Supply-chain chaos spurs new ETF filing to ride shipping boom

ProShares is preparing a new ETF to exploit chaos across global supply chains even as bottlenecks show signs of easing and commodities come down from records.

The issuer is planning to debut the Supply Chain Logistics exchange-traded fund, which will track an index of U.S. and foreign companies involved in goods and raw materials shipping, according to a Tuesday filing. 

If approved, the fund would join a slew of products riding logistical snafus in the pandemic that have sent the cost of transportation and goods soaring—an inflation-spurring trade many on Wall Street project still has legs.

The Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF (ticker BDRY) was one of the best-performing ETFs in the U.S. last year, returning nearly 293%. Yet the fund, which tracks a basket of dry bulk freight futures, has had a rough start to 2022 and is down nearly 20% so far.

The proposed ProShares ETF will focus on shipping equities, which will provide investors with a different trade to BDRY, according to James Seyffart, an ETF analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. 

“If ProShares can get this ETF to pull enough assets to be profitable, they can leave it alive until a potential time in the future if there are ever future supply chain or logistics issues,” he said. 

The fund’s gauge—the FactSet Supply Chain Logistics Index—includes trucking, rail and ocean shipping companies, as well as autonomous drone manufacturers and transportation software companies.