Hapag-Lloyd to Introduce New Surcharges on Freight Activities from July 2024
German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world's largest container shipping companies, has decided to apply a new tax on freight activities starting from July 2024.
The affected ports include Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Estonia, Iceland, Luxembourg, and ports in Southern Europe, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, Malta, Tunisia, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Montenegro, Libya, Romania, Cyprus, Slovenia, Lebanon, Turkey, Ukraine, and Egypt.
These fees, known as high-season surcharges, will come into effect on July 1st on all connections between the Far East and the Indian subcontinent, and will be applied to all connections departing from China, Hong Kong, and Macao. The fees are expected to reach $500 per 20-foot container and $1,000 per 40-foot container. Fuel prices, security supplements, and terminal handling fees will remain unchanged.
The company has also decided to impose high-season surcharges on departures from Nhava Sheva, Kandla, Mundra (India), and Karachi (Pakistan) to the Gulf and Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia for dry containers of 20 and 40 feet. An additional $100 will be charged per container from India, and $150 for those from Pakistan. The affected ports in the Gulf include the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, and Qatar, as well as Dammam, Riyadh, and Jubail. This measure will be in effect until further notice.
These measures will have direct repercussions on the costs of imports and goods we consume. In addition to the soaring costs of insurance and transportation due to the situation in the Red Sea, this tax will make these products even more expensive. The fight against inflation will be difficult to win and may last longer than we imagine.