I've been noticing quite a few headlines in the Journal of Commerce's daily e-bulletin that describe how shipping rates have been climbing:
Shippers and their brokers are bidding up the price of ocean-going space. This makes me take a second look at shipping stocks, particularly Ship Finance International. It's the only shipper that looks remotely attractive from my deep-value standpoint. The single-digit P/E ratio makes it attractive but I still worry about its debt load. I'm going to be patient with SFL and wait until the next leg down in the market before I buy.
Ocean container spot freight rates on the key export trades out of China to Europe and the U.S. east and west coasts soared by an average of 24 percent in the past three months.
The rate of recovery is much faster than expected, buoyed by a surge in demand this month, according to Alphaliner, the Paris-based container shipping consultant.
Shippers and their brokers are bidding up the price of ocean-going space. This makes me take a second look at shipping stocks, particularly Ship Finance International. It's the only shipper that looks remotely attractive from my deep-value standpoint. The single-digit P/E ratio makes it attractive but I still worry about its debt load. I'm going to be patient with SFL and wait until the next leg down in the market before I buy.