Asia-Europe ocean carriers are becoming increasingly concerned that their failure to substantially boost container spot rates this month will result in annual contracts being reset at significantly lower levels, reports loadstar.
For instance, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd have both restarted their Asia-North Europe and Asia-Mediterranean FAK [freight all kinds] GRIs [general rate increases] after the planned 1 November GRIs failed to stick.
Tighter capacity management
Both carriers are seeking the same quantum of minimum rate levels from 1 December as they had planned for this month, and will hope that tighter capacity management will underpin their latest GRI attempts.
Hapag-Lloyd is again looking for a minimum $1,750 per 40ft for North Europe, and $2,250 per 40ft for West Mediterranean ports, while CMA CGM is proposing $1,800 per 40ft for North Europe and $2,000 per 40ft for the West Med.
Meanwhile, Drewry’s WCI Asia-North Europe component edged up slightly last week, with its average rate increasing 4%, to $1,048 per 40ft, while the WCI Mediterranean reading came in at $1,359 per 40ft, up 1% on the week.
Indeed, The Loadstar received several unsolicited quotes from Chinese forwarders last week, with one Shenzhen-based company offering $816 per 40ft between Ningbo and Hamburg for mid-November shipment.
Maersk liner business
Maersk’s liner business slipped into the red in the third quarter, recording an operating loss of $27m, with Q4 results likely to be worse. The Danish carrier has some 68% of its business under contract and, during the Q3 earnings presentation on Friday, CEO Vincent Clerc warned of the “dire” consequences of failing to alter the negative trend of spot rates ahead of long-term contract negotiations.
Mr Clerc reiterated that the uncertainty of trading next year was behind Maersk’s decision to cut its workforce by 10% by the early part of 2024. He said: “The big moving factor is the freight rate levels that we will see in 2024.”
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Source : Loadstar
