News

   SOME  of the world’s leading container lines plan to levy an ‘emergency revenue charge’ on Asia-US shipments next year to pare losses, it is learnt.

  Members of the Transpacific Stabillsation Agreement (TSA) have adopted a voluntary guideline of $320 per TEU from January 15 until new contracts for the year come into effect, the group of container lines said in a statement. The charge for FEU box is $ 400. it said.

   Major transpacific carriers are esti mated to have lost $ 20 billion this year as the global recession damped demand for shipments, the group said, Container lines have parked vessels and slashed sailings in a bid to revive rates amid a glut of new vessels that were ordered during a trade boom that ended last year.

     “Many shippers face the stress of aneconomy that is still a long way from recovery,” said Mr Ron  Widdows, chairman of the group. They will be left with some very tough choices  that involve either  moving even more aggressively to individually consolidate or reduce the number of services now offered, or incur further losses that in the longer term are simply not sustainable.

    The emergency revenue charge is an interim measure, distinct from a previously announced general rate increase of $ 800 per FEU for West Coast port-t-port and local cargo, the statement explained.