Zim has become the only shipping line with direct service to the US.
Only three weeks after AP Moller-Maersk Group A/S (KPX:MAERSK) closed its direct Israel-US shipping line, Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. has raised its shipping rates on the this line by 10%.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that Zim notified its customers earlier this week that it was raising its shipping rates to US and Canadian ports. The rate for a 20-foot equivalent TEU container will rise by $150 to an East Coast port and by $200 to a West Coast port, and the rate for a 40-foot equivalent TEU container will rise by $200 to an East Coast port and by $300 to a West Coast port.
The price hike reflects Zim’s new monopoly position on the direct Israel-US shipping lines following the departure of Maersk and China Shipping Container Liners Co. Ltd. (HKSE:2866; Shanghai:CN). Both companies cited constant delays at the Ashdod and Haifa ports and their lack of infrastructure as reasons for quitting Israel.
Zim is controlled by Ofer Brothers through Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 13, 2007
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007