Maersk delays peak-season surcharge

Maersk Line has delayed its record Asia-Europe peak-season surcharge (PSS) by 15 days, with forwarders reporting no issues with vessel space or available containers.

The Danish carrier has postponed its PSS for services from Asia (excluding Taiwan) to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean from 15 July until 1 August.

Maersk was unable to comment on why it had decided to change the date of the PSS because it was about to enter a quiet period in the run up to the publication of its half-year results, in line with Danish stock market requirements.

Yesterday, forwarder contacts told IFW that they felt PSSs were being delayed because space and containers were available, despite carriers warning that the industry could be impacted by a container shortage during the peak season.

A shipping contact said that forwarders were having no problems finding space or containers because volumes had weakened over the last two weeks.

However, he said shipments were being rolled – delayed until a later sailing – as recently as two weeks ago and if volumes picked up, container and capacity supply could become a problem again.

Because of the extra costs associated with combating the container shortage, Maersk announced a record PSS of US$750 per 20ft, $1,000 per 40ft and $1,200 per 40ft high-cube container on westbound services to Northern Europe in June.

It reasoned it had re-activated laid-up vessels to assist in repositioning containers as quickly as possible and it had also kickstarted production of new containers and leasing of containers.

Meanwhile, CMA CGM insisted that a shortage of equipment has been affecting the industry since the beginning of the second quarter, 2010, but its actions have offset the effects of the shortage.

“CMA CGM immediately reacted and implemented several measures and has therefore been able for the moment to minimise the impact of the shortage to its clients,” the French carrier told IFW.

CMA CGM said it had ordered 57,000 containers, which would be delivered in time for the peak season; leased equipment in remote locations, now being positioned in demand areas, in particular Asia; chartered space and organised specific voyages with some of its larger vessels, to repatriate equipment to Asia; and was restricting the acceptance of some bookings to surplus areas.

“With the implementation of these costly measures, CMA CGM is confident it is minimising the impact for its customers,” it added.

It said the shortage of containers was caused by a lack of orders during the recession, a faster than expected rebound in volumes, reduced output at container factories and slow-steaming resulting in more containers being at sea at any one time.

After better than expected results, AP Møller Maersk has upped its profit expectations for the year and expects its earnings to exceed US$3.5 billion, but cautioned the results were still subject to considerable uncertainty.

In the wake of massive losses from the container division in 2009, which totalled $2.09 billion, the Danish shipping giant originally said it expected only “modest profits”.

Maersk said the improvement of its businesses, especially the container division, has since been “greater than envisaged”.

The new profit expectations include capital from the previously announced sale of shares in the Yantian terminal in China.

The company said the new profit expectations could only be reached “provided that freight rates, oil prices and the US dollar exchange rate remain stable at current levels”.

Maersk’s announcement came after a number of record-high rate increases on its major trade lanes, and transport volumes have continually improved over recent months and are significantly up year-on-year. (source: IFW)

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