Increase Is Urged in Asia-to-U.S. Container Shipping Rates

Members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement include 15 of the world's biggest container shipping lines, such as Denmark's Maersk Line, a unit of A.P. Moller-Maersk; privately owned Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC); French privately held CMA CGM; China's COSCO; Korea's Hanjin Shipping; and others.

According to TSA, members are seeing sustained third-quarter cargo demand across major commodity segments.

Spot freight rates are calculated and published every week by Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The previous week's rates for transport of 40-foot containers from Asia to U.S. West Coast stood at $3,648.

TSA said cost-cutting had been at the heart of carrier strategies in recent years, but that lines needed a rate structure that would encourage investment, draw equipment back into the market, cover rising inland transport and cargo-handling costs and enable carriers to broaden service offerings.

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