Dry-Bulk Shipping: All Eyes on the Horizon

On the supply side, the great worry remains the orderbook, which continues to cast a dense shadow over stock prices. Dry bulk observers -- from ship owners to brokers to shareholders -- will be paying attention to dry-bulk earnings reports in at least one significant way: checking to see how many orders for new vessels these companies have scratched, thus reducing future supply. The prevalent feeling is that owners will need to annul (or at least delay) 30% to 40% of the ships on order for delivery in 2010 to keep the supply-demand balance intact and future rates steady.

But some analysts note that heavy port congestion -- nearly 60 ships have been waiting to pick up coal at the Australian port of Newcastle -- could help soak up the incrementally increasing number of dry-bulk ships on the oceans. Then there's the phenomenon of "ton-mile expansion," which refers to the increasing distances that ships must travel between pick-up and delivery, as South American mines supply more and more raw materials to China, as opposed to Australia.

It's true that dry-bulk shares often move in tandem, since, at bottom, business is the same from company to company. There isn't much brand differentiation, in other words. Still, company specifics do matter. With that in mind, here's a look at five popular dry-bulk outfits -- DryShips(DRYS), Diana Shipping(DSX), Genco Shipping & Trading(GNK), Excel Maritime(EXM) and Navios Maritime Holdings(NM) -- and where they stand as they finish out the first quarter of 2010.

-- Reported by Scott Eden in New York

RELATED STORIES:

>>Five Dry-Bulk Stocks to Watch

>>Where Are Dry-Bulk Rates Headed?

>>Dry-Bulk Shipping: What Glut?

>>World's Busiest Ports

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