CARRIER members of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement (WTSA) will raise the rates of US$160 per TEU and $200 per FEU for all dry cargo on all trade lanes with effect from October 1, according to a WTSA release.

  WTSA said the westbound revenues have shrunk a great deal since the beginning of the year due to the slowdown of demand in Asia.

  Its figures showed that the cargo volume of first quarter 2012 was 800,000 FEU, seeing a slight 3.5 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. "More recently, carrier bookings indicate that those volume gains have since narrowed over the summer, and freight rates have followed," said WTSA.

  "The problem is that moving rates for many commodities have slipped to levels that no longer reflect the value of the service or make an adequate contribution to the round trip voyage," said WTSA administrator Brian Conrad.

  "Carriers anticipate an upturn in the typically busy months ahead and feel a need to make up lost ground in terms of revenue," he said.

  WTSA's membership lost Singapore's APL on September 1. The remaining nine member carriers include Cosco, Evergreen, Hanjin, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), "K" Line, NYK, OOCL and Yang Ming.