Trouble for Indian shippers as they face new cost hike

The major container lines have resurrected the prospect of steep surcharges on heavy containers shipped from India to the United States and Canada, putting additional strain on the country’s exporters.

CMA CGM is one of the carriers who have implemented the additional levy for all kinds of overweight shipments moving from the subcontinent to the US East, West, Gulf Coasts and Canada. It has added a $1000 penalty for each box. This levy applies to consignments weighing over 20 tonnes, which includes the container’s tare weight. CMA CGM points out the levy is charged in addition to the existing surcharges with inland point movement, and it helps maintain a high level of efficient and reliable service.

Other carriers like MSC and Hapag-Lloyd are set to join the bandwagon, while some carriers are already penalizing Indian customers, particularly in spot booking cases.

Meanwhile, the equipment availability is becoming stringent in southern Indian ports, due to the cargo flow disruption in Sri Lanka’s Colombo port, the main transshipment hub of the region. This also called for an alternate response, due to which there was a 25% shortage of containers at Chennai port which created a hike in the shipping costs.

Also on the Europe trade route, India is witnessing schedule changes and blanked sailings due to the decreased throughput of cargo, which is why carriers are removing a few sailings out from the schedule, which appears to be reflected in a stream of void calls on India-Europe services at the western Indian ports of Nhava Sheva and Mundra in recent weeks.