Sunday, June 29, 2025
Home Rates & Surcharges Box lines’ GRI attempt fails thrice

Box lines’ GRI attempt fails thrice

Hopes of a rebound in freight levels continue to wane as mainline operators fail to implement general rate increases (GRIs) for 1 June, marking their third straight unsuccessful attempt following two flops this month.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) has lost 6% in the past month, erasing gains made in April.

Mainline operators have continued to add capacity to the Asia-Europe lane as they fight for market share, hindering any chances of halting the slide. Meanwhile, Transpacific capacity has eased as newcomers either withdrew or cut their deployment.

Linerlytica’s latest report, issued on 22 May, noted that the 12 largest ocean carriers have added 5% more capacity since January 2022, when freight rates peaked.

On 19 May, the SCFI averaged US$869/TEU for Asia-Europe; US$1,329/FEU for Asia-US West Coast and US$2,365/FEU for Asia-US East Coast, down from US$883/TEU, US$1,633/FEU and US$2,510/FEU in April.

Some box lines want to move rates to over US$1,800/FEU for Asia-US West Coast, up from current levels of US$1,400/FEU, but have been struggling to fill their ships as supply exceeds demand.

ZIM Line increased capacity the most, at 34.5%, a move that resulted in a sharp drop in its first quarter earnings, with a net loss of US$58 million as its Asia-US West Coast and Asia-Australia services fell into the red.

Linerlytica estimates that current capacity stands at 5.56 million TEUs for Asia-Europe (including the Mediterranean) and 4.98 million TEUs for Transpacific lanes. This compares with 5.39 million TEUs and 5.67 million TEUs a year ago.

Asia-Europe capacity has continued to increase as more newbuildings are sent to this lane, with the 2M alliance assigning nine vessels from June. Despite slow-steaming, capacity will still increase due to the removal of blanked sailings.


Martina Li
Asia Correspondent





Latest Posts

Top 5 hybrid threats targeting global shipping

In the vast expanse of the world’s oceans, the global shipping industry faces not only storms and bottlenecks, but also a growing arsenal of...

C.H. Robinson offers technology execution capabilities for Item-Level Solutions

C.H. Robinson is expanding access to its industry-leading Item-Level Solutions, making them available to its entire global customer base. These solutions offer unprecedented end-to-end visibility...

UWL announces vessel partnership with Emirates Shipping Line

UWL, a leading American-owned NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) and global logistics provider, welcomes Emirates Shipping Line as the new vessel partner for its...

Sea-Intelligence: Port Power Rankings

 Sea-Intelligence analyses port performance in terms of schedule reliability, across the 202 deep-sea ports with the largest number of container vessel calls, by creating...

Suez slowdown reshapes Red Sea’s port map

The macro picture of the Red Sea is worsen as canal transits are at half-mast, and the region has relinquished its role as the...
error: Content is protected !!