News / 'Aggressive' carriers to hike rates and blank more sailings, shippers warned

Photo: © Diman Oshchepkov | Dreamstime.com

Shippers are expecting an “aggressive push” on pricing from carriers ahead of the contract negotiation season, with reduced sailings to bolster rate hikes.  

The Loadstar recently reported that Hapag-Lloyd had hit the “shock and awe button” by announcing new FAK base costs for Far East-Europe trades in an attempt to mitigate declining rates – a move now been copied by MSC.  

Shippers on the Asia-North Europe trade will be charged $1,320 per teu by MSC and $1,200 by Hapag-Lloyd, while Far East-West Med shippers will pay MSC $2,300 and Hapag-Lloyd, $1,750.  

Both carriers said these fees would apply from 15 October until further notice, but Geneva-based MSC assured they would not apply beyond 31 October.

One shipper source told The Loadstar: “I’ve seen my first GRI notification from MSC from mid-October, which was a circa-$300 per teu increase. 

“I’m not sure how long, or if at all, it will hold – but I am expecting a very aggressive push for a GRI to stick on 1 November, as we’re in contract negotiation season.” 

The shipper anticipated this would likely align with more blanked sailing announcements, to “ensure it [the GRI] has some stickiness”, adding: “There’s enough capacity at the moment, but there’s 250,000 to 300,000 teu of capacity being withdrawn for weeks 39-43.” 

Indeed, Alphaliner analysts observed that the number of idle box ships rose slightly in mid-September, after carriers recorded an additional 60,000 teu as commercially inoperative, “against a backdrop of falling rates”. 

This took idle tonnage to 0.8% of the global container fleet, its highest in more than a year – this ratio was last recorded in October 2024, before falling to a new low point of 0.4% in June this year.  

In total, 96 ships, for 277,278 teu, were commercially idle on 22 September2, compared with 87, 214,848 teu, two weeks prior.  

Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, said in DSV’s sea freight update that shipping lines were responding to the “persistently weak” volumes to the US by increasingly blanking voyages. 

“Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd initially announced three cancellations on their TP9/WB6 service across the Pacific, but have now decided to suspend the service for the fourth quarter.  

“Shippers would be wise to anticipate more such announcements,” warned Mr Jensen.