Rates from South East Asian Ports to Australian Ports:
Shipping Lines have announced a General Rate Increase of between USD 100.00 and USD 200.00/20ft and USD 200.00 and USD 400.00/40ft container from all ports in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia to all Australian ports effective from 1st January 2018. It is expected that this increase will also flow onto LCL shipments with an anticipated increase of between USD 4.00 and USD 8.00 per cbm/1000kgs.
GPSM rates will be updated on our website.
Rates from Far East Asian Ports to Australian Ports:
Some Shipping Lines have announced a small General Rate Increase of between USD 25.00 and USD 50.00/20ft and between USD 50.00 and USD 100.00/40ft container from all ports in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China and Hong Kong to all Australian ports effective from 1st January 2018. Other carriers have implemented higher increases.
The rate levels from North East Asia have remained strong from the pre-Christmas volumes and we are not expecting any reductions until after Chinese New Year in February 2018.
GPSM rates will be updated on our website accordingly.
Increased Port Infrastructure Fees:
Please note that D P World is again increasing their Port Infrastructure Charge to be effective from 1st January 2018. The new charge will be $ 52.00/container in Melbourne, while in Sydney and Brisbane $ 45.00/container. GPSM web charges will be updated to reflect the new charge.
Chinese New Year Shipping Schedule:
We would remind clients that space in late January and early February 2018 is expected to be very tight and we would recommend that our Customer Service staff be advised of any urgent orders to ship in this period as soon as possible. We understand that some lines may offer “blank sailings” through January and February in an attempt to create a false space market with a view to keeping ocean rates at the highest level we have seen in the last decade.
Airline Fuel Surcharges from Hong Kong-Australia:
Airlines operating out of Hong Kong have announced an increase in the fuel surcharge for all airfreight shipments to Australia effective from 1st January 2018.
The rate will increase from HKD 1.20/kg to HKD 1.70/kg, GPSM web rates will be adjusted to reflect the new costs.
Melbourne Port Blockade:
The long-running port blockade at Melbourne’s Web Dock was eventually resolved just prior to Christmas holiday with the unions finally agreeing to the Court Order that had been issued a week earlier.
Melbourne port is now operating normally again with all three (3) main terminals back in full work mode.