CSCL doubles rates
China - China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) plans to double its container shipping rates on freight routes between Asia and Europe from US$300 to $650 per TEU (20 foot equivalent unit) starting 1 July.
The freight forwarder will also raise rates on trade lanes between Asia and South America as well as Middle East, Australia and the Mediterranean by US$300 per TEU, said Huang Xiaowen, MD of CSCL.
Competitors such as Maersk Line have raised freight rates on routes between Europe and Asia by US$250 per TEU starting this month.
"Companies will raise rates, not because the market has recovered, but because the shipping lines have the resolution to do this," Huang said.
In an interview with Bloomberg in Shanghai, Huang said that CSCL had not witnessed a surge in load factor even when rates were slashed previously.
In April, CSCL said it would raise freight rates by 100%, as a previous decline in freight rates on transpacific and Asia-Europe routes led CSCL to post a 98.7% plunge in net profits last year.
"This peak season is going to be very short," Li Shaode, chairman of CSCL said.
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