International sea freight forwarders have lifted General Rate Increase (GRI) worldwide for October, leading to an expectation on record high prices in the fourth quarter as ports are congested, media reports said.
GRI from Far East to North America will raise US$1,000 to US$3,000 per forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) starting from 1 October, with Hapag-Lloyd, the fifth largest sea freight forwarder, leading the increment at US$3,000, while CMA CGM, the fourth largest forwarder, added US$2,000.
Several international forwarders also charged GRI for returning trip, it said, for US$1,000 per FEU.
This comes as a surprise to the industry with the recent US and China plan to suppress and freeze sea freight rates, respectively, a media report cited a sea freight forwarder as saying.
Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) on 3 September has surged to 4,502.65, reaching record high and increased 2.67% compared to a week earlier. Of which, freight rates from Far East to US West Coast stood at US$6,266, up 5.3%.
Sea freight rates climbed to US$7,443 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) on 6 September for Far East to Europe. For Asia routing, it also increased 2% to US$883 per TEU.
