German box shipping line Hapag-Lloyd said it will raise freight rates for its services on key trade lanes come first of May.
The company plans to implement on May 1 a general rate increase (GRI) for all dry, reefer, flat rack, and open top containers from East Asia to all U.S. and Canada destinations.
The new rates are higher by US$540 per 20-foot standard container, $600 per 40-foot standard container, $675 per 40-foot high-cube container, and $760 per 45-foot container
Also bound for an upward adjustment are the rates from East Asia to the Caribbean, East Coast of Central America, and Panama.
From May 1, rates for all cargoes and all container types on these trade routes will be raised by $700 per 20-foot container and $1,000 per 40-foot container.
A similar GRI will take place in the trades from East Asia to Mexico, West Coast of Central America, and West Coast of South America.
Effective May 1, rates for all cargoes and all container types from East Asia to these regions will go up by $750 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU).
East Asia is defined as the countries of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Macau, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, and the Russian Pacific Coast Provinces.
OOCL to lift SEA-Australia rates
Hong Kong’s Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) is likewise set to increase rates, this time for its Southeast Asia-Australia network.
Effective May 1, freight rates from Southeast Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Indian Subcontinent, Myanmar and Middle East) to Australia will increase by US$100 per TEU and $200 per FEU for both dry and refrigerated cargo in the ocean freight base rate.
This increase will apply on top of existing market rates and is subject to accessorial surcharges applicable at the time of shipment.
OOCL said the rate hike is due to current ocean freight rates continuing to be “below the required level to cover basic operating costs or transportation costs in our Southeast Asia-Australia services.”
Hanjin Shipping introduces China-SEA service
South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping bared plans to expand its intra-Asia service network by launching this month the “China Straits Express,” a joint service with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line) and Pacific International Lines (PIL).
The weekly service will commence April 20, deploying four 2,500-TEU class vessels and covering ports in China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Port rotation is Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Laem Chabang, Singapore, Port Klang, Laem Chabang, Ho Chi Minh City, Xiamen, and Qingdao.
Hanjin Shipping explained that the new service will enhance the participating carriers’ network and service competitiveness by “meeting needs within the region, covering China and parts of South East Asia directly.”
