Asia-US shipping volumes may rise 12 percent this year, the TSA said.
AP Moeller Maersk, the world’s largest container line, and 14 other shipping companies agreed to seek rate increases of US$400 per 40-foot box on Asia-US west coast routes next year as the rebounding global economy revives cargo demand.
The planned increase is part of voluntary guidelines covering talks for contracts generally starting around May 1, the Transpacific Stabililzation Agreement (TSA) said in a statement on its website last Friday. The shipping group, which has limited antitrust immunity, also recommended a peak-season surcharge of US$400 per box.
‘Two strong quarters in the transpacific – a highly competitive freight market with very thin margins – still do not fully offset two years of heavy losses,’ YM Kim, chairman of the TSA and chief executive officer of Seoul-based Hanjin Shipping Co, said in the statement.
‘We said last year that we would not seek to recover all our losses in one year.’