According to Macquarie Bank Ltd, the market for shipping grains, coal and other so called dry bulk commodities will escape a global economic slowdown because of increasing demand from China and India.

The bank said that the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, reached a record on May 20 and is still trading at more than three times its 10 year average.

Mr Kona Haque and Arek Kizilbash London based analysts in a note wrote that that prices won't decline any time soon because tightening credit markets and the rising cost of steel will stall an expansion of the fleet.

They said that “The boom in freight encapsulates all the key features needed to buck the credit crunch, inflation-dented trends in other markets. We have embarked on a phase where the two most populous countries on earth, China and India, are taking off.''

The banks citing Macquarie Research said that “There's pent up demand for grains among importers across the world because of several seasons of tight exports.”

According to the bank, delivery of new carriers slipped 18% last year. The chances of further slippage are considerably greater from next year.