Shipping in Dire Straits: New Evidence on Trends and Cycles in Coal Freights from Britain, 1919-1939

Abstract

New monthly freight rate indices for 13 coal trade routes from Britain 1919-1939 are presented. The new indices form the basis of a review of the interwar freight markets and their relationship to the timing and severity of general business cycles. New time series of laid-up tonnage provide the background for this discussion. The Great Depression starting in the autumn of 1929 created a shipping cycle of unusual length and severity. Real freight rate indices used as a cross-check on productivity gains in shipping raise some doubt on previous estimates of productivity growth in British shipping in the interwar years.JEL Classification: N74,N14,D24 * I am grateful to Bob Castelein for providing me with the Fairplay dataset. Helpful discussions on econometric methods with Erik Ø. Sørensen and on shipping economics with Stig Tenold are gratefully acknowledged.

Navigating Through Torpedo Attacks and Enemy Raiders: Merchant Shipping and Freight Rates During World War I

“…The principles of this index are more fully discussed in Shiller (1993). For applications to ocean freight rates, see Klovland (2009Klovland ( , 2016. 10 The exception is the North Atlantic liner trade where published market rates have been used.…”

Crisis? What Crisis? Norwegian Shipping in the Interwar Period

“…13 Klovland (2016, 19). 14 See Castelein (2015) or Klovland (2016); quote from shipowner Thoresen in Christensen (1933, 14). 15 When Sagatind started trading again, one of its first cargoes was forest products that were transported on behalf of the Soviet authorities.…”