Industrial: Freight rates significantly impacted by the US-Iran war. Focus on the demand for oil transportation after the reopening of the strait.

Industrial released a research report stating that container shipping freight rates increased month-on-month in March 2026, mainly driven by rising fuel prices. Freight rates on the Shanghai-Europe and US West Coast routes rose by 14.9% and 18.4% respectively. The tanker sector was impacted by the US-Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with VLCC-TCE averaging a significant increase of 97.5% month-on-month. Dry bulk shipping showed a "not-so-weak off-season" trend, with the BDI index increasing by 34.2% year-on-year. Key points from Industrial are as follows: Container shipping sector: Freight rates increased significantly due to rising fuel prices Freight review: In March 2026, the CCFI average was 1096.52 points, up 1.1% month-on-month but down 5.9% year-on-year. By route, the SCFI Shanghai-Europe route averaged $1602.25/TEU, up 14.9% month-on-month and 15.5% year-on-year; the SCFI Shanghai-US West Coast route averaged $2148.75/FEU, up 18.4% month-on-month and 3.5% year-on-year; and the NCFI Ningbo-Thailand/Vietnam route index averaged 925.39 points, up 19.1% month-on-month but down 16.6% year-on-year. Supply-demand relationship: On the demand side, Clarkson's monthly demand index in February 2026 was 117.40, up 6.7% year-on-year but down 10.5% month-on-month. China's exports in March 2026 totaled $321.03 billion, up 7.1% month-on-month and 2.5% year-on-year. On the supply side, there were a total of 7073 registered container ships globally in March 2026, with a total capacity of 3323.56 million TEU. In March 2026, there were 6 new container ships delivered globally, totaling 60,400 TEU in capacity; 1 container ship was dismantled, totaling 10,000 TEU in capacity. There were 22 new orders for container ships in March 2026, totaling 65,800 TEU in capacity; by the end of March, there were 1445 ships on order, totaling 12,172.8 TEU, accounting for 36.63% of the total fleet. Tanker sector: Freight rates increased due to the US-Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz Freight review: The VLCC-TCE average was $246,688.70/day, up 97.5% month-on-month and 493.7% year-on-year; the MR product tanker weighted average income was $53,114.87/day, up 74.5% month-on-month and 148.8% year-on-year. Supply-demand relationship: On the demand side, Clarkson's crude oil transportation demand index in February 2026 was 104.79, down 7.4% month-on-month but up 7.2% year-on-year; the product oil transportation demand index was 98.13, down 5.8% month-on-month but up 1.2% year-on-year. On the supply side, as of the end of March 2026, there were a total of 2359 registered crude oil tankers globally, with a total capacity of 4.69 billion DWT; there were 3576 product tankers with a total capacity of 2.01 billion DWT. In March 2026, there were 8 new deliveries of crude oil tankers globally, totaling 1.91 million DWT; 2 crude oil tankers were dismantled, totaling 310,000 DWT. There were 28 new orders for VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers) in March 2026, totaling 8.615 million DWT; by the end of March, there were 432 crude oil tankers on order, totaling 95.74 million DWT, accounting for 20.41% of the total fleet. As of April 10, 2026, there were a total of 506 crude oil tankers worldwide subject to sanctions, totaling 90.0978 million DWT, representing 19.13% of the total fleet. Dry bulk shipping sector: The significant trend of the off-season not being weak may drive an overall upward trend for the year Freight review: In March 2026, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) averaged 2051.60 points, up 0.5% month-on-month and 34.2% year-on-year. Supply-demand relationship: On the demand side, Clarkson's global dry bulk transportation demand index in February 2026 was 107.8, down 6.2% month-on-month but up 6.8% year-on-year. On the supply side, as of March 2026, there were 14,705 registered dry bulk ships globally, with a total capacity of 10.73 billion DWT. In March 2026, there were 44 new deliveries of dry bulk ships globally, totaling 283.26 million DWT; 5 dry bulk ships were dismantled, totaling 27.12 million DWT. There were 28 new orders for dry bulk ships in March 2026, totaling 270.85 million DWT; by the end of March, there were 1557 dry bulk ships on order, totaling 1.39 billion DWT, accounting for 12.96% of the total fleet. Risk warning: Risks related to international trade conflicts, geopolitical risks, and transportation operation risks.