SOUTH AFRICA/U.S. CONFERENCE INCREASES NORTHBOUND RATES

SOUTH AFRICA/U.S. CONFERENCE INCREASES NORTHBOUND RATES

   Shipping lines of the U.S./Southern Africa Conference are introducing an imbalance surcharge and a general rate increase applicable to northbound shipments.
    Effective Oct. 1, Lykes Lines, Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and SafBank will implement a container imbalance surcharge of $150 per 20-foot container and $225 per 40-footer.
    The surcharge is designed to compensate carriers for the cost of repositioning empty containers to Africa, as the northbound southern Africa/U.S. trade has become dominant.
    The conference lines will also increase ocean rates by 10 percent, effective Dec. 1.