Reports from two different international press outlets Tuesday painted a somewhat contradictory picture of the rates for bulk products, showing how confusing the market is for transporters, shippers and buyers of such cargo.

A report from Bloomberg said Chinese exports of coal are actually knocking down prices of the commodity in Australia, which has struggled with debilitating port congestion the past year.

China exported 4.5 millions tons of coal in September and imported 3.6 million, a turnaround from earlier this year, when China actually imported more coal than it is exported in a month for the first time in history. China is the world's largest producer of coal.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal's Asia edition said Tuesday that a severe bulk ship shortage is starting to heavily impact prices on raw materials shipped from Brazil to Asia.

The average price of leasing a bulk ship has more than tripled to $65,000 a day, whereas a year ago it was $18,000, he report said.

The implication, of course, is that manufacturers will have to pay more for raw materials and pass that cost on to the consumers of finished goods.