Oakland, CA / May 18, 2007 – Major U.S.-Asia container shipping lines have agreed on the need to raise freight rates for shipments of animal hides.

Effective July 1, 2007, member lines in the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA) have scheduled rate increases for hides of US$200 per 40-foot container (FEU) and $160 per 20-foot container (TEU) for inland point intermodal (IPI) cargo, and $50 per FEU and $40 per TEU for port-to-port shipments.

In addition to addressing higher overall inland transport, equipment and cargo handling costs – in particular higher rail and truck charges from interior U.S. locations – WTSA lines are hoping to recover a greater share of operating costs specific to the movement of animal hides in containers, from providing container liners and tri-axle chassis to container cleaning at destination.

WTSA is a voluntary discussion and research forum of 10 major ocean and intermodal container shipping lines serving the trade from ports and inland points in the U.S. to destinations throughout Asia. Information on all recent and scheduled guideline actions adopted by WTSA can be found on the Agreement’s web site, www.wtsacarriers.org.

WTSA members include:
American President Lines, Ltd.              Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd.
COSCO Container Lines, Ltd.                Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K Line)
Evergreen Marine Corp. (Taiwan), Ltd.  Nippon Yusen Kaisha (N.Y.K. Line)
Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd.                    Orient Overseas Container Line, Inc.
Hapag Lloyd Container Lines                Yangming Marine Transport Corp.