Ask any chartering desk what keeps them up at night and the answer is usually the same: where are freight rates heading next. The Reading Freight Markets: A Shipping Economics Training Course for Maritime Professionals, delivered by Arab British Fellowship Training Academy, was built to answer that question with method rather than guesswork, giving participants the analytical tools to interpret the Baltic Index and other benchmarks, recognise where a market sits within its cycle, and translate fleet and trade data into a defensible view on rates.

The course works through real market data rather than textbook theory. Participants examine how vessel supply, newbuilding orders, scrapping, and global trade flows combine to move freight rates across dry bulk, tanker, and container segments, then practise building simple forecasting models and applying them to chartering, investment, and fleet deployment decisions. By the end, delegates leave with a repeatable process for reading a market, not just a memory of one course's worth of numbers.

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Interpret the Baltic Index and other key freight rate benchmarks.
• Identify where a shipping market sits within its cycle and what that signals for rates and asset values.
• Analyze how fleet supply, newbuilding, and scrapping trends affect market balance.
• Assess how global maritime trade patterns drive vessel demand.
• Build and apply simple forecasting models for short- and medium-term rate movements.
• Translate market analysis into chartering, investment, and fleet deployment decisions.

Target Group
This training course is designed for:

• Chartering, commercial, and research professionals in shipowning and shipbroking companies.
• Freight traders, analysts, and economists across dry bulk, tanker, and container markets.
• Shipping investors, financiers, and asset managers assessing market risk.
• Port authorities, logistics providers, and maritime trade professionals tracking market trends.
• Graduates seeking a strong foundation in shipping economics.

Module 1: Reading the Freight Market — Rates and Indices

• Core economic principles behind supply, demand, and freight rates.
• How freight rates form and are quoted across market segments.
• Understanding and interpreting the Baltic Index and related benchmarks.
• Spot versus period market rate dynamics.

Module 2: Shipping Cycles and Turning Points

• Characteristics of shipping market cycles.
• Historical cycles and lessons for current analysis.
• Impact of cycles on freight rates, asset values, and investment timing.
• Identifying early signals of a cycle shift.

Module 3: Supply, Demand and Trade Flows

• Fleet growth, newbuilding orders, and delivery schedules.
• Scrapping trends and their effect on market balance.
• Major global maritime trade routes and commodity flows.
• Regional and geopolitical factors affecting shipping demand.

Module 4: Forecasting Rate Movements

• Building simple market forecasting models for freight rates.
• Key indicators for short- and medium-term forecasting.
• Scenario analysis for rate and demand projections.
• Limitations and risks of market forecasting.

Module 5: From Market Analysis to Commercial Decisions

• Translating market analysis into chartering and negotiation strategy.
• Supporting investment and fleet deployment decisions with market data.
• Communicating freight market analysis to stakeholders.
• Building a practical routine for ongoing market monitoring.