Oakland, CA – Following on a previously announced March 15 $300 general rate increase (GRI) which they expect to be widely applied, 15 member carriers in the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) are recommending a further increase of US$400 per 40-foot container (FEU) effective April 15, 2012, to address rates that remain below baseline levels at that time.
The increase comes ahead of the previously announced May 1 recommended increase of $500 per FEU for US West Coast cargo and $700 per FEU for all other shipments.
TSA lines said they remain committed to recovering record high fuel costs through separate bunker and inland fuel surcharges. In addition, they intend to implement a peak season surcharge (PSS) later in the year, with the amount and duration to be determined soon, based on a review of anticipated market conditions moving into the summer and fall months.
“Carriers operating in the Pacific are at a critical juncture,” explained TSA executive administrator Brian M. Conrad. “Once again, as in 2009, we are back to a situation in which nearly all major carriers in the trade are moving cargo at a loss. For any carrier rate or cost recovery effort to be meaningful in 2012-13, it must reflect an actual increase from rates in effect at the beginning of the previous year; and it cannot extend promotional short-term rates in select trade segments to all commodities and all routes for 12 months.”
Conrad pointed to the service consolidation already seen in the trade, including elimination of service strings, and deteriorating schedule reliability. “Supply and demand is no longer the only or even the primary consideration in carrier pricing,” he said. “The conversation needs to focus on sustained carrier viability and service quality in a major, recovering trade lane with complex and sophisticated service needs.”
TSA is a research and discussion forum of major container shipping lines serving the trade from Asia to ports and inland points in the U.S. More information on TSA can be found at www.tsacarriers.org.
TSA members include APL, China Shipping Container Lines, CMA-CGM, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen Line, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, K Line, Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co., N.Y.K. Line), Orient Overseas Container Line, Ltd, Yangming Marine Transport, and Zim Integrated Shipping Services.
Photo of Container Terminal In The Port by happykanppy
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1948
