Asian shippers brace for increase in rates

22/08/2012

Asian shippers will have to cough up higher freight rates from September on services offered by the top three shipping lines across various trade lanes.

From September 1, Maersk Line, the top carrier, will implement a general freight increase of US$250 a TEU and $500 an FEU on all shipments from the Far East to the Indian sub-continent (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), reported The Hindu.

Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), the No 2 carrier, has announced a peak season surcharge and bunker surcharge from September 1. The peak season surcharge of $300 a TEU will be levied on the company's Cheetah service from Asia to South and East Africa, Indian Ocean and Mozambique ports.

MSC will levy a bunker surcharge of $860 a TEU on shipments from Asia to East and West Mediterranean, Black Sea, the UK, North and Western Europe Scandinavia, Baltic and African ports.

From September 1, it will also charge higher freight rates on all shipments from Asia to ports in the US — the increases will be $560 a TEU, $700 an FEU and $750 for a high cube container to ports on the US East Coast and $400 a TEU, $500 an FEU and $550 for a high cube container for those ports on its West Coast.

CMA CGM, the world's third largest container line, has announced several rate increases across global trade routes as part of a rate restoration initiative.

From September 1, the line will levy $300 a TEU increase from Asia to New Zealand for dry and reefer containers. The company has also announced a $200 on each TEU increase on the EPIC (Europe-Pakistan-India Consortium) west-bound service from the Persian Gulf to North Europe, East and West Mediterranean, Adriatic and Red Sea.

From October 1, the rates for refrigerated cargo from US to Asia are to rise $711 a reefer TEU and $1,000 a 40-ft reefer high cube containers.

The French line implemented on Wednesday rate increases of $400 a TEU and $800 an FEU and high-cube containers for refrigerated cargo from Asia to Europe and the Mediterranean including North Africa and Black Sea regions.

(Cargonews Asia)