Carriers fuel the bunker surcharge fire

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Over the past year, the average bunker adjustment factor levied by container shipping lines on shippers has fallen from around $680 per teu between Asia and North Europe to around $600. Good news for shippers perhaps, but it ought to have been better according to Drewry, which argues that the introduction of a whole slew of ultra-large container vessels represents significant fuel savings per box carried, as well as the increasing availability of cheaper Russian bunker fuel in its Pacific ports.