ASC chairman: Shippers shouldn’t pay for carrier problems

ASC chairman: Shippers shouldn’t pay for carrier problems

Lu

   Asian Shippers’ Council Chairman John Lu derided the ocean carrier industry for spending its windfall from the latest container shipping boom on unneeded ships and then passing the consequences on to shippers.
   “In the past five years, the lines have made massive profits out of the trade boom,” Lu told International Freighting Weekly this week. “These profits were higher than they might have been because they were able to benefit from cartels — the conference system in Europe was only ended last year and is still allowed in Asia. They spent this windfall on huge numbers of new vessels, which are still arriving every week. Then they complain about overcapacity because of lower cargo demand and expect shippers to agree to higher rates. If they hadn't placed so many orders, they wouldn't have so many problems.”