Newbuilding activity starts the year on strong note.

While 2020 isn't expected to be a strong year in terms of newbuilding activity, these first few days suggest otherwise. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking noted that "buying interest seems to have still held during the last few days of the year, as we witnessed several new orders placed across all sectors.

In the dry bulk market, attention was focused on the Panamax segment, a size class that overall held minimum interest during the rest of the year. With the freight market now on a declining spiral, it is expected that buyers will take a step back if the market doesn't manage a rebound quicker than expected...