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Chinese niche carrier to launch Shanghai-Los Angeles expedited service next week

Hede (Hong Kong) International Shipping Ltd. next week will launch a premium weekly service from Shanghai to Los Angeles, entering the competitive trans-Pacific market at a time when it is beginning to turn around from a weak 2023.

The Chinese-owned carrier’s first vessel will depart Shanghai on March 21, with arrival at the West Basin Container Terminal (WBCT) in Los Angeles scheduled for April 3, according to Roger Zhang, COO of Duke Shipping, the exclusive agent for the service.

The transit time will be 13 days, and with access to a leased chassis fleet at WBCT, containers requiring expedited treatment will be discharged from the vessels directly to chassis so customers will be guaranteed next-day pickup at the terminal, Zhang told the Journal of Commerce.

“Hede is demonstrating its long-term commitment to the trans-Pacific trade by entering it now, before the trade really takes off,” he said.

Hede is a China-based carrier that operates in the domestic and intra-Asia trades, Zhang said.

According to Infor Nexus, the average transit time from Shanghai to Los Angeles in January, the latest data available, was 15 days, a level that has been unchanged since September.

Hede’s new service would appear to be a direct challenge to Matson, which operates two express services from China to the US West Coast. Matson last month said those two services carried 34,900 FEUs during the 2023 fourth quarter, a 23% year-over-year gain.

UWL, the forwarding arm of third-party logistics provider World Group, in May 2022 launched a partnership with multipurpose shipping line Swire Shipping to offer a biweekly express container service from the Port of Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam to the Port of Seattle’s T-30 terminal.

The expedited service will fill a niche for e-commerce and similar shipments that require faster handling, Zhang said. Standard trans-Pacific services have transit times of 14 days or longer, and containers can often sit on the terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach for several days or longer before being picked up by truckers.

The Hede service will operate from Shanghai to Los Angeles and back to Shanghai, with vessels ranging in size from 3,700 to 4,250 TEUs capacity, Zhang said.

Source:

Mongelluzzo, B. (2024, March 15). Chinese niche carrier to launch Shanghai-Los Angeles Expedited Service Next Week. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/chinese-niche-carrier-launch-shanghai-los-angeles-expedited-service-next-week_20240315.html

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Montreal port employers lose bid to make dockwork an ‘essential service’

Canada’s labor tribunal on Thursday rejected a request from maritime employers at the Port of Montreal to designate container services at the port as an essential service, leaving the option open for longshore workers to strike.

The “essential” designation request, which if granted would have barred workers from striking, comes as talks on a new contract have dragged on for seven months with no resolution.

“Although the decision does not correspond to our expectations, we remain convinced that the continuity and stability of the supply chain is of the utmost importance,” the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) said in a statement after the ministry’s ruling. “Our priority remains the conclusion of a negotiated collective agreement.”

The MEA filed its request in October that longshore work at Montreal’s six container terminals be designated as an “essential” service. The rejection came from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.

The MEA’s request last fall, which had the support of Canadian forwarder and shipper groups, came as it said talks for a new collective bargaining agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375 hit an impasse just ahead of the expiration of the current four-year contract.

The MEA entered talks with the union representing Montreal’s 1,200 dockworkers back in September. But the union quickly shut down direct talks with employers by asking Canada’s Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to intervene, signaling to many that CUPE was going to take a contentious stance in the talks.

But the FMCS’ oversight of talks ended in December with no deal. After a cooling-off period following those talks — and now the lack of an essential services designation — CUPE is allowed to strike within 72 hours of notifying the employers. The MEA said in its statement that it hopes the FMCS can again intervene in the talks.

Montreal has been hit by strikes during other contract negotiations. Longshore workers staged multiple strikes against the port in 2020 as they tried to bargain for a new four-year contract with the MEA following the previous contract’s expiration in 2018. CUPE Local 375 also struck the port for four days in April 2021 over new rules that required a seven-hour shift instead of five-hour shift.

