Emergency fuel recovery surcharges have put a dent into the Asia to US PET trade, industry sources said Tuesday.
At least two shipping companies were heard to have issued a fuel surcharge of $240 per 20 foot containers for shipping routes from Asia to the US, effective December 20, 2007.
The surcharge would amount to about a 0.5 cent/lb increase in costs for importers and as import margins were already "razor thin," the surcharges made importing PET resin even more difficult, a trader said. "We'd try to pass on the cost but buyers don't want to pay it," an importer said.
Spot import offers to the West Coast out of Asia were at 72 cents/lb DDP for February, but deals were few as US converters opted for domestic product that was priced on either side of 76 cents/lb delivered depending on the size of the buyer.
Buyers typically seek a 5 cents/lb spread between a forward month import offer and the current domestic price before booking imports, and the half cent/lb fuel charge could be the difference in preventing deals, sources said.
At least two shipping companies were heard to have issued a fuel surcharge of $240 per 20 foot containers for shipping routes from Asia to the US, effective December 20, 2007.
The surcharge would amount to about a 0.5 cent/lb increase in costs for importers and as import margins were already "razor thin," the surcharges made importing PET resin even more difficult, a trader said. "We'd try to pass on the cost but buyers don't want to pay it," an importer said.
Spot import offers to the West Coast out of Asia were at 72 cents/lb DDP for February, but deals were few as US converters opted for domestic product that was priced on either side of 76 cents/lb delivered depending on the size of the buyer.
Buyers typically seek a 5 cents/lb spread between a forward month import offer and the current domestic price before booking imports, and the half cent/lb fuel charge could be the difference in preventing deals, sources said.
