Hapag-Lloyd CEO: Transatlantic Shipping Trades Under Pressure

Transatlantic shipping freight rates have come under pressure from slack demand, meaning ship operators must watch costs, the chief executive of Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday.

"Rates have definitely collapsed, and that means we have to start looking at our costs, which have gone up," said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth biggest container liner, in a call with journalists.

He listed higher wage inflation, fuel prices, and terminal and timecharter costs, adding that the cost concerns could mean that certain voyages were cancelled.

(Reuters - Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Miranda Murray)