The Carriers are again looking to increase rates by introducing Peak Season or General Rate increases in the region of $250 – $500 / TEU
As usual carriers are not committing to final figures but plan to introduce from between the 8th – 11th January to coincide with the Chinese New Year rush.
A lot of carriers are struggling already to cope with demand with a number of the big players forecasting space issues until the end of January and as such they are in the position of cherry picking the highest paying cargo.
This is a situation which is being felt across the industry due to reducing capacity as a result of winter sailing programs and the peak in demand before the factory shut down for Chinese New Year (31 January to 5 February)
2014 already looks set to follow in the footsteps of 2013!!