By Bruce Zaro 

One of the strongest groups we follow has been the shipping stocks. They have gotten beaten up enough lately that investors are asking themselves: has their run ended?

My colleague here at DGA, Chip Hanlon, who serves as lead advisor on a shipping portfolio for Claymore Securities, refreshed his research with a channel check on current voyager rates and charter demand. These are really the drivers of shipping securities stock prices, as they go hand in hand in determining the asset values of a shipping company's fleet.

Meanwhile, I (the Chart Whisperer, as Chip has taken to calling me lately... embarrassing) have looked from my usual technical vantage point where this group stands, given the volatility we have seen.

First, fundamentally Chip reports a generally firm market, albeit a two-sided one: the dry bulk shippers have been more than impressive as rates have been astonishingly strong all year, providing strong cash flows. Last week's hiccup in the Baltic Dry Index seems to us just a pause in the break neck increases over the past 3 months. For the fuel tanker companies, however, the market is softer. Seasonally, this is the time of year that buyers line up their charters for...click here to read more "Shipping Stocks: Has the Trend Changed?" at GreenFaucet.com