COSCO Shipping/OOCL and HMM scuppered their India-US April rate hike plans after a weak March recovery, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.

Cosco/OOCL and HMM had between US$1,400 and $1,700 per FEU rate in mind for bookings from Nhava Sheva to New York.

But realised they were in no position to push through rate increases in a market saddled with excess capacity and faltering demand, said the report.

Reflecting that skepticism, most carriers have recalled their April rate increase notices - mostly in the range of $500 per container - for bookings from West India to the US east coast, local freight forwarder sources said.

"Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have cancelled their GRI [general rate increase] plans scheduled for the early part of April, while Maersk has revised its peak season surcharge date to April 20," a forwarder who didn't want to be identified said. "Right now, it's a shippers' market."

Local sources at Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) were unavailable to confirm the status of its GRI plans for April.

Forwarders generally believe with no void vessel calls declared for next month on the premier India-USEC routings as of now, carriers could even struggle to hold end-March rates up into the coming weeks.

Sources at the lead carriers who spoke with New York's Journal of Commerce noted that recent GRIs could have worked better if smaller lines working on slot rights had also made similar attempts.