Xclusiv Shipbrokers has released its weekly shipping report for 7 September 2026, published in the Weekly Shipbrokers Reports category on 8 September 2026. According to the report, the Capesize dry bulk market has moved into territory not seen for almost five years, with the Baltic Exchange Capesize 5 Time Charter Average (C5TC) reaching USD 54,791 per day.

The C5TC is a widely followed benchmark published daily by the Baltic Exchange in London, reflecting average time-charter earnings for Capesize vessels—dry bulk carriers typically around 180,000 deadweight tons—on five major trading routes. Capesize vessels are the largest class of dry bulk ships and are primarily employed in carrying iron ore and coal on long-haul routes, which makes the segment particularly sensitive to demand from major commodity importers such as China. Time-charter earnings at this level are closely watched across the shipping industry because they feed directly into vessel owners' revenues and charterers' freight costs, and are used in the valuation of fleets and in freight derivative contracts settled against Baltic Exchange assessments.

Earnings near USD 55,000 per day stand well above the levels that many owners regard as break-even for operating Capesize tonnage, a contrast with the prolonged weak-rate environment that followed the 2008 shipping boom, when dry bulk earnings spent years near or below operating-cost levels amid fleet overcapacity. The report's reference to a near five-year high marks the segment's strongest reading since the exceptional rate spike of 2021, when Capesize earnings rose sharply before easing back in subsequent years.

For market participants, the next points of reference will be the Baltic Exchange's daily C5TC assessments and the contents of the full Xclusiv weekly report, which covers segment-by-segment developments in the dry bulk market.

The full weekly report is available as a PDF: xclusiv-2026_09_07.pdf.

Source: Xclusiv Shipbrokers Inc., via Hellenic Shipping News.