Freight Rates Continue To Rise

Industry news

Freight Rates Continue To Rise

As exports pick up, competition for container space is fierce and rates are rising faster than ever. All major lines have again increased rates in the last 10 days, for their sailings between 1 October to 15 October. Exporters using the spot market are “suffering the most”, as there are “hardly any” bookings ex-India to Africa, Oceania and North and South America. “Even bookings on premium rates are getting rejected,” he added. It is learnt that regional operators too have increased rates drastically - rates for trade lanes such as India-Gulf and India-Far East have increased from 33-50%. Rates from Nhava-Sheva (Mumbai) and Mundra, to Jebel Ali, jumped from US$ 550 to US$ 900, while rates to Mombasa have spiked from US$ 2,000 per 20ft to US$ 3,000. If we take the average of all destinations ex-India, rates have increased by one-third in last two weeks alone for spot shipments.