French shipping giant CMA CGM has announced significant price hikes on its services from Asia to Europe, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Marseilles-based company will raise its fees from US$600 to US$1,375 per container on cargo shipped from Asia to Northern Europe.
Prices will jump from US$900 to US$1,200 per container on the Asia-Mediterranean route later this month.
The move follows rival shipping line Maersk’s decision to increase the price of shipping twenty-foot equivalent units by US$500 on its Asia to Europe routes.
However, a number of industry sources are betting against a global price rise.
“With demand for Asian exports in Europe still weak it will be difficult to stop the bloodbath in rates,” Braemar Seascope’s senior container analyst Jonathan Roach told the Wall Street Journal.
“Big customers like forwarding companies are always hunting for lower rates and smaller shipping firms will oblige.”
