The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk freight index, which tracks shipping rates for vessels transporting dry bulk commodities, fell for the eighth straight session on Tuesday, declining 3.4% to 2,818 points, its lowest level since May 1st. Persistent weakness across larger vessel classes continued to drag the index lower. The capesize index, reflecting rates for ships that typically carry 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, dropped 5.9% to 4,441 points, while the panamax index, which covers vessels hauling about 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, slipped 0.6% to 2,205 points. In contrast, the supramax index rose 1.1% to 1,614 points.