An employee uses a torch to work on the underside of a ship’s hull at Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co.’s shipyard in Chiba Prefecture in this file photo. --Bloomberg

TOKYO—Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Japan’s second-largest shipbuilder, climbed to the highest in four months in Tokyo trading after bulk-carrier freight rates rose to a record, boosting optimism vessel prices will increase.

The shares rose 3.4 percent to ¥368 Tuesday at the 11 a.m. break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the highest since January 10. The stock had the sixth-biggest advance on the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

The Baltic Dry index, a measure of shipping costs or commodities, rose to a record for a third consecutive session late Monday. Higher freight rates fueled expectations prices of new ships will climb, making the stock more attractive to investors, Tokyo-based analyst Shigeki Okazaki at Nomura Securities Co. said in a note to clients on Monday.

“Now is the time to accumulate shares,” Okazaki said in his report, reiterating his “buy” rating on the stock. Nomura expects prices of new ships “to increase rapidly given the current uptick in their leading indicator, the marine freight-rate index for bulk carriers.”

Demand for diesel ship engines and port cranes and improved margins at its domestic plants will help Mitsui Engineering counter an increase in prices for steel plates, Okazaki said. (Bloomberg)

BIR to clarify logistics tax for airlines

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it will issue a circular clarifying how airlines, including freight forwarders, should pay their taxes, in a move to correct misconceptions on the logistics industry’s documentation and payment procedures.

NEW YORK—DryShips Inc., a Greek owner of ships that haul iron ore and coal, said first-quarter profit more than doubled on higher shipping rates and a larger fleet.

TOKYO—Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Japan’s second-largest shipbuilder, climbed to the highest in four months in Tokyo trading after bulk-carrier freight rates rose to a record, boosting optimism vessel prices will increase.

HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE—STX Pan Ocean Co., South Korea’s largest shipping line for iron ore and coal, rose the most in almost two months in Singapore trading after Merrill Lynch & Co. raised its target price for the company, citing surging bulk rates.

LONDON—The Baltic Dry index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, rose to a record for a third consecutive trading session on a shortage of capesize vessels to haul iron ore and coal.