Source: Drewry Shipping Consultants. Note: Rates are for full container
loads and include the base ocean shipping rate across ship classes, port charges
both at origin and at destination, fuel surcharges and all other
surcharges.Maritime Transportation Rates for a 40 Foot Container between Selected
Ports, 2010The rates to ship a 40 foot container (the most common
containerized unit) between different maritime facades are a
function of several factors:
Port charges. Larger and more productive
port terminals tend to have lower rates, attracting port calls.
Distance. A simple function of the amount
of bunker fuel consumed, since fuel accounts for about 50% of a
containership operating costs. Longer distances tend to have
higher rates.
Economies of scale. The larger the volume
between port pairs, the larger the ships that can be employed to
service them, which
reduces operating costs. Larger volumes are
also subject to more competition, which holds down rates. The
limits to economies of scale are related to the nautical profile
of the concerned ports.
Imbalances.
Trade imbalances tend to
increase the rates for inbound flows and depress them for
outbound flows, assuming that the inbound flows are related to a
country having a negative trade balance. More cargo is competing
for the containership cargo slots. The higher inbound rates are
subsidizing the repositioning of empty containers. On the above
map, the rates between Asia and North America, Europe and North
American and Asia and Europe are illustrative of these
imbalances.
