Member container shipping companies in the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement have announced an across the board general rate increase (GRI) of $600 per FEU to all destinations.

Reason for the planned GRI is due to continued Strong Demand and high vessel utilization levels in the past few months. They anticipate the strong demand lasting through September. Citing higher costs associated with equipment, inland transport, and other cargo handling services, carriers see higher baseline rates heading into 2015 as essential to maintaining adequate service levels.

Via Tsacarriers.org

“Lines have made modest revenue gains to date this year, but they continue to struggle in terms of returning to profitability,” said TSA executive administrator Brian Conrad. “In most route segments they are operating at or near full capacity with little room for error in managing assets, so this increase is needed as a cushion to cover costs and assure service choice and reliability.”