Shifts in cement trade help support the Supramax market

China’s property slump has turned Asia’s cement trade inside out. The cargo has not grown much, but it now travels much further, and Supramaxes are doing most of the extra work.

From buyer to seller Not long ago, China was where Vietnam sent its clinker. In 2020 some 36 Mt went there, mostly on short hops from northern Vietnam to southern China, ideal work for Handysizes and Supramaxes shuttling back and forth. Then the property market broke. Building stalled, demand for cement fell away, and Chinese kilns were left running at around half capacity. By 2025 China’s imports had all but vanished.

What happened next is the real story. With too much clinker and too few buyers at home, Chinese producers went looking abroad. Exports climbed from under a million tonnes in 2022 to a forecast 24.6 Mt this year, and we expect them to hold above 21 Mt through 2028. About two-thirds of this year’s flow is clinker, the bulk intermediate that grinding mills turn into cement, and it is heading further afield: to Bangladesh, the Philippines and, increasingly, West Africa. That is Supramax business.

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →