Maersk Line has delayed the implementation of its Asia to North Europe General Rate Increase (GRI), pencilled in for next week, just a month after it announced the price increase.
The Danish carrier is postponing the US$500 per 40ft dry container increase it planned for 1 June until 1 July.
However, there was no announcement on rates from Asia to the Mediterranean, which were also due to rise by $500 per feu on 1 June.
A spokesman for the world’s biggest shipping line said it had decided to postpone the GRI because it did not think it would succeed – therefore there was no reason to pursue it.
Announcing the “rate restoration initiative” in late April, Maersk said it was necessary for the line “to continue offering our broad portfolio of services and high level of reliability”.
Three weeks earlier, Hanjin became the first carrier to announce plans to push-up prices on the Asia-Europe trade in the face of a downward spiral of rates on the trade.
There has even been speculation that prices on the westbound Asia-Europe trade had reached dangerously close to dipping below the break-even point.
Hanjin announced that, from 15 May, Far East (excluding Japan) to North Europe and Mediterranean services would rise by $200 per teu for dry, reefer and special shipments.
The Korea-based carrier said it would also impose a $150 per teu price hike on routes to North Europe and Mediterranean destinations from South-east Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Middle East.
It is not known how successful Hanjin’s attempts to increase prices have been.
OOCL also revealed plans to increase rates on westbound services from the Far East (excluding Japan), the Indian Sub-continent and the Middle East, to North Europe by US$275 per teu from next Wednesday.
Damian Brett | Fri, 27 May 2011, IFW News