Ocean carriers in for a rate hike
Depression has hit the ocean shipping industry hard and the companies have been forced to either downsize their rates below variable costs or take their vessels off-line.
However, after it became impossible for companies to run on lower rates, many carriers raised their prices modestly in July and then again at the beginning of August. After doing so they realized that they could now hold the new rates which are profitable as well as sustainable.
This has encouraged many carriers to introduce further rate hikes starting September 1, and then still more into October. For example, Maersk Line, which had hiked its rates in July, will raise freight rates for cargo moving from Northern Europe to the United States and Canada by $400 for a 20-foot equivalent unit, and $500 for 40-foot equivalent units and 45 foot boxes, effective September 1.
Announcing rate hikes on other routes effective October 1, Maersk will hike the rates for freight shipped from the Mediterranean and North Africa to the United States and Canada by $300 per container. The increases are for both dry and reefer cargo.
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