The results of the 2014-15 service contracting season in the eastbound Pacific are in, and from the perspective of ocean carriers, they’re not pretty.
Unless carriers can score impressive gains on the spot market and with peak-season surcharges, neither of which are guaranteed, it looks like they will lose money again in the busiest U.S. trade lane.
Most of the major retailers and other large importers have signed contracts for the period May 1, 2014, to April 30, 2015. It appears that the average freight rate for shipping a 40- foot container from Asia to the West Coast will be well below $2,000 — the rate that carriers believe is break-even for the services.
