Cosco, Container Lines to Raise U.S.-Asia Cargo Rates

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

25 Feb 2010

China Cosco Holdings Co., Hanjin Shipping Co. and eight other shipping companies plan to raise rates for hauling containers to Asia from the U.S. in a bid to end losses on transpacific routes. The Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement set a guideline for lines to boost rates by $300 per 40-foot container and by $240 for 20-foot boxes, the group said in an e-mailed statement dated Feb. 24. The increases will come into effect on April 1.
“Despite modest improvements in cargo demand and rates in recent months, all carriers continue to lose money in both directions between the U.S. and Asia,” the group’s Executive Administrator Brian Conrad said in the statement. “This has put sustained pressure on the westbound backhaul segment of the market.”
A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest container line, and other shipping companies aim to return to profit this year after plunging demand and price wars caused industrywide losses in 2009. World trade may grow 5.8 percent in 2010, according to a forecast by International Monetary Fund.
The WTSA also set a guideline to raise rates for refrigerated cargo by $300 per 40-foot container and by $240 for a 20-foot box, according to the statement.
The other members of the group comprise Neptune Orient Lines Ltd.’s APL Ltd. unit, Evergreen Marine Corp., Hapag-Lloyd AG, Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Nippon Yusen K.K., Orient Overseas Container Lines Inc. and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.

Source: Bloomberg