Low Baltic Dry Shipping Index Doesn't Necessarily Mean Deflation

From the look of life on the seas, one might get the sense that the global economy is again bound for a potentially nasty downturn. Recent months have seen a sharp drop in a widely watched gauge known as the Baltic Dry Index, essentially, a measure of how much cargo is being moved around the globe in freight vessels. A similar plunge in late 2008 offered a preview of the concerted worldwide downturn that for good reason became known as the Great Recession.