October 22, 2009
CTSA Carrier Members Announce General Rate Increase

The member container lines in the Canada Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (CTSA) have posted a press release announcing they have adopted a revenue program for 2010.  Specific elements of the rate program, to take effect as contracts are renewed, include:

• A general rate increase (GRI) of US$800 per 40-foot container (FEU) for Vancouver local and door cargo, and US$1,000 per FEU for intermodal, mini-land bridge and all other Canadian cargo, with per formula increases for other equipment sizes
• A $400 peak season surcharge (PSS), effective from August 1, 2010, to address higher cargo handling, equipment positioning and contingency planning costs during periods of peak cargo volume
• Full collection of fuel and other accessorial charges.

In the press release, Brian M. Conrad, CTSA executive administrator, commented that the rate increases were necessitated by unprecedented trade conditions in 2009 that led to a steep drop in cargo demand and subsequent drop in rates.  The situation caused most transpacific carriers to operate in the red and was unsustainable going forward into the 2010-11 contract year.

The ten carriers in CTSA are as follows:

American President Lines, Ltd.	Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K Line)
COSCO Container Lines, Ltd.	Nippon Yusen Kaisha (N.Y.K. Line)
Evergreen Marine Corp. (Taiwan), Ltd	Orient Overseas Container Line, Inc.
Hapag Lloyd Container Lines	Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.
Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd.	Zim Integrated Shipping Services

A copy of the CTSA press release is available at the following URL:
http://www.acs-fl.com/announcements/CTSA/CTSA%20Notice.doc

For more information, please contact your local FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage office. For a complete list of office locations go to http://www.ftn.fedex.com/locations/index.html.