ClarkSea Index Hits Fourth Straight Record as Shipping Earnings Boom Spreads Beyond Tankers
October 5, 2026
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Shipping earnings pushed deeper into record territory at the start of October, with Clarksons Research’s cross-sector ClarkSea Index rising another 14% to $75,658 per day, its fourth consecutive all-time high and a 73% increase in one month. Tankers remain the main driver, with average VLCC earnings near $660,000/day and Suezmaxes at a record $630,000/day, but the strength now reaches well beyond crude shipping. Clean MR earnings have doubled since early September to $64,000/day, US Gulf-to-Japan VLGC earnings are near a record $194,000/day, 6,500-CEU car-carrier one-year charter rates have reached $95,000/day, dry bulk remains firm near $23,000/day and containership charter markets are still elevated. Clarksons says the ClarkSea Index averaged $46,384/day during the third quarter, itself a quarterly record.
Global Shipping Earnings · October 2026
The Record Is No Longer Coming From One Vessel Class
Crude tankers are generating the most extreme numbers, but LPG carriers, product tankers, car carriers, bulkers and container markets are all contributing to one of the broadest periods of elevated shipping earnings in modern market data.
ClarkSea Index
$75,658
per day
Fourth consecutive record. The cross-sector indicator has risen
73% in one month and is roughly 49% above the previous daily record
established during the 2007 shipping boom.
Weekly Move
+14%
Another double-digit weekly increase despite already extreme earnings.
One-Month Move
+73%
The index was equivalent to roughly $43,700/day one month earlier.
2026 Average
+66%
Year-to-date average compared with the same period of 2025.
Vs. 10-Year Trend
+84%
Clarksons' year-to-date average remains far above its long-run trend.
Current Earnings Board
VLCC
~$660K/day
Average earnings rose another 10% in the latest week.
Record territory
Suezmax
~$630K/day
Earnings jumped roughly 72% in one week.
New record
Clean MR
$64K/day
Up 30% week on week and around twice early-September levels.
Rapid acceleration
VLGC · USG-Japan
~$194K/day
LPG shipping has reached another route-specific record.
Record
6,500 CEU PCTC
$95K/day
One-year charter rate, highest outside the extraordinary 2022-24 car-shipping boom.
Near historic highs
Dry Bulk
$23,062/day
Weighted earnings eased around China's Golden Week but remain firm.
Strong
Modern LNG Carrier
$42,250/day
Modern two-stroke spot earnings improved in Clarksons' latest assessment.
Improving
Containerships
Elevated
Charter markets remain tight while transpacific freight rates remain several times February levels.
Supply constrained
These rates are not perfectly interchangeable.
Tanker, bulker, LNG and VLGC figures are earnings or voyage-rate assessments,
while the $95,000 car-carrier figure is a one-year time-charter rate.
Container freight is normally quoted per FEU rather than per vessel-day.
The ClarkSea Index is the appropriate cross-sector indicator because Clarksons
converts the main vessel markets into a weighted daily earnings benchmark.
Freight Boom Anatomy · Q4 2026
More Cargo Is Moving, but the Fleet Is Working Less Efficiently
Current records are being created by a combination that usually produces powerful freight markets: recovering cargo volumes, longer voyages, ship-to-ship transfers, route diversions and scarce prompt tonnage.
Hormuz
Exports Recovering
More Middle Eastern crude is moving again, increasing tanker demand even before logistics normalize.
STS Network
More Ships Per Cargo
Shuttle tankers and offshore transfers consume vessel-days that normal direct voyages would not.
Diversions
Longer Voyages
Cape routing and longer Atlantic sourcing increase tonne-mile demand across several sectors.
Prompt Tonnage
Scarcity Premium
Charterers are competing for fewer ships in the right position at the right time.
Sector driver and downside board
← →
| Sector | Current Signal | Immediate Earnings Driver | Structural Support | Supply Response | Main Cooling Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude Tankers VLCC / Suezmax | VLCC near $660,000/day and Suezmax around $630,000/day. | Hormuz shuttle voyages, STS transfers, Suez diversions and longer Atlantic-to-Asia cargoes are tying up ships. | Global inventories will eventually need rebuilding and Veson expects oil-demand growth to turn positive again in 2027. | 198 VLCCs have already been ordered in 2026 versus 89 during all of 2025. Orderbook-to-fleet ratio has reached about 37%. | Normalization of Middle East logistics could suddenly release effective vessel capacity. Newbuilding deliveries then create a second downside risk. |
| LPG / VLGC US Gulf-Japan | Earnings near $194,000/day on the US Gulf-Japan route. | Panama Canal constraints, arbitrage economics and broader routing inefficiencies are supporting tonne-mile demand. | U.S. LPG exports are forecast by Veson to rise about 13% in 2026. | VLGC/VLAC orderbook stands around 38% of the fleet and net fleet growth is forecast near 9.2% annually. | Large newbuilding deliveries from 2027 and lower Middle East LPG exports could weaken vessel utilization. |
| Vehicle Carriers 6,500-CEU PCTC | One-year rate at $95,000/day, the highest outside the 2022-24 boom. | Red Sea diversions and strong Chinese vehicle exports continue to consume capacity. | Chinese light-vehicle exports rose 68% year on year during Jan-Aug, while EV exports more than doubled. | New ordering has surged, with 57 vessels totaling 386,720 CEU contracted year to date according to Veson. | Fleet capacity growth of 8.1% in 2026 and 6.4% in 2027 will eventually increase vessel availability. |
| Dry Bulk Capesize / Supramax | Clarksons weighted earnings near $23,062/day; Veson says Capes averaged around $41,000/day in Q3. | Strong Chinese iron ore and bauxite imports continue supporting vessel demand. | Simandou can increase average haul distances as Guinea supplies replace some shorter Australian cargoes. | Veson forecasts fleet supply growth around 3.8% annually through 2029 against demand growth of roughly 2.6%. | Softening Chinese end-use demand and faster fleet growth could progressively pressure rates from 2027. |
| Containers Freight + charter markets | Far East-US West Coast spot freight remains around $8,346/FEU and East Coast around $11,523/FEU. | Route disruption, fuel expense, tight charter availability and persistent transpacific distortions. | Global container volumes are still growing, with Asia-Europe and intra-Asia showing particularly strong 2026 gains. | The containership orderbook exceeds 14 million TEU and Veson expects net fleet growth averaging 10.9% annually through 2029. | Fleet growth substantially exceeds forecast TEU-mile demand growth. Veson expects freight rates to decline over the forecast period. |
Sector driver and downside board
← →
The Boom Is Generating Its Own Supply Response
VLCC Orders
198 YTD
Versus 89 during the whole of 2025.
Global Orderbook
226M CGT
Clarksons says the global shipbuilding backlog is at an all-time high.
2026 Contracting
71M CGT
New ordering is running close to the record pace seen in 2007.
Fleet Growth
Toward 6%
Clarksons expects global fleet growth to accelerate as the newbuilding wave delivers.
Ship Universe Earnings Tool
Shipping Earnings Shock Analyzer
Convert today's exceptional daily rates into fleet-level annualized earnings, then stress-test the result if freight rates fall from current highs.
ships
days
%
$/day
$/year
Selected Daily Rate
$660K
current or stress-adjusted market rate
Annualized Fleet Revenue
$231M
rate × revenue days × fleet size
Modeled OPEX
$4.2M
daily operating cost × 350 days
Operating Contribution
$226.8M
revenue minus entered OPEX and fixed costs
Rate After Stress
$660K
selected rate after entered percentage reduction
Revenue Lost vs Current
$0
difference from the unstressed market rate
Current Market vs Stress Case
Current rates are unusually high. Use the stress case to see how quickly
annualized cash generation changes if freight normalizes.
Rate Sensitivity
Record Market
At the selected current rate, freight income overwhelms the entered
vessel operating-cost assumption.
Ships
1
Revenue Days
350
Rate Cut
0%
OPEX / Day
$12K
Scenario model only:
Clarksons' tanker, gas and dry-bulk figures are market earnings assessments
while the PCTC figure is a one-year charter rate. Actual owner cash flow depends
on voyage expenses, charter structure, commissions, off-hire, OPEX, financing,
drydock costs and vessel-specific contracts. This tool should not be read as
a forecast of realized profit.
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