First foreign shipping line pledges not to increase container freight rates

September 16, 2021 | 12:09

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French shipping giant CMA-CGM, the world’s third-largest ocean carrier by capacity, has announced to suspend increasing container freight rates till February 2022.

First foreign shipping line pledges not to increase container freight rates

French shipping giant CMA-CGM has committed not to raise container freight rates

At a recent online meeting with the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VMA), a representative of CMA-CGM in Vietnam said that since the beginning of 2021, container shipping spot freight rates have continued to rise due to port congestion and the major imbalance between demand and maritime container transport effective capacity.

These market-driven rate increases are expected to continue in the coming months. However, the group has decided to put on hold any further increases in spot freight rates for all services operated under its brands, including CMA-CGM, CNC, Containerships, Mercosul, ANL, and APL.

CMA-CGM is also investing heavily to strengthen its service offering and bring empty containers to Vietnam to serve exports and imports.

According to the representative, since the beginning of this year, goods that CMA-CGM conveyed from the Vietnamese market grew 20 per cent. To meet customers’ demands, the group has increased its fleet by 15,000 TEUs to serve transportation from Vietnam to the US. In the first half of 2021, CMA-CGM also invested in an additional 360,000 new containers to deal with the shortfall of empty containers.

Hoang Hong Giang, deputy head of the VMA, highlighted CMA-CGM’s policy amid the outbreaks. The VMA proposed CMA-CMG to continue supporting Vietnamese customers while working with port authorities on the possibilities of bringing more empty containers to Vietnam to serve import-export activities.