CONTSHIP, CMA CGM AND SCI RAISE U.S./INDIA RATES

CONTSHIP, CMA CGM AND SCI RAISE U.S./INDIA RATES    Contship Containerlines, CMA CGM and The Shipping Corporation of India, three carriers that run the joint Indamex container service between the U.S. East Coast and the Indian Subcontinent, have formed a ratemaking conference in the trade and announced westbound rate increases.
   The conference, called the Indamex Conference, will cover the westbound trade from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ports and inland container depots to ports on the Eastern seaboard of the United States, as well as interior points served through the ports.
   The three carriers of the Indamex Conference have announced rate increases of $225 per 20-foot container, $300 per 40-foot, $340 per high cube and $380 per 45-foot container, effective May 5.
   The “rate recovery initiative” follows what a spokesman for the carrier group called “very challenging” trading conditions in the Indian Subcontinent/U.S. trade during the past year.
   “Reports forecasted for the end of 2002 are more optimistic,” the carrier group added. “It has been necessary to restore rates to early 2001 levels.”