Global shipping giant Maersk to hike freight rates by $ 250 per TEU from next week

Monday, 30 December 2013 01:24 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Maersk Line, the world’s top container shipper and part of Danish group A.P. Moller-Maersk, will increase container freight rates by $ 250 per 20-foot container (TEU), it said in a mail to customers seen by Reuters. Maersk Line, which operates nearly 600 container vessels, said it would implement a “peak season surcharge” that will apply to cargo

moving from Asia to all North European and Mediterranean ports with effect from 6 January. The hike amounts 16.7%. The Shanghai Containerised Freight Index, the leading index for container freight rates, stood at $ 1,526 on 20 December. The price hike by Maersk Lines follows similar moves by rivals. Germany’s Hapag Lloyd has announced rate hikes of $ 500 per TEU, while privately-held French group CMA CGM intends to increase rates on routes from the Far East to Northern Europe by $ 300 per TEU. Maersk Lines has a roughly 20% share on container routes from Asia to Northern Europe – the world’s busiest. The shipping company’s global market share is estimated at around 15%. Meanwhile Reuters in a separate report said shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 1.0% to $ 1,511 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index told Reuters.