Maersk moves about 170,000 40-foot containers in and out of New Zealand every year.
With the continuing strength of the New Zealand dollar and sluggish recovery, or waning growth, in many global markets, higher container rates will further undermine already squeezed profit margins.
Maersk is the only shipping line lifting refrigerated rates and says it is only clawing back similar 25%-30% rate declines the oversupplied sector has had to deal with during the past four to five years.
Customers were notified by Maersk on October 1 of the refrigerated-rate rise, beginning on January 1. Maersk acknowledged the "significance of this increase" which was needed to "invest in the growth and development" of the refrigerated container trade.
"The current rates are too low to support the investment in equipment and research and development we need to make if we are to achieve this," the customer advisory note said.
Maersk managing director for New Zealand Julian Bevis said when contacted the January hike affected refrigerated (reefer) containers, while an earlier 25%-30% hike in August hike applied to dry containers.
"Conventional reefer operations are doing more scrapping globally than construction," Mr Bevis said, referring to shipping lines overall.
Maersk has cited oversupply of shipping and rising fuel costs, countering that by laying up vessels, dropping ports from schedules; such as Timaru recently, and enlarging its time-charter agreements with other lines and slowing vessel speeds.
While acknowledging global commodity prices were softening and several economies were showing less growth than expected, Mr Bevis said there was "no good timing" for lifting rates.
"We want to carry on and reinvest in [in refrigerated infrastructure] and require the requisite income. It needs this level of increase as a necessity to carry on," he said.
Maersk plans no reinvestment in refrigerated infrastructure during 2013, he said.
Director for shippers DCB International, Mark Willis, said Maersk had to be careful when raising rates in a supply-and-demand sector, as it could create opportunities for competing shipping lines.
However, he highlighted that refrigerated rates had been driven down "in recent years", they were the most expensive form of container to maintain and the majority came to New Zealand empty.
"There's a huge cost in empty reefers delivered to New Zealand ... the cost is for an entire round trip," Mr Willis said.
Signals of Maersk rate rises go back to July, when it was reported 20-foot and 40-foot container rates were to go up respectively by $US120 and $US350.
In July, Mr Bevis said rates were down 25%-30% on five years earlier and the price hike then was a "restoration" for Maersk.
