Maersk Line Announces Freight Rate Hikes

Increase goes into effect as of June 1

Maersk Line said it will increase rates on cargo shipped from India and Sri Lanka to East Africa. The planned increase will be $100 per 20-foot equivalent unit and $200 per 40-foot equivalent unit, starting June 1.

The Danish carrier will also boost rates on shipments from India and the Middle East to Sudan, effective June 1. The increase will be 70 Euros ($101) and $202 per container.

“In order to continue offering our broad portfolio of services and high level of reliability, it will be necessary for us to implement a number of rate increases/restorations,” Maersk said, announcing the new increases.

Meanwhile, APL said it will apply a peak season surcharge on all cargo moving from Asia to the U.S. and Canada.

The surcharge will be $320 per TEU, $400 per FEU and $450 per 40-foot high cube container, the Singapore-based container line said. It will take effect June 15, and will apply to both dry and reefer cargo.

Source JOC STAFF 11/5/11

Exports Fuel Savannah Cargo Growth

Peter T. Leach | May 16, 2011 2:30PM GMT || The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story

8.5 percent increase takes Georgia port to second-best month in history

The Port of Savannah posted its second highest monthly volume ever in April when it handled 260,035 20-foot equivalent units, an increase of 8.5 percent from April 2010.

Loaded export container volumes again outpaced import growth, reflecting record container tonnage for April of 1,996,346 tons.

“Savannah’s surprisingly strong container volume for April reflects continued overall demand tied with the global economic recovery,” said Curtis J. Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority. “Export volume growth remained robust due to increased demand for semi-finished goods, raw materials and grain-based commodities, as well as a competitive U.S. dollar.” 




Breakbulk tonnage at all GPA terminals in April totaled 207,103 tons, up 29.3 percent from a year earlier. Savannah’s Ocean Terminal handled 111,685 tons, up 40.3 percent, as global demand picked up for iron and steel, lumber and machinery.

The Port of Brunswick experienced growth in linerboard and wood pulp.
The Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick handled 38,010 automobile and machinery units in April, up 12.4 percent. Roll-on, roll-off volume at the facility increased 46.6 percent in the first 10 months of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Georgia Port Volume Grows as Ro-Ro Surges

Containers up 4.5 percent as ro-ro climbs 36 percent to record total

The volume of containers handled by the Port of Savannah increased 4.5 percent in March from the same month last year, at the same time as the number of roll-on, roll-off units passing through the Port of Brunswick surged 36 percent to a new monthly record.

Savannah handled 238,030 20-foot equivalent units in March, compared to 227,860 TEUs in March 2010. Volume to date for the 2011 fiscal year ending June 30 is 12.6 percent higher than for the same period in fiscal year 2010.

The Port of Brunswick posted its best month ever in March for automobile and machinery units or ro-ro cargo at Colonel’s Island Terminal, which handled a total of 42,740 units.

“We attribute the Port of Brunswick’s volume gains to a number of factors including economic recovery, a renewed consumer market for automobiles and the expanded vehicle processing center facilities,” said Curtis J. Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.

Ro-Ro volume at Colonel’s Island Terminal posted a 51.7 fiscal year-to-date increase for fiscal 2011 compared with fiscal 2010. Growing automobile volume reflects market share gains by the primary brands the GPA handles, specifically Hyundai, Mercedes, BMW, Kia and Volkswagen.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Opens Galveston Processing Center

Joseph Bonney | Tue, 03/15/2011 - 14:04 || Breakbulk Online - News Story

Storage for 7,000 units of heavy equipment in foreign trade zone

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics opened a processing center at the Port of Galveston, Texas, for storage and processing of heavy construction, agricultural and mining equipment.

The Galveston facility will be Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s11th such processing center. It will have storage for 7,000 units and provide inventory management, inspections, repairs, preventive maintenance, cleaning and dealer distribution services.

The center is in a foreign trade zone, which allows duty exemption on re-exports for units that are temporarily stored at the site, as well as deferral of customs duty.

Post-Quake: Update on Support for Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. Friday reported that it has donated a total of about ¥55 million to the Japan Red Cross Society and Central Community Chest for the Great East

Japan Earthquake relief efforts. MOL raised the donation among MOL Group executives and employees through a massive, group-wide effort to support victim relief and reconstruction of quake-stricken areas, in which many of them participated.
Immediately after the earthquake, MOL donated ¥50 million as a company and then launched the fundraising drive within the group. The donation initiative started in Japan, but soon MOL Group subsidiaries and affiliates, ship management companies, business partners, and others around the world threw their support behind the effort, and eventually a total of 88 companies took part, including MOL, and the donation came to about \55 million. In addition, seven overseas group companies have donated separately through their local Red Cross organizations and other agencies.
The MOL Group pledges continued efforts toward reconstruction of the quake-stricken areas by providing vessels to transport aid supplies and other activities.

Source: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines