The cost of shipping coal, iron ore and other dry-bulk commodities rose to a record for an eighth day as port congestion in Brazil and Australia kept vessels idle.

The Baltic Dry Index, a global measure of commodity shipping costs on different routes and ship sizes, rose 1.3 percent to 6,478 yesterday, based on data from the London-based Baltic Exchange.

Bulk freight rates have risen 47 percent this year to a record on increasing demand for raw materials from China, the world’s biggest consumer of iron ore and coal. That contributed to port congestion in Australia as terminals became unable to handle the volume of goods sold for export.

“Congestion problems in Australia are slowly improving,” said Ralph Leszczynski, research manager at Banchero Costa and Co. SpA, based in Genoa, Italy. “There are reportedly now increasing problems at Brazilian export ports.”

The queue of ships waiting to load at Newcastle, the world’s largest coal export terminal, rose by three to 70 in the week ended May 7, from a record of 74 in the week ended April 23, the Newcastle Port Corp. said.

The average daily rate to hire a Capesize carrier, which typically hauls 175,000 tons of coal or iron ore, rose 1 percent to $108,903 as of May 9, according to the Baltic Exchange.

The Baltic Capesize Index, a measure of rates for capesize vessels on different routes worldwide, advanced 1 percent to a record 9,302 on May 9, according to the Baltic Exchange.

“Supply is still very limited and there’s heavy congestion in some ports, such as in Australia,” said Anders Boye, shipbroker at Simpson Spence & Young in Singapore. “We have seen quite a lot of requirements. There’s a lot of positive sentiment even up to 2010 when people are taking newbuildings.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Katherine Espina in Singapore at kespina@bloomberg.net

Find More Mining News :