up-front about Mr. Buffett's primary investment rules:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Mazda Raises $1 Billion for Hybrids TheCarConnection.com submits: In January, Mazda North America president Jim O'Sullivan said, "We will not go somewhere unless it's 'zoom-zoom'" -- by which he meant that Mazda (MZDAF.PK) would stick with combustion engines rather than hybrid or EV technology for the foreseeable future. By June, however, the company had changed its tune, and previous rumors of its Volt-killing hybrid were confirmed to be more than rumor. Now comes word that Mazda is serious about its hybrid tech and is raising cash via ¥96 billion ($1.07 billion) in new shares and treasury stock, approximately 2/3 of which will be used to fund hybrid development. Welcome to the party, y'all. [Autocar]Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
At Ford, Bulls Are Taking the Wheel optionMONSTER submits: By Chris McKhannFord (F) shares are up more than 2 percent to their highest level in more than two years, and option traders continue to be bullish a day after billionaire investor George Soros reported taking a large stake in the automaker.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |