News / Slack season overcapacity could prove costly to carriers in contract talks

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Unless carriers seriously commit to reducing capacity as the major east-west trades enter the slack shipping season, they could see significantly reduced annual contract rates in 2018.

Drewry Maritime Research today warned the industry that its failure to draw up plans to withdraw services, or even announce void sailings, over the fourth quarter of this year and the first of next, would likely continue to depress rate levels – despite last week’s rally.

It said: “Lines have, for some unapparent reason, suddenly ...