CUPE did not respond to requests for comment.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024, March 14). Montreal port employers lose bid to make dockwork an “essential service.” Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/montreal-port-employers-lose-bid-make-dockwork-essential-service_20240314.html

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Asia import projections rise on surprising US economic strengthening

The improving US economic outlook is driving the return of Asia import growth, with macro and micro signs pointing to a stronger year for Asia-US trade than anticipated just months ago.

US imports from Asia have been rising on a year-over-year basis since October, with February volumes up more than 30% from a year ago, according to early readings of data from PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, when retailers and wholesalers were still destocking after an unprecedented import surge in 2021 and 2022. Separately, US retailers last week increased their forecasts for first-half import volumes for the second month in a row.

“I think…we could see physically on the terminals that since November, the imports have been picking up into the US and into the Canada gateways…,” Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Ocean Network Express (ONE), told TPM24 last week. “I was actually out on the terminals (in Southern California) yesterday, and you could see that the terminals are already working at quite high utilizations.”

Strong US employment, record-high wages and a rising housing market are driving strong imports. Importers, according to Nixon, are getting over their overstocked “big hangover” and have “punched (their way) through” what he likened to 18 months of indigestion. He told TPM24 that the automotive sector looked strong for this year and next, and so do cargoes tied to decarbonization, ranging from solar panels to electric vehicle components.

Rising economic tide lifts most goods

Fiscal loosening, as inflation eases yet still hangs over the economy, is pushing the US toward a so-called softer economic landing, brightening the prospects of stronger import volume growth. S&P Global recently lifted its forecast for US real gross domestic product (GDP) because the economy has exceeded expectations in early 2024, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist for S&P Global, parent company of the Journal of Commerce. US GDP this year will expand at a 2.4% clip rather than the original forecast of a 1.7% uptick, according to S&P Global.

“There are very few signs of recessions becoming imminent in the US or elsewhere,” Williamson said at TPM24.

Globally, factories are finally revving back to pre-pandemic production levels. An index measuring the upstream supply chain from manufacturing lines shows that demand for raw materials, commodities and components is recovering. The February reading of the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index showed an essentially flat reading of 50, resulting in a 10-month high for the barometer created by procurement software provider GEP with S&P Global’s help.

While the growth of financial services is leading the muted global economic recovery, manufacturing is starting to show strength, Williamson said. In February, S&P’s global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) hit an 18-month high and notched its first measure of growth since August 2022.

“Global manufacturing output and global goods exports are turning up quite nicely,” Williamson said. “Trade and exports are showing signs of stabilizing.”

As was the case during the pandemic-driven import boom, US consumers are the hungriest for goods coming off the assembly line. The National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker last week upgraded its expectations for US imports through the first half of 2024. US imports for the first six months of the year are now expected to be up 7.8% compared with the first half of 2023. That’s a significant revision and the second within two months; retailers just last month were expecting more modest growth of 5.3%.

Here comes the capacity

The volume projections from US retailers appear to be resonating with container lines. Asia outbound vessel capacity is rising to make more room for spring clothing, furniture for new homes and whatever outdoor furniture was not snagged during the pandemic. Ocean capacity between Asia and the US in March and April will rise approximately 22% to well over 1.3 million TEUs each month compared with deployments in January and February, according Drewry Container Capacity Insight, which bases forecasts on announced carrier sailings.

US consumers may be more sensitive to prices as inflation continues to drag, with even wealthy big spenders picking a more modest Rolex and the rest of us tilting toward generic goods, but, ultimately, we’re still spending. Adjusting to price inflation, US consumers spent nearly 30% more on durable goods in the fourth quarter of last year than in pre-pandemic Q4 2019, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Betting against upward import growth this year — and against the resilience of the US consumer — looks unwise.

