Carriers need to raise transpacific rates to stay afloat

RONALD Widdows, chief executive and president of APL parent, Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), has said carriers need to increase transpacific rates to combat the recent drop in demand despite an excess in supply.

Mr Widdows said rates would "have to increase a lot, and soon, or some carriers will go out of business," he said, adding that carrier would lose US$20 billion worldwide this year. The situation, he said, was aggravated by the flood of pre-existing new orders for ships that would continue to plague the Pacific trade for the next three to four years.

Even now, capacity was being drawn down, he said. Many carriers are trying to manage the excess by combining services, reducing vessel strings and eliminating port calls.

(Source: www.schednet.com)