Maersk, MSC announce GRIs

   Maersk Line on Friday said it will raise freight rates April 15 from Asia (excluding Japan) to European destinations by $500 per TEU, while its rates to Syria will be raised 385 euros per TEU.
   “The prevailing freight rates from Asia to North Europe and the Mediterranean make it unsustainable and financially unviable to offer our current range of services and consistently high schedule reliability,” Maersk said.
   Mediterranean Shipping Co. said earlier this week it was implementing a GRI to be applied to all cargo from Asia to East and West Mediterranean, North Africa, the Black Sea, Adriatic, North Europe and Scandinavia/Baltic as of April 15, of $575 per TEU.
   Maersk and MSC joined COSCO and Hapag-Lloyd in announcing rate hikes in the Asia-Europe trade this week.
   MSC also announced this week a GRI, effective April 1, from Asia/Far East to the United States and Canada. To the U.S. West Coast, the increase is $320 per 20-foot container, $400 per 40-foot container and $450 per 45-foot high cube container. On intermodal cargo moving through West Coast ports or for cargo moving to or through East Coast ports, the amount of the GRI will be $480 per 20-foot container, $600 per 40-foot container and $675 per 45-foot high cube container.
   Meanwhile, the Shanghai Container Freight Index fell back this week. The overall SCFI was down 4.7 percent to 1156.63. To North Europe the index was down 11.9 percent to 1254 and to the Mediterranean it was down 11.1 percent to 1214.
   In the trades to the United States, the index was down 0.9 percent to 2104 to the West Coast and to the East Coast down 1 percent to 3247. – Chris Dupin