Asian shippers oppose transpacific rates

Asian shippers oppose transpacific rates    The Asian Shippers Council last week said rate hikes announced by the discussion agreement of Asia-U.S. containership carriers have strengthened the ASC's resolve to bring an end to shipping conferences and rate agreements.
   The shipper group issued its statement after the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, a group of 15 container carriers, said last week the carriers are “actively pursuing” an emergency revenue charge on Asia-to-U.S. shipments ranging from $320 to $505, depending on the size of the containers. The ERC went into effect last Friday.
   The ASC said it was “astounded” by the charge, complaining, “TSA has a near monopoly of the transpacific eastbound trade.”
   “What good are service contracts if shipping lines can just alter them without proper consultation with shippers?' asked Willy Lin, the ASC convenor for Greater China.
   'We have no doubt that the weight of this surcharge will fall on small and medium-sized shippers who can least afford it, as major shippers will not pay as they know their rights and they have the capacity to enforce them. It is well recognized that service contracts are legally binding contracts which shipping lines have to fulfill,' said Lee Sun-June, ASC's North East Asia convenor.
   The ASC complained that “since the beginning of 2009 when the world economy was struggling to recover, TSA members have imposed a string of surcharges, including a general rate increase, bunker adjustment factor and currency adjustment factor. This has pushed the all-in ocean rate for a 40-foot container from Singapore to the U.S. West Coast from $1,500 in early 2009 to $2,500 in 2010 pre ERC. If the ERC of $400 is factored in, an all-in rate for a 40-foot box is $2,900.”
   The economic recovery is still in the early stages, the shippers said, adding, “a 14 percent increase over and above all the other surcharges over the past year is clearly unacceptable.”

Lu

   “While TSA may be able to exploit its monopolistic position in the Asia-U.S. trade to push through the ERC, what recourse do shippers have?' asked ASC's Chairman John Y. Lu.
   ASC contrasted the transpacific trade with the Far East/Europe trade, which, “even though it is being serviced by almost the same lines, has not had to contend with a TSA-like situation as shipping conferences have been outlawed in the European Union since October 2008.”
   The ASC said, “the ERC has strengthened our resolve to work with our counterparts in the Global Shippers Forum to bring an end to shipping conferences and rate agreements.”
   'We want to call on Asian governments to take decisive action to remove the antitrust immunity accorded to shipping lines,' Lu said. 'By allowing liners to continue to organize, they are jeopardizing the viability of millions of shippers across the continent.'
   The Asian Shippers' Council consists of 20 shippers councils from Asia, and is a member of the Global Shippers' Forum that represents shipper groups from around the world. ' Chris Dupin