Scrap yards are preparing for record numbers of freighters as shipping rates tumble to all-time lows.

Owners may demolish 40 million deadweight tons of dry bulk carriers, more than double last year's total, according to Arctic Securities ASA in Oslo. Rates to ship commodities slumped 66 percent last year amid a glut of capacity, the worst performance since the global recession.

China's combined imports of iron ore and coal, the market's biggest cargoes, fell to a two-year low last month, according to customs data. The nation last week set its lowest economic growth target in almost a generation, at a time when delivery of new ships will expand the fleet for a 16th consecutive year.