News
Volume of containers moving from the Far East to the Middle East totaled 1.666 million TEUs in 2009, down 4% compared with 1.735 million TEUs in 2008, according to statistics compiled by the Informal Rate Agreement (IRA).
On the eastbound trade from the Middle East to the Far East, box traffic soared 17.4% year on year to 395,000 TEUs from the previous year's 336,000 TEUs.
Against the backdrop of the strong demand on the trade and in a bid to redress the disparities of freight rates between Japan and other Asian regions, IRA lines have announced a rate increase of $250 per TEU and $500 per FEU for cargo moving from Japan to the Middle East, effective April 1, 2010.
