Outbound Routes in European Trade Raise Rates as of August First

Coming into the summer season, as buyers in Europe rushed into July va
cations, cargoes bound for Europe wavered more or less. After the midd
le of August, however, the cargoes should continue to increase, causin
g the waverings to come to an end.
Container cargo waverings followed large warehouse inventories of comp
uters and other main export items, and the weakening of purchasing pow
er in Europe due to the strong won and weak Euro. Further, fiber dumpi
ng caused a decrease in cargoes. However, market workers expected that
the decrease of these cargoes did not so much affect the market situa
tion that the rate, increase will be inevitably scheduled for August 1
. International shipping agencies are busying themselves trying to bu
ild strategies to carry out the rates increases in terms of items, as
opposed to arbitrary increases.
AWRA announced that it will impose a general rates increase of $350 pe
r TEU and $700 per FEU.
Meanwhile, inbound European trade showed distinct increases despite di
fficulties in getting space.