Ocean freight rates are increasing rapidly due to market dynamics this week with Hanjin filing for court receivership signaling their bankruptcy. The ripple effect began almost immediately with many ports shutting out Hanjin vessels and turning away any Hanjin loads. Partner carriers reacted quickly too by stopping any of their containers from loading aboard Hanjin vessels. In essence, there was a near freezing of Hanjin assets globally that has the same effect as capacity withdrawal from the trade. This occurred at the height of the traditional peak season when space is already at a premium, and supported the September 1 General Rate Increase (GRI) to pass through without mitigation. Carriers have also taken the opportunity to revisit Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) and announce a much higher GRI for October 1 as listed below.
We anticipate that other vessels will be brought out of anchorage to replace Hanjin capacity, but the process will take 6-10 weeks to complete.
Here are the future rate adjustments filed and announced by carriers. All amount are in USD.
Peak Season Surcharge
- Applies to all cargo moving from the Transpacific to the U.S. and Canada
- Effective September 15, 2016
| Equip. | USD |
| 20 ft | $360 |
| 40 ft | $400 |
| 40 ft HC | $450 |
| 45 ft | $510 |
Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF)
- Applies to all cargo moving from the Transpacific via the following:
- Effective October 1, 2016
Via West Coast
| Equip. | Current Levels | October 1 Levels |
| 20 ft | $231 | $268 |
| 40 ft | $257 | $297 |
| 40 ft HC | $289 | $334 |
| 45 ft | $325 | $376 |
IPI Via West Coast
| Equip. | Current Levels | October 1 Levels |
| 20 ft | $350 | $410 |
| 40 ft | $389 | $455 |
| 40 ft HC | $438 | $512 |
| 45 ft | $492 | $576 |
Via East Coast A-W
| Equip. | Current Levels | October 1 Levels |
| 20 ft | $408 | $473 |
| 40 ft | $456 | $525 |
| 40 ft HC | $510 | $591 |
| 45 ft | $573 | $665 |
General Rate Increase
- Applies to all cargo moving from Transpacific to the U.S. and Canada
- Effective October 1, 2016
| Equip. | USD |
| 20 ft | $1350 |
| 40 ft | $1500 |
| 40 ft HC | $1688 |
| 45 ft | $1899 |
| LCL | $27 W/M |
Rich Roche is Vice President, International Transportation for Mohawk Global Logistics. Click here to read more about Rich.