Coming soon! CMA’s peak season surcharge on these routes.

CMA has announced a Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) on cargoes from some parts of the world to the U.S. East.

Among other things, CMA plans to charge a US$1,500/TEU PSS from January 15, 2025 on all cargoes from the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East Gulf, Red Sea and Egypt to the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.

In addition, CMA also plans to charge PSS for cargo from Mediterranean regional ports to the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as to all inland destinations reached through the above ports, starting January 18, 2025.This surcharge applies to all cargoes except over-the-road (OOG) and BBB cargo types.

Specific rates are as follows: for dry box cargo: USD 1,300/TEU, USD 2,000/FEU, USD 2,500 per 45FT container; for cold box cargo: USD 1,300/TEU, USD 2,500/FEU, USD 2,500 per 45FT container.

In addition to the CMA, Hapag-Lloyd has recently announced that it will charge a work stoppage surcharge (WDS) and a destination port work stoppage surcharge (WID). However, the fee will only be charged in the event of supply chain disruptions. At the same time, this fee will only affect cargo that completes gate operations on or after January 20, 2025, and will not apply to containers that are already en route or have completed gate operations prior to January 20, 2025, the company said.

At the same time, ZIM also announced that it will charge a Strike Surcharge on all cargoes to and from the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico terminals, effective January 10, 2025 (inbound date), at a rate of US$1,000/TEU and US$2,000/FEU.

In addition, Maersk recently also said that, given the current negotiations, the company strongly recommended that customers in January 15, 2025, before the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico terminals to pick up heavy containers and return empty containers. Maersk explained that this measure will help reduce the impact of the risk of terminal strikes. It also emphasized that contingency plans are being actively developed.

It is understood that due to labor conflicts between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Union (USMX), the ILA held a general strike on October 1, 2024, EST, involving 36 ports and 50,000 longshoremen in the U.S. East and Gulf of Mexico. It was also the first ILA strike since 1977.

Ultimately, USMX made concessions and reached a tentative agreement on pay for ILA members, with a 61.5% wage increase over six years, as well as an extension of the master contract to January 15, 2025. However, no resolution was reached at that time on sensitive issues such as terminal automation.

Since then, the two sides have held numerous negotiations, but no consensus has been reached on the issue of terminal automation, and the ILA has even said that “negotiations have broken down.” The ILA has emphasized that the union will continue to work hard for “a fair contract,” and that strikes are a last resort.