Ports and Shipping - Dry bulk newbuilding activity took a dive in 2019.

Byline: S. Kamal Hayder Kazmi

While 2019 was a year of great turbulence in the dry bulk market, some silver lining can be found in the fact that future tonnage supply could be limited, at least given the low level of newbuilding activity. In a recent report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that "2019 was one of the slowest in terms of dry bulk newbuilding activity.

New ordering activity has been curtailed significantly (especially when compared with the two preceding years) and the worldwide orderbook has significantly deflated during the past 12 months, as a result of the excessive volatility that...