FEFC reports cargo boom in Asian trades with Europe, Med

FEFC reports cargo boom in Asian trades with Europe, Med    The Far Eastern Freight Conference said container volumes in the trade from Asia to northern Europe rose about 18 percent in the first quarter, while traffic from northern Europe to Asia increased “by over 14 percent” over the same period.
   The conference also reported that first-quarter container volumes from Asia to the Mediterranean expanded about 20 percent over the year-earlier period.
   The latest figures suggest that growth in the Asian container trade to Europe is much stronger than from Asia to North America.
   Announcing these statistics, the Far Eastern Freight Conference also said its member carriers are “facing increased feeder costs due to higher charter rates and are also beginning to experience equipment supply problems as result of a worldwide shortage of containers.”
   The conference said these factors triggered revised freight rate increases for the current year. For shipments from Asia outside Japan to North Europe/Scandinavia, the planned July 1 conference rate increase is now $300 per TEU, the Far Eastern Freight Conference said. The conference is planning further rate increases on Oct. 1, but has not announced their amount, yet.