GENEVA-BASED Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has announced a new scale of overweight surcharges for Indian containers moving to Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and has begun charging US$300 per TEU from October.
The levy applies to standard containers weighing over 18 tonnes, excluding the tare weight of the equipment, reports Athens-based Container News.
'MSC has decided to implement a revised overweight surcharge (OVW) for 20DV units having cargo weight above 18 tonnes per 20DV,' msc Agency (India) said in a customer advisory.
With slowing cargo volumes, container lines are under severe pricing pressure across trades out of India and this surcharge readjustment is reflected in that new market reality.
Indian container volumes out of major government ports in September slid to 892,000 TEU from 914,000 TEU a year earlier. As the growth pace moderated, April-September volumes via major ports ticked up 3.9 per cent year over year to 5.7 million TEU, data shows.
Indian merchandise exports, however, saw a respectable 4.8 per cent increase last month, but exporters remain concerned about the ongoing demand downturn.
'We should not draw solace from the fact that exports of most of the economies are facing contraction, but this is a stark reality,' said A Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). 'The coming few months would be quite challenging unless the geopolitical situation improves drastically.'
FIEO also reiterated its demand for a rollback of the goods and services tax (GST) levied on export freight, effective October 1.
The association noted: 'The levy of GST on exports freight has further added to our [exporters'] liquidity woes.
'The non-extension of notification relating to GST exemption on freight for exports has caused panic and uncertainty adding to the liquidity challenges of the exporters.
'Freight rates have gone up by 300-350 per cent from pre-Covid levels and though there is little correction in the freight rates recently, freights are still 200-250 per cent more than at 2019 levels.
'Therefore, payment of GST on such high freight rates will affect the liquidity of the exporters to a large extent, particularly as the interest rates have also moved northward with recent hikes by the Reserve Bank of India.'
SeaNews Turkey
The levy applies to standard containers weighing over 18 tonnes, excluding the tare weight of the equipment, reports Athens-based Container News.
'MSC has decided to implement a revised overweight surcharge (OVW) for 20DV units having cargo weight above 18 tonnes per 20DV,' msc Agency (India) said in a customer advisory.
With slowing cargo volumes, container lines are under severe pricing pressure across trades out of India and this surcharge readjustment is reflected in that new market reality.
Indian container volumes out of major government ports in September slid to 892,000 TEU from 914,000 TEU a year earlier. As the growth pace moderated, April-September volumes via major ports ticked up 3.9 per cent year over year to 5.7 million TEU, data shows.
Indian merchandise exports, however, saw a respectable 4.8 per cent increase last month, but exporters remain concerned about the ongoing demand downturn.
'We should not draw solace from the fact that exports of most of the economies are facing contraction, but this is a stark reality,' said A Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). 'The coming few months would be quite challenging unless the geopolitical situation improves drastically.'
FIEO also reiterated its demand for a rollback of the goods and services tax (GST) levied on export freight, effective October 1.
The association noted: 'The levy of GST on exports freight has further added to our [exporters'] liquidity woes.
'The non-extension of notification relating to GST exemption on freight for exports has caused panic and uncertainty adding to the liquidity challenges of the exporters.
'Freight rates have gone up by 300-350 per cent from pre-Covid levels and though there is little correction in the freight rates recently, freights are still 200-250 per cent more than at 2019 levels.
'Therefore, payment of GST on such high freight rates will affect the liquidity of the exporters to a large extent, particularly as the interest rates have also moved northward with recent hikes by the Reserve Bank of India.'
SeaNews Turkey
