CMA CGM 7th line to hike Asia/Europe rates

CMA CGM 7th line to hike Asia/Europe rates French carrier CMA CGM announced Friday it would raise rates on all services between Europe and Asia and the Indian Subcontinent as well as between Asia and South America, beginning April 1.
   “The present rates and the trend on the main Far East to Europe trades have been deteriorating to a level which is no longer sustainable,' the carrier said in a statement.
   The carrier didn't specify the rate increases, saying more details would be coming March 1.

Related News •   Evergreen latest to raise Asia/Europe rates •   APL joins Asia/Europe rate hike queue •   MOL announces rate restoration program •   MSC raises Europe-to-Asia rates •   Hapag-Lloyd raising rates on Europe services •   Maersk raises Europe to Asia rates $50 per TEU

   CMA CGM's announcement shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The carrier is merely the latest in a long string of competitors to publicly announce rate increases between Asia and Europe. The lines have acted individually due to the fall of the conference system in Europe. But their independent actions speak to the desperation present in the Far East/Europe trades, where rates have plummeted faster than capacity can be withdrawn, and more dramatically than demand would suggest.
   Since Feb. 4, six lines — Maersk, MOL, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, APL and Evergreen — have announced they are raising rates on some portion of the trade. The rate increases range from Maersk's $50 per TEU hike by April 1 on eastbound containers to APL's $250 per TEU westbound.
   The rate hikes are needed, if not justified, for carriers to stay in business. Most of the carriers have pointed out in statements accompanying the rate hikes that current rates are not sustainable.
   Rumors of zero dollar spot rates, whether real or not, only fanned the flames of desperation. In an environment where they are forced to go it alone rather than plot a course together, the public announcements seem to be the carriers' attempt to right the ship in the public domain.
   The rates and trade is the subject of American Shipper's March cover story, which will be available online Tuesday at AmericanShipper.com.