Freight rates for transatlantic ethanol cargoes loading in the US Gulf and headed to Northwest Europe have been under pressure due to sluggish demand, Texas-based brokerage firm Netco said in its latest shipping report.
Houston-Rotterdam rates for 5,000 mt (6,340 cubic meters) cargoes stood at a 2012-low of $45/mt ($35.50/cu m) in July, according to Netco. The brokerage firm also said it "would take a huge correction" before rates rebound to the benchmark $60/mt for 5,000 mt.
Vessel Nord Hummock, aggregating approximately 37,000 mt of deadweight, has recently been fixed from Houston to Porvoo, Finland, according to Netco.
Nord Hummock was carrying upwards of 30,000 cu m of ethanol and was expected to discharge some ethanol volume in Rotterdam before heading to Finland, European ethanol market participants said.
The vessel was expected to land in Northwest Europe by the end of August. Netco also mentioned interest for a 16,000 cu m ethanol vessel from Houston to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region for September departure.
