Pacific carriers want to bring wastepaper rates up again

Pacific carriers want to bring wastepaper rates up again    Container shipping lines of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement operating from the United States to Asia want to bring freight rates for wastepaper shipments up again, after an erosion of prices experienced last year.
   The carrier group said Monday its members are recommending an across-the-board restoration of freight rates for wastepaper to “minimum levels” established during 2003.
   The minimum rates were adopted by the carriers at different times last year. They vary according to factors such as destination country, U.S. point of origin, and whether the shipment moves entirely by ocean or via inland rail or truck transport.
   “Rate levels have since slipped, despite sustained growth in industrial orders for recycled paper out of Asia,” the carrier group said.
   Wastepaper has been among the lowest rated containerized commodities moving across the westbound Pacific trade, and is also its largest commodity in volume. During 2003, some 734,000 TEUs of wastepaper were shipped from the United States to Asia, accounting for 20 percent of the total cargo moving in that trade lane, the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement reported.
   The carrier group believes wastepaper rates “do not reflect current demand, wastepaper’s share of the market or its unique characteristics and shipping patterns.”