Baltic Dry Index Up for 3rd Day in Dry Bulk Market,International Shipping News 04/03/2026 The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index, which tracks rates for vessels transporting dry commodities, advanced for a third session on Tuesday, rising 2.5% to its highest level since December 11 at 2,242 points, propelled by higher rates across segments. The increase follows disruptions from the escalating Iran conflict, which has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and forced vessels onto longer routes. Freight costs have surged as carriers adjust, while insurers pull coverage, further pressuring global shipping. The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, surged 3.6% to a one-month high of 3,245 points; and the panamax index, which usually carry 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, increased 1.2% to a peak since September last year at 2,002 points. Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose 1.6% to 1,383 points. Source: Trading Economics 2026-03-04 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share