Mediterranean Shipping Co. has halted two services from China to the US and revamped other container services to the East and Gulf coasts as the Trump administration’s tariffs against Beijing continue to weaken freight demand.
The world’s largest shipping company said in an advisory Wednesday the service suspensions and network changes were “in response to the recent changes in demand for cargo transport from Asia to the US.”
Following the Trump administration’s imposition of 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports, ocean carriers reported seeing container volumes drop by one-third. Hapag-Lloyd and US-based Matson both said volumes out of China dropped 30% after April 9 when the new China tariffs went into effect.
The affected MSC services are all part of the carrier’s 2025 network following the dissolution of the 2M Alliance with Maersk. In place of Maersk, Zim Integrated Shipping Services has signed on to share vessel space and charter slots on some of MSC’s Asia-US routes.
The suspensions include the Empire service, which calls three of China’s largest ports and the East Coast ports of New York and New Jersey, Norfolk and Baltimore. The service provided 11,500 TEUs in weekly capacity, according to a report from Hong Kong-based logistics provider Honour Lane Shipping.
MSC will also suspend the Pelican service from the Chinese ports of Xiamen and Yantian, along with Vietnam’s Vung Tau and South Korea’s Busan, and calling the Gulf Coast ports of Houston, Mobile and Tampa. Honour Lane said the Pelican service provides weekly capacity ranging between 6,500 and 8,500 TEUs.
Boost SE Asia coverage
The two service suspensions coincide with other interim changes by MSC taking effect this week on four other services that will increase port coverage of Southeast Asia and fill in coverage gaps.
The America service from Asia to the US East Coast will stop calling China’s Yantian port, MSC said, while adding a westbound call at Vietnam’s Haiphong port and an eastbound call at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The service will also add East Coast calls at the ports of Savannah and Jacksonville, while dropping a call to Norfolk.
The Amberjack service from China to the US Southeast will drop a call at China’s Nansha port but keep calling other major Chinese ports. Likewise, the Amberjack’s US rotation will now make its first two calls at the ports of New York-New Jersey and Baltimore and drop service to the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina.
MSC’s Emerald service will add an outbound call at Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port. The service’s US leg will stop calling Jacksonville and Baltimore but add calls to Norfolk and Boston.
The Lone Star service from Asia to the Gulf Coast will add a call at China’s Yantian port, along with adding calls to Singapore and Vung Tau. The service’s US rotation will drop a call at the Port of New Orleans.
The MSC suspensions, among the first big ones to hit the East and Gulf coasts, follow similar steps for West Coast services that are also heavily exposed to Chinese freight. Alphaliner reported Tuesday that MSC also suspended its Orient service to Long Beach, while OOCL suspended its Pacific South China Express service to Long Beach.
Source: The JOC news