Come September and Asian shippers, including those from India, will be required to cough up higher freight on services being offered by major European container lines across various trade lanes even as the economic crisis in the western world impacts trade volumes between Asia, Europe, North America and other parts of the world, according to shipping industry sources.  

From September 1, Denmark-based Maersk, the world’s largest container line, will implement a general freight increase of $250 per TEU and $500 per FEU on all shipments from the Far East to the Indian sub-continent, including India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 

Taking a cue from Maersk, Emirates too has announced a freight increase of $200 per TEU on shipments between the Far East/ South-East Asia and the Indian sub-continent.

The Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world’s second largest container line, has announced peak season surcharge and bunker surcharge from September 1. The peak season surcharge of $300 per TEU will be levied on the company’s Cheetah service from Asia to South and East Africa, Indian Ocean and Mozambique ports. MSC will levy a bunker surcharge of $860 per TEU on shipments from Asia to the East and West Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the UK, North and Western Europe, Scandinavia, Baltic and African ports.

From September 1, the Swiss carrier will charge higher freight rates on all shipments from Asia to US ports _ the increases will be $560 per TEU, $700 per FEU and $750 per high cube container to US East Coast ports and  $400 per TEU, $500 per FEU and $550 per high cube container for US West Coast ports.

 France’s CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container line, has announced several rate increases across global trade routes as part of a rate restoration initiative. From September 1, the line will levy $300 per TEU increase from Asia to New Zealand for dry and reefer containers. The company has also announced a $200 per TEU increase on the EPIC (Europe-Pakistan-India) West-bound service from the Persian Gulf to North Europe, East and West Mediterranean, the Adriatic and Red Sea.  

From October 1, the rates for refrigerated cargo from the US to Asia are to rise $711 per reefer TEU and $1,000 per reefer 40-ft reefer high cube containers. It might be noted that the French line implemented from yesterday, rate increases of $400 per TEU and $800 per FEU and high cube containers for refrigerated cargo from Asia to Europe and the Mediterranean including North Africa and Black regions.

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