It posted a net loss of more than 473 billion won in the first half of this year alone, after racking up total net losses of about 1.2 trillion won over the past three years.
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Ships operated by the world’s seventh largest shipping company remain stranded around the world as port authorities refuse to allow them to dock or unload their cargo for fear that Hanjin can not pay the fees. Hanjin must file for bankruptcy protection in foreign courts as well to prevent further seizures.
HP Inc said in a separate filing on Monday it is willing to pay right away to get its cargo off Hanjin’s vessels and that delays in unloading its goods could result in loss of market share.
Following the judge’s order and the promise of payment, Hanjin Scarlet docked at Prince Rupert and was being unloaded.
“We believe that (the Hanjin collapse) will likely increase our short to medium term ocean freight costs which will minimally impact product cost in all of our operating segments to varying degrees”. A few months ago, Poskus said, prices hit historic lows globally – down to as much as $US600 per container from Shanghai to Los Angeles.
“All these costs and delays will be a loss not only to Samsung, but also to major retailers in the USA and, ultimately, to US consumers”, Samsung said in the filing. Hanjin identified 14 USA -bound ships in court papers, but Volkov said she did not have information about the other vessels.
“Retailers always have robust contingency plans, but this degree of uncertainty is making it challenging to put those plans in place”, said Jessica Dankert, senior director of retail operations for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a trade alliance with members including companies like Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target.
But import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports should be at near-peak levels for September, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
While Hanjin’s filing was not the only factor (China’s upcoming Golden Week holiday is also contributing), the shipping price from China to the USA west coast rose from $1,100 per container to as much as $1,700, and the price from China to the US east coast from $1,700 to $2,400 last week.
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Still, shipping prices have spiked in the wake of Hanjin’s ongoing legal disputes, and companies and retailers could be forced to either raise prices on the shelves or take a sizable earnings hit. But Hanjin Shipping, with $5.5 billion in debt, would be the largest cargo carrier to fail if the company is dissolved. But Hanjin representatives will have to appear in court again on Friday, and there’s no indication whether they’ll be able to come up with enough emergency cash to unload the billions of dollars in cargo now tied up around the world.
