Hapag-Lloyd joining a growing list of ocean carriers looking to raise prices on demand-starved European routes, announced rate increases Tuesday for westbound services from the Far East to Northern Europe and the western Mediterranean by $500 per TEU, effective June 15.
Maersk Line began posting similar increases in March after drastic cuts in capacity on the Asia-Europe trade, where some spot rates had fallen as low as zero, excluding fuel surcharges, during the winter.
By mid-March, carriers worldwide had cut the number of services by 25, which resulted in a 26 percent reduction in capacity, or 115,000 TEUs per week, according to Leo Huisman, Maersk Line's group vice president for the Europe trades.
The increase posted Tuesday by Hapag-Lloyd will be $150 per TEU for eastbound service from Europe and the Mediterranean to Asia.
Its rate for services between Asia and the eastern Mediterranean will be raised by $300 per TEU as of Aug. 1.
Hapag-Lloyd also announced a peak season surcharge of $150 per TEU for the period Aug. 1 to Oct. 31.
Maersk Line began posting similar increases in March after drastic cuts in capacity on the Asia-Europe trade, where some spot rates had fallen as low as zero, excluding fuel surcharges, during the winter.
By mid-March, carriers worldwide had cut the number of services by 25, which resulted in a 26 percent reduction in capacity, or 115,000 TEUs per week, according to Leo Huisman, Maersk Line's group vice president for the Europe trades.
The increase posted Tuesday by Hapag-Lloyd will be $150 per TEU for eastbound service from Europe and the Mediterranean to Asia.
Its rate for services between Asia and the eastern Mediterranean will be raised by $300 per TEU as of Aug. 1.
Hapag-Lloyd also announced a peak season surcharge of $150 per TEU for the period Aug. 1 to Oct. 31.