How about this one:
Shipping Line Cartel to Raise Cargo Rates to U.S. From Asia as Much as 15%
By Jennifer Thomas
Shipping Line Cartel to Raise Cargo Rates to U.S. From Asia
Washington, Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Transpacific
Stabilization Agreement, a group of shipping companies operating
in the U.S.-Asia trade, said it's seeking to raise rates as much
as 15 percent for Asia cargo bound for the U.S. to cover added
operating costs during next year's peak shipping season.
Cargo volume in the $200-billion-a-year Pacific trade is
expected to grow 8 percent in 2000, driven by continued U.S.
economic growth and demand in the U.S. for imported goods from
Asia, the group said. That increase comes on top of the 10 to 15
percent growth projected for this year.
``Trends suggest full sailings and an opportunity to further
recover previously lost ground on freight rates, which remain
below levels seen five years ago,' the group said in a
statement. The ship lines say they're currently faced with rising
labor and trucking costs and expenses associated with returning
empty containers to Asia.
The TSA, representing 14 ship companies including Evergreen
Marine Corp. of Taiwan, A.P. Moller-Maersk Line of Copenhagen and
American President Lines, a unit of Singapore's Neptune Orient
Lines Ltd., said members plan to increase rates by $400 per 40-
foot container effective May 1 and establish a $300 per container
surcharge for shipments between July 1 through Oct. 31, the
busiest part of the shipping season.
The rate increase, first reported in the Wall Street
Journal, comes as ship lines are adjusting to a new U.S. ocean
shipping law which took effect in May of this year. The law
freed ship lines from having to file tariffs and service
contracts with the federal government while still allowing them
in some instances to jointly set prices with rivals.
Shipping lines participating in the TSA are allowed to
discuss rates under the new U.S. law but they cannot enforce
group rates or prevent members from acting independently.
TSA lines imposed a similar $300 per container ``peak
season' surcharge this year that drew protests from some U.S.
and foreign shippers. |
