The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement has announced that the general rate increase of $300 per 40-foot container is now scheduled to take effect on April 15. The GRI applies to all commodities and all origin and destination pairs on containerized imports from Asia.

By advancing the proposed GRI, the carriers intend to mitigate the rate erosion that took place in the eastbound trans-Pacific in late February and early March, said Brian Conrad, TSA’s executive administrator.

The rate erosion took place in the trade lull that occurred during and immediately after the Chinese New Year, when many factories in Asia closed for the two-week celebration. As always during this time of year, merchandise exports from Asia plummeted and carriers canceled a number of sailings.

However, the period leading up to the Lunar New Year on Jan. 30 was busy, with TSA member lines reporting 95 percent vessel utilization. Also, now that factories are back in operation, eastbound volumes are once again increasing.

The Journal of Commerce