Ocean Carriers Scramble as GRIs Hit a Wall

By Alison Koo (The Loadstar) –

Blanked sailings and general rate increases (GRIs) have failed to arrest the drop in Asia-North Europe freight rates, with slot utilisation less than 95% amid the post-Chinese New Year slack period.

On Friday, the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index showed a 16% fall (from the week prior to the holiday on 29 January) in Asia-North Europe freight rates to $1,805 per teu.

And a Linerlytica report today says sailings blanked to date haven’t kept pace with the drop in cargo volumes from most …