Hanoi: Severe competition among northern Vietnamese ports has seen container handling fees drop to below cost levels, local authorities have warned. Fees have dropped to as low as $30 per teu, which means some ports in the area are now operating at a considerable loss. Local authorities have called for the Ministry of Transport to intervene to try and stop the damaging effects of such severe competition in the area. A similar overcapacity problem in the south of the country has seen ports in the Mekong delta record substantial losses in recent years. [27/06/14]
