WTSA Announces Rate Hikes

The Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement announced plans for rate adjustments scheduled for the first part of this year. The WTSA stated that container lines are facing rising trucking, vessel charter, feeder service, information technology costs, and as rates remain 40 percent lower than 1997 levels and lower even than in 1990 lines.

Over the past several quarters paper stock dealers have enjoyed significant price breaks on containers. With space aboard many vessels wide open, the costs to obtain containers has been sharply reduced.

For recovered fiber, the WTSA already implemented a rate adjustment of $100 per 40-foot container late last year. Additionally, the group announced plans to raise the rate to ship recovered fiber by an additional $100 per 40-foot container on February 15.

The WTSA also noted that U.S. container exports to Asia have begun to show a strong rebound. At the same time, average westbound transpacific rates for dry cargo have fallen by 40 percent since Jan. 1998.

The group also notes that the volume of recovered fiber shipped climbed by 11.8percent from 1998 levels to last year's levels of 3.208 million metric tons.

Members of the WTSA include American President Lines, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen Marine Corp., Hanjin Shipping, Maersk SeaLand, Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, P&O Nedlloyd Ltd., Orient Overseas Container Line, and Yangming Marine Transport Corp.