Lines reluctant to reveal level of

Freight rates on SA’s largest sea trade route with Asia should be bringing joy to shippers and importers – having plummeted from year-old highs of about US$1 200 per TEU to new lows. The figures are certainly not as bad as rates between Asia and Europe, where shippers can gleefully ship in boxes at a zero freight rate – only having to pay for bunker surcharges and other sundry costs. A recent caller to a popular radio station told listeners that he had seen a huge drop in freight rates from $1 200 to $500, but shipowners’ executives were very loathe to talk to FTW about the subject – keeping their cards very close to their chests about their own lines' rates. “Each of the quotes is on an individual basis,” was a typical response – but no indication of what these individual quotes average. David Williams. MD of Maersk Line – a major carrier on the trade – told FTW the rate drop was “significant”, adding that “the rates have dropped dramatically both in and outbound”. However, he would not reveal any sort of average figures for the trade. But further telephonic armtwisting finally raised a response from a ship’s agent who demanded to remain absolutely anonymous. “We have established that freight rates have dropped in the market quite considerably in both import and export trade,” he told FTW. Imports, he reckoned, are down on average about 40-60% to US$475/teu for direct ports, and exports are down even more dramatically – having fallen by about 60-70%, to around US$250/teu. He also added that lines were quoting on an ad hoc spot basis for export parcels from SA to the Far East. “That is,” he said, “if a parcel materialises (on confirmation of the letter-ofcredit), and is of good volume, rates are negotiable to fix. “The rates in the market are also subject to the bunker adjustment factor (BAF), which is either inclusive or subject, depending on the parcel volume and port of destination.”