Source:

Szakonyi, M. (2024, March 14). Asia import projections rise on surprising US economic strengthening. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/asia-import-projections-rise-surprising-us-economic-strengthening_20240314.html

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Asia gateways scramble as Gemini alliance plans big shift to feeder port network

Gemini Cooperation, the Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd alliance due to launch next February, is set to downgrade some of the carriers’ current key cargo gateways in Asia to feeder ports under its proposed “hub-and-spoke” network linking Asia with Europe, the Mediterranean and North America.

The new partnership will consolidate calls at just five main hubs in Asia — Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian, Singapore and Tanjung Pelepas in southern Malaysia.

The move has already prompted Busan, one of the ports most affected by the downgrade, to urge Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to rethink their Gemini vessel schedules and restore some calls at the South Korean gateway. Sources hope that other carriers or alliances can fill some of the gaps in direct calls left by the Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd alliance.

Under the preliminary Gemini network, Busan will lose all its main line calls by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd on Asia-Europe, Asia-Mediterranean and trans-Pacific services. Direct calls on two Asia-US East Coast and one Asia-Middle East services will be retained, preliminary schedules show.

Hong Kong will also cease to be a gateway, with cargo trucked or feedered to Yantian, one of the four Shenzhen terminals.

Highlighting the shift, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust), the Singapore-listed subsidiary of the global operator, said as a major export hub for the US and European export markets, Yantian has been selected by the Gemini Cooperation as a main port of call in South China.

“For [Hong Kong’s] Kwai Tsing Terminals, it is anticipated that some of Maersk’s and Hapag-Lloyd’s throughput currently handled in Hong Kong may shift to Yantian when the operation starts,” Hutchison said in its annual results commentary on Feb. 7. “HPH Trust will work closely with Gemini Cooperation to identify any new opportunities which the new cooperation may bring.”

HPH Trust controls Hongkong International Terminals and Yantian International Container Terminals.

Xiamen, Kaohsiung also losing direct connectivity

Other ports that will lose direct connectivity include Xiamen in eastern China, which has calls by eight existing Maersk Asia-Europe and trans-Pacific services; Dalian in northeast China; Kaohsiung in Taiwan, which has calls by five Hapag-Lloyd trans-Pacific services; and Ho Chi Minh/Vung Tau in Vietnam. Vung Tau is a significant port for both Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, with a total of 10 services, including eight on the trans-Pacific, calling there.

Several ports in Japan, notably Tokyo and Kobe, will also become feeder ports.

“We’re hoping shippers, forwarders and the ports themselves can persuade Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to retain some direct calls on the main trades as the network plan is confirmed,” a senior executive at an Asia-based freight forwarder told the Journal of Commerce.

Lee Eung-hyuk, director of international logistics at the Busan Port Authority, said the port handles about 1 million TEUs of export and import cargo on the European trade lane alone with between 14 and 16 weekly services, depending on the time of year. Four are operated by the Maersk-Mediterranean Shipping Co. 2M Alliance and five by THE Alliance, of which Hapag-Lloyd is part.

“Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s announcement that they will not call at Busan Port on their Europe services will be a significant disadvantage for their existing customers, [such as] Korean import and export shippers,” Lee told the Journal of Commerce.

“For this reason, we think the decision may still be reversed in the future,” he added.

In Hong Kong, Hapag-Lloyd is currently the second-largest carrier behind Cosco Shipping in terms of scheduled capacity on Asia-Europe and North American services, deploying approximately 615,000 TEUs a quarter, according to figures from British maritime consultancy MDS Transmodal.

Maersk, meanwhile, deploys about 261,000 TEUs of capacity per quarter on North American-related services calling at Hong Kong, MDS Transmodal senior consultant Antonella Teodoro, told the Journal of Commerce.

All that volume would potentially shift to nearby Yantian in eastern Shenzhen under the Gemini service revamp.

Further deep-sea decline for Hong Kong

Maersk’s Asia-Europe and Mediterranean services are handled by the carrier’s hub at Nansha, about 60 miles northwest of Hong Kