Transpac lines agree to up freight rates earlier

[COPENHAGEN] Leading container shipping lines said they will raise Asia-US freight rates by US$300 per 40-foot container (FEU) from April 15 instead of May 1, after rates declined in February and early March.

The increase was agreed by the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA), whose executive administrator Brian Conrad said the slide had misrepresented conditions in the Asia-US freight market. "The downward rate pressures we are seeing do not reflect the steadily improving cargo picture eastbound from Asia," he said in a statement.

Freight rates plunged to loss-making levels for several shipping companies in 2013 as a result of overcapacity in the market.