Is the U.S. economy dragging down your bottom line? Is the loss of the U.S. dollar’s prominence in the global market reducing your profits? Are your shareholders in an uproar?

Well don’t expect any sympathy from the ocean carriers in 2008. They have no intention of serving as the American shipper’s life raft in these times of troubled waters.

During a recent industry conference in New York, Ron Widdows, chief executive officer for APL Ltd., and one of the outspoken advocates for the liner industry, laid out the cold hard facts: "You are going to see rates increase in the transpacific. That the U.S. economy, the stock market, and some of my customers are not faring well economically will not be relevant. Rates will go up."

Widdows further noted that the liner industry is in desperate need to adequately support capital investments, especially in new containerships. Next year, transpacific carriers expect $10 billion in capital costs just to achieve single-digit increases in capacity, he said.

Capacity has shifted away from the once lucrative U.S. trades to the Europe/Asia markets, further tightening capacity for American shippers, and making it even more difficult to negotiate lower freight rates during contract season.

Carriers are also exploring ways to reduce their costly fuel consumption, but shippers will still face increased fuel-related surcharges.

Then there’s the concern about eroding customer service in the U.S. trades as liner carriers shift their limited investment capabilities to support today’s more lucrative markets. Maersk Line’s CEO Eivind Kolding announced in January plans to shed 10 percent of the company’s 25,000 workforce worldwide as part of an effort to restore profitability (January American Shipper, pages 50-58). Surely, an announcement of this kind softens morale among middle management and the rank-and-file who serve the shippers directly.

Liner carriers indeed have all rights as businesses to pursue the highest profits possible despite the uncertain fates of some of their customers. But beware, holding a heavy hand over a weakened shipper community may come back to haunt if the seas turn cold for the carriers.