Container lines plan hike in shipping rates

Media reports suggest that some of the container lines may raise freight rates in the Asia-Europe trade including ports in the Indian sub-continent.

WeeklyInsight learns that some shipping firms also unveiled plans to hike rates from the Far East to North Europe from December. They include Hong Kong’s Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), South Korea’s leading flag Hanjin Shipping, China’s Cosco and Emirates Shipping of the UAE.

Hanjin Shipping is expected to raise rates by $600 per TEU and $1,200 per TEU for services from the Far East (including Japan) and South-East Asia to north Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia as well as services from the Indian subcontinent to the Middle East and north Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia and services from the Far East (including Japan) and South-East Asia to the Mediterranean and north Africa.

COSCO announced a general rate increase of $550 per TEU for all shipments from the Far East, including Japan and the Indian subcontinent, to north-west Europe and $650 per TEU for the Mediterranean, including Israel, Lebanon, Syria, North Africa and the Black Sea port effective December 15.

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index showed 11.4 percent decline in Asia-Europe rates to 1,225 Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) as all trades declined, with rates on the Asia-Mediterranean trade falling 10.4 percent to 856 TEU.