The Indian Ocean Service, a weekly connection between West India and North Europe, will operate with truncated port coverage on eight upcoming sailings between July and September.
An influx of equipment into the Indian market has caused rates to soften, but sources believe prices will climb again next month as the industry enters the traditional peak demand season.
While MSC’s move is the first known case of new general rate increases, industry sources believe other major carriers active in the India-US trade, notably Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM, will follow suit.
Carriers have attempted to improve the supply/demand scenario across Indian trades by scaling up empty container repositioning and adding new services.
Thailand-based Regional Container Lines is adding a new intra-Asia service out of Ho Chi Minh starting June 22, following the recent trend of expanded capacity to and from Indian ports in response to sustained demand.
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.