MSC hiking Far East-Australia rates

   The liner carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. said Monday it plans to raise rates on shipments using its services from the Far East to Australia.
   The increase, $300 per TEU starting March 15, affects MSC’s Panda and Wallaby services.
   According to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data, the Panda service has a rotation of Kaohsiung, Yantian, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Kaohsiung. MSC is a slot taker on the five-ship service, which is operated by Hamburg Süd, Hapag-Lloyd, APL, and Hyundai with 4,483-TEU ships on average.
   The 11-ship Wallaby service is jointly run by Maersk Line (six ships), Safmarine (three ships) and MSC (two ships). It has a butterfly rotation of Jakarta, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Yokohama, Osaka, Busan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle, and Jakarta. Average ship size is 4,423 TEUs.
   In the notice, MSC specified the rate increase applies to shipments from Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. — Eric Johnson