Top carriers operating out of India have revived no-show container fees, which range between $100 and $400 per box but can go as high as $1,000 for low-volume spot customers.
A work stoppage this week at Colombo in Sri Lanka was just the latest blow to operations at the key transshipment hub, with the ripple effects being felt at other ports in the region.
The new fiscal year has gotten off to an uneven start for Indian exporters, who are contending with port omissions and schedule rerouting on major strings to Europe and the US.
While sustained demand is a factor for the strength on the India–US trade, sources say carriers are playing a “cherry-picking” policy while signing contracts with shippers or forwarders, prioritizing the ones they see as more lucrative partners.
Work on the second phase of the JNPT project was due to begin in December 2019, but slipped to 2022 due to COVID-linked disruption and project approval delays.
Sailing disruptions out of the East Coast of India are getting worse, forcing shippers to find alternatives, including rerouting cargo via West Coast ports.
A new loop from a consortium of carriers linking India and key ports in Asia demonstrates how carriers have been working to keep pace with resurgent export demand out of the country.
MSC has deployed an ad-hoc vessel between India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Mundra Port in a bid to connect shipments hit by vessel skips or schedule changes.