b'22American Journal of Transportation ajot.comWorlds shippers are earning the most money since 2008The global shipping industry is get- and demand fundamentals going forward ting its biggest payday since 2008 as theremain extremely positive.combinationofboomingdemandforSuchistheextremestrengthacross goodsandaglobalsupplychainthatsshippingthatsomebulkcarriershave collapsing under the weight of COVID- even turned to carrying containers on their 19 drives freight prices ever higher. decks. Golden Ocean Group Ltd. is among Whetheritsgiantcontainershipsthe companies that said its looking at the stacked high with of 40-foot steel boxes,idea. While it could spur additional profits bulkcarrierswhosecavernousholdsin an already windfall year for owners, its house thousands of tons of coal, or spe- not without its risks as bulk carriers arent cialized vessels designed to pack in carsdesigned to carry the giant boxes.and trucks, earnings are soaring for shipsIt tells a story about the special situ-of almost every type. ation we are in, in the container market, With the merchant fleet hauling about(MOSTcontinued on page 23)80% of world trade, the surge reaches into every corner of the economy. The boom back in 2008 brought with it a huge wave of new vessel orders, but the rally was quicklyundonebyademandcollapse when a financial crisis triggered the deep-est global recession in decades.Thisboomscausesaretwofoldan economic reopening after COVID that has spurred surging demand for goods and raw materials.Alongsidethat,theviruscon-tinues to cause disruption in global supply chains, choking up ports and delaying ves-sels, all of which is limiting how many are available to haul goods across oceans. Thats left the majority of the shipping sector with bumper earnings in recent months.The bonanza is centered around con-tainershippingwhereratesarespiral-ing ever higher to new records, but it is by no means limited to it. The shipping industryispostingitsstrongestdaily earnings since 2008, according to Clark-sonResearchServicesLtd.,partofthe worlds biggest shipbroker. The only lag-gards are the oil and gas tanker markets, where more bearish forces are at play.Im not really sure the perfect storm covers itthis is just spectacular, said Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at trade group Bimco. Its a perfect spillover of ared-hotcontainershippingmarketto some of the other sectors.Container shipping remains the star. Itnowcosts$14,287tohaula40-foot steel box from China to Europe. Thats up more than 500% on a year earlier and is pushing up the cost of transport every-thing from toys to bicycles to coffee.Those gains are already showing in the earnings of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the worlds largest container line, which hikeditsestimatedprofitsthisyearby almost$5billionlastmonth.Inasign ofjusthowprofitabletheindustryhas become,CMACGMSAtheworlds thirdlargestcarriersaiditisfreezing its spot rates to preserve long-term client relationships.Inotherwords,thecom-pany is turning away profit.o Thers ecTorsWhilethedemandforretailgoods is lifting container markets, a recovering global economy is also churning through morerawmaterialsboostingtherev-enues of bulk ships that carry industrial commodities.Inthatsector,earnings recently hit an 11-year high and are show-ing little sign of abating down the line withconsumptionexpectedtoremain firm for the rest of the year.Strong demand for natural resources combinedwithCOVID-relatedlogisti-cal disruptions are supporting spot and futurefreightrates,TedPetrone,vice chairman at Navios Maritime Holdings, which owns a fleet of bulk carriers, said onanearningscalllastweek.Supply'