[COPENHAGEN] Container shipping lines have agreed to raise Asia-US freight rates in two stages - by US$200 per 40-foot container (FEU) from Dec 20 and then by a further US$300 per FEU from Jan 15 - in an effort to halt losses, their organisation TSA said.

Transpacific container shipping lines regard late holiday season shipments in December and the pre-Lunar New Year period in January as pockets of particular strength in the Asia-US trade and as an opportunity for badly needed revenue recovery.

Members of the TSA (Transpacific Stabilization Agreement) include the world's biggest container shipping lines such as Denmark's Maersk, privately owned Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, French privately held CMA CGM, China's Cosco and South Korea's Hanjin Shipping.