Dry bulk shipping is facing a perfect storm and requires drastic supply side measures if the industry is to return on course to profitability in the medium term, according to the latest edition of the Dry Bulk Forecaster report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

Further widening of the supply-demand imbalance at the trade route level and insufficient measures to reduce ship capacity will lead to an acceleration of freight rate reductions and industry-wide losses in 2016, according to the latest Container Forecaster report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

Ocean freight rates for cargo moving under contracts on the major East-West trade routes saw another reduction in the last quarter of 2015, according to Drewry's Benchmarking Club, a closed user group of multinational retailers and manufacturers who closely monitor their contract freight rates.

Containership reliability was broadly unchanged in November as the average on-time performance across all trades slipped by just 0.8 percentage points against October to 77.2 percent, according to Carrier Performance Insight, the online schedule reliability tool provided by Drewry Supply Chain Advisors.

LPG shipping rates are expected to decline from the second half of 2016 as a bloated orderbook for VLGCs - very large gas carriers - fuels fleet growth that will far exceed shipping demand, according to the latest edition of the LPG Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

Tanker shipping rates are set to decline from current highs in 2016 as the trade in crude oil is forecast to decline due to ample stocking, and the fleet is expected to expand briskly, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

Containership reliability took a small step backwards in October as the average on-time performance across all trades reached 77.9 percent, according to Carrier Performance Insight, the online schedule reliability tool provided by Drewry Supply Chain Advisors.