SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts to change MR USGC-North Brazil flat rate freight basket

S&P Global Platts will change the Worldscale flat rate basket of its 38,000 mt US Gulf Coast-North Brazil clean tanker assessment, effective October 1, to better reflect trade flows in the region.

The basket change was first proposed in a subscriber note published August 1 (https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/080119-p latts-proposes-to-change-usgc-north-brazil-flat-rate-freight-basket-oct-1).

Platts publishes its US Gulf Coast-North Brazil clean tanker assessment in Worldscale points, as well as in US dollars/mt. Platts assesses the route on a Worldscale basis, and then determines the equivalent $/mt freight rate, based on a basket of Worldscale flat rates comprising several key routes between the two regions specified in the assessment.

Under the proposed change, the Worldscale flat rate basket used for this assessment will reflect loadings in Houston and New Orleans and discharges at Sao Luis and Suape. The current basket reflects loadings in Houston and New Orleans, and discharges at Sao Luis, Manaus and Belem.

The move will result in the value of the basket changing to $14.88/mt from $13.91/mt for the remainder of 2019. As with all base Worldscale values, Platts will update these values for 2020 rates and inform subscribers of the new bases toward the end of the current year. The change will affect the USGC-North Brazil clean tanker assessment in US dollars/mt (TCAFS00).

This assessment is published on the Platts Global Alert page MH1912, on the Platts Shipping Alert page SHP2320, in the Clean Tankerwire and in the Platts price database under the code above.

Please send further feedback or questions to shipping@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com. For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available to the public upon request.