Hanjin Collapse Is Triggering Short-Term Rate Spike, Maersk Says

Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company, is seeing a short-term rise in freight rates and an inflow of new clients after the collapse of Hanjin Shipping Co.

“There’s no doubt that we’re seeing a reaction in the rate market,” Klaus Rud Sejling, the executive in charge of Maersk Line’s east-west network, said in a phone interview. “The question is, what will happen with the rates in the longer term. In the short term, the effect is positive, but there are many factors that can influence rates in the medium and in the long term.”