BUOYANT current liftings and solid demand projections are encouraging container lines to ramp up southbound rates from North & East Asia, as well as imposing a peak season surcharge on cargo from a range of Asian origin ports.

Early last week ANL announced another “rate restoration” for the N&EA-Australia and/or NZ trades, the sixth consecutive rise since 1 April.

“Please be advised that in order to maintain a high level of service, ANL will be implementing a rate restoration program from 15 June 2024, for all shipment from North East Asia to Australia & New Zealand,” the carrier said.

This increase will apply on top of current Spot/FAK rates subject to all applicable surcharges valid on time of shipment:

  • North East Asia to Australia East Coast at US$300 per 20’ dry/reefer & US$600 per 40’ dry/reefer
  • North East Asia to Australia West Coast at US$100 per 20’ dry/reefer & US$200 per 40’ dry/reefer
  • North East Asia to New Zealand at US$300 per 20’ dry/reefer & US$600 per 40’ dry/reefer

Then, on Friday morning [31 May] ANL announced peak season surcharges will be applied on all southbound shipments from 1 July ‘until further notice’.

The PSS will apply as follows:

From North and South East Asia to Australia and NZ: US$500 for all standard dry and reefer 20’ containers, and US$1000 for all standard and hi-cube dry and reefer 40’ containers.

The same PSS will be levied on all cargo from the Indian Sub-Continent and the Middle East to ANZ.

Carrier sources said southbound rates from N&EA are now at US$1200/TEU and headed higher, prompted by solid demand and port congestion “that will soon flow across from Singapore to China”.

Overseas, Bloomberg reports that premium rates on the Asia-Europe route are headed to US$10,000/FEU in July, with CMA CGM already announcing US$7000/FEU for the second half of June. The expectation is that current spot rates will more than double as carriers continue to mix strategic voyage blanks with genuine tonnage shortages brought on by the Cape of Good Hope detour. According to data company eeSea, quoted by The Loadstar, some 1.68 million TEU teu of capacity ought to have been offered to Asia-Europe shippers in April, according to carriers’ published schedules. But only 1.29 million TEU actually sailed, leaving shippers with a shortfall of 397,000 TEU – the equivalent of some 200,000 FEU containers – via blank sailings, omissions delayed arrivals.