Maersk Line has resumed booking shipments on the North Europe-Asia sling after a suspension of almost a month.
The world’s largest ocean container line temporarily stopped taking bookings on the third week of March after what it said was a backlog of shipments that had European container terminals operating at nearly full capacity.
But European shippers will have to deal with higher freight rates as Maersk announced a general rate hike of US$300 per 20-foot equivalent unit and a waste cargo surcharge of $300 per TEU, both effective from May 1.
The Danish carrier will also implement on the same day super slow steaming on five Europe-Asia loops, which will lengthen transit time by seven days.
Maersk earlier said the backlog, the aftermath of shipment cancellations after the Chinese New Year and service cuts by other lines, may not clear up till early May.
The busier Asia-to-Europe bookings, including Maersk Line’s Daily Maersk service, were not affected by the booking halt.
