Freight rates for capesizes and supramaxes are moving at the highest levels, with the former leading due to strong Chinese demand for iron ore and bauxite.
In 2025, capesizes carried 70.9% of China’s bauxite imports, compared to 62.1% in 2024 – an impressive 14% increase.
Supramax vessels also improved their share, increasing from 3% to 3.7% (+23%).
This recovery is not limited to the freight market but is also reflected in the stock markets, with shares of major shipping companies -such as Genco, Safe Bulkers and Star Bulk- recording a jump due to improved freight rates and profits in the specific sector.
As of last Friday, Genco’s stock had strengthened by 31% since the beginning of the year, Safe Bulkers by 30% and Star Bulk by 27%.
In fact, the three companies reached new highs for 2025 earlier this week.
Comparatively, sector stocks have moved at roughly double the rate of the broader US stock market.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (stock symbol SPY), an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 index, i.e., the 500 largest listed companies in the United States, has increased by 15% since the beginning of the year, against a clearly stronger rise for shipping stocks.
According to the shipbroker Xclusiv Shipbroker, in the third quarter of the year, capesize vessels are at the peak of the rise, recording the strongest performance thanks to their strategic role in transporting raw materials.
These vessels carry the largest and most strategic cargoes, at a time when Chinese demand remains the engine for global trade, while their performance acts as a barometer for the course of the entire sector.
Capesizes led the charter market, with an average for the third quarter of 2025 of $24,/day, the strongest performance since 2024.
It is noted that the charter rates for these vessels in the fourth quarter of last year were set at $18,301 per day.
They were followed by kamsarmaxes with an average charter rate of $15,/day, while ultramaxes had an average of $16,/day, the best level since 2024.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, charter rates for kamsarmaxes were set at $10,557 per day, while for ultramaxes at $13,865 per day.
Handysizes also improved, averaging $12,/day, again marking the strongest result since 2024.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, these vessels had a daily charter rate of $12,244.
These improvements reflect a combination of healthier activity in the Atlantic, more stable demand in the Pacific, and strong cargo flows from China, particularly in bauxite and iron ore.
From the analysis of commercial flow data from the Signal Ocean Platform, it is observed that since the beginning of 2025, China has imported 165.4 million tons of bauxite, recording a sharp 26% increase on an annual basis compared to the same period in 2024.
This volume is already almost equal to the imports of the entire year of 2023 and is only 9% lower than the total for 2024.
September was particularly strong, with imports reaching 17.4 million tons, 14% higher than August and the largest monthly imports since June 2025.
Guinea also continues to dominate as China’s main supplier, providing 131.45 million tons and representing 73.7% of total imports.
This number already exceeds Guinea’s annual exports in 2024 by 6%, underlining its rapid expansion.
