It’s been almost a decade since we had a proper bull run in the shipping industry. A reduced appetite for newbuilding orders, sharp recovery of Brazil’s iron ore exports, upcoming IMO regulations and the retrofitting of scrubbers on larger dry bulk carriers could lead to an improvement in supply-demand fundamentals.

We have also seen the Baltic Dry Index increase with 41% gains YTD. It looks like the excesses that were previously built up finally dried up, but let’s not jump to too many conclusions based on the charts.

In light of all these factors, I feel that dry bulkers will be facing an upside in rates. The positive outlook is already reflected in some degree in the market but I expect it to go higher in the coming months.

Scorpio Bulkers (NYSE:SALT) is the best among its breed of dry bulkers and I feel that the company is well-placed to