The Baltic Dry Index has been getting a lot of attention on CNBC lately. For those who don’t know, The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) is the spot (or daily) rates shipping companies charge to ship dry stuff such as coal or grains. CNBC seems to be driving fear into investors with the thesis that the drop in shipping rates is due to less shipments being made, which is an indicator of a worldwide slowdown. Sure, that certainly is possible, but before you run for the hills just on this piece of data, take a look at the BDI over the past several years: