Asian shippers combine to beat surcharges

Asian shippers have pledged to work together to combat moves by shipping companies to raise rates. Delegations from South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Macau have agreed to share information on freight rates and surcharge increases through “acceptable guidelines”. The shippers were meeting in Seoul as part of a two-day gathering that ended today. They claim the decision to raise the peak season surcharge, bunker adjusting fee, currency adjusting fee and terminal handling charges had damaged the relationship between shippers and shipping companies. The increases, which were planned in advance, have been a traditional sore point for shippers. They are worried at the prospect of making their products less competitive through freight hikes. Meanwhile, China’s attempt to block shipping alliances in Shenzhen from raising terminal handling charges has earned praise. The “shipping alliance” controls one-quarter of the container volume in the southern province. Shippers would have had to pay an estimated Rmb3.15Bn ($412M) if the increase had been imposed.