Hyundai Merchant Marine has notified customers of their intent to implement a General Rate Increase (GRI) effective Dec. 1, 2012 for all cargo (dry and refrigerated) originating in the U.S. and Canada to destinations in the Middle East and Indian Sub-Continent.

The Middle East scope includes the countries of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, while the ISC region includes ports in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Current existing rate levels will be increased by:

• $160 per twenty foot container (TEU) all sizes and types of containers
• $200 per forty foot container (FEU) all sizes and types of containers

Lamont Petersen, V.P.-Transpacific WB Trade with HMM in Dallas, stated this rate increase is made necessary by the rising cost of doing business in these Regions.

“Longer voyages in these lanes necessitate the deployment of more vessels to maintain a weekly rotation and more significant fuel costs as a component of the voyage expense,” says Petersen.

She went on to explain that HMM actually recovers less than half the bunker cost through the collection of the Bunker Surcharge in this Trade.

HMM is an integrated multi-modal transportation company operating in over 120 ports around the world. The worldwide headquarter of Hyundai Merchant Marine is located in Seoul, Korea with American headquarters is in Dallas.