Iron Ore Outlook: Simandou Supply, China Demand and Freight Trends

In this week’s Allied Quantumsea Research, we review the evolving iron ore market landscape as 2026 begins, focusing on the widening gap between price performance and underlying fundamentals.

Freight Market

Tanker

VLCC | MEG to China improves

VLCC rates improved this week across the main routes. In the Atlantic, TD15 (West Africa/China) rose by nearly 17 points to about WS73, while TD22 (US Gulf/China) recovered to $9.6m, implying roundtrip earnings just under $60,000/day.

Special Report | Venezuela: Beyond the Headline Crisis – What Comes Next for Oil, Gas, Mining, and Shipping

This week, Allied Quantumsea Research reviews Venezuela’s mounting economic and humanitarian risks under a sanctions regime that threatens to eliminate most export revenues through 2026.

SECTION II: Overview of Second-hand Investments

Year-End Secondhand Market Shows Limited Contraction Compared with Newbuildings

Weekly Shipping Marker Review

This week’s Allied QuantumSea Research examines preliminary statistics on investment volumes in the newbuilding versus second hand markets ahead of the year’s completion.

MARKET COMMENTARY:

Dry bulk closed 2025 in a very “old-school” way: not through a demand explosion, but through utilization tightening, timing and just enough friction to turn small shifts into big rate moves.