As 格老 briefly stated that BDI has rebounced from the low of 1000 to 2500 in the recent days, the possibility of a quick recovery is again mentioned as a possiblity.  However after reading the excellent article of the usefulness of BDI as a reliable economic indicator, I'm not so sure. 

The article can be found here. It is quite long but definitely worth the time.  Basically the author questioned the usefulness of the Index and argued that there are so many factors which can affect the index that it is virtually impossible to interpret it solely as a sign of increase in economic activity.  

The one compiling reason that the author mentioned at the very end caught my attention, and is quoted word by word as follow,

Because of these inelastic characteristics of supply and demand, and since the BDI is a measure of spot rates, the BDI is thus absurdly volatile. I can explain why via the following simplified example, which I used to use frequently at Citi.

Imagine you have 10 loads of iron ore and 9 ships, and that every load of iron ore must be sent no matter what while every ship must be filled no matter what. Imagine the bidding war between those 10 iron ore consumers fighting over just 9 ships. Shipping cost would skyrocket since they all need to ship regardless of cost. Now imagine if a week later two more ships enter the market. Now imagine the bidding process. Suddenly the tables have completely changed. You have 11 ships, that all need to be filled no matter what, and only 10 loads of ore. Shipping rates would plunge, despite a period of just a week passing by. This is, in a simplified nutshell why the BDI is so volatile.

Again, here is the link.