Making sense of ocean freight and air freight rate fluctuations
In trying to make sense of recent sea freight and air cargo rate fluctuations, we’ve gathered information from several sources and made the following observations:1) Rates are going up and staying up, not down2) Space will be an issue probably all year3) Expect “new” surchargesIN SHORT: We’re all paying for that great 12 months we all had with the lowest freight rates in History between Oct ’08 through Sep ’09.
- Lack of boxes adds to transpacific capacity squeeze, freight forwarders fear new surcharge
- Battle for Space on the Transpacific: Richard Owens, Asia Pacific CEO for DHL’s global customer solutions unit, told IFW that even “a company with DHL’s clout” was being forced to fight for space.
Here’s a rate chart showing what we’re seeing (as of 29-May-2010) at Universal Cargo Management, Inc.
| CARRIER | EFFECTIVE DATE | 2010 PSS | Remark | |||
| APL | 2010.8.1 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 505 | from China to USA (except Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands) |
| CMA | 2010.6.15 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 510 | from Asia to USA/Canada (East & West Coast, IPI, MLB) – cargo receipt date at origin |
| Cosco | 2010.6.15 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 506 | from Far East and Indian Sub-Continent to USA/Canada |
| CSAV | 2010.6.15 | 320 | 400 | 450 | from Asia to USA | |
| CSCL | 2010.6.1 ~ 2010.11.30 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 505 | from Far East, Middle East and Indian Subcontinent countries/areas to USA |
| EMC | 2010.6.15 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 506 | from Far East (except India)/S.Africa to USA/Canada |
| 2010.6.15 | 360 | 450 | 506 | 570 | from India to USA/Canada | |
| Hapag | 2010.6.28 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 510 | from Asia and Indian Sub-Continent to USA/Canada, except India – date of cargo receipt at origin |
| 2010.6.28 | 300 | 375 | 425 | n/a | from India to USA/Canada – date of cargo receipt at origin | |
| Maersk | 2010.6.15 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 510 | from Far East Asia to USA/Canada (Transpacific Eastbound) |
| Matson | 2010.6.16 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 506 | Transpacific Eastbound (excluding Hawaii, Guam) |
| MOL (PSC) | 2010.6.15 ~ 2011.3.31 | 400 | 500 | 565 | 635 | from Asia to USA/Canada |
| MSC | 2010.6.15 | 320 | 400 | 450 | to USEC and US intermodal points via USEC | |
| 2010.6.15 | 400 | 500 | 563 | to USWC and US intermodal points via USWC | ||
| OOCL | 2010.6.15 ~ 2010.11.30 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 505 | to USA/Canada – base on cargo receiving date |
| Wanhai | 2010.6.15 ~ 2010.11.30 | 320 | 400 | 450 | 510 | to USWC |
BOTTOM LINE: At Universal Cargo Management, Inc., we advise our clients to make reservations early if possible and structure your contracts carefully making certain that all fees are clearly declared in order to prevent unpleasant surprises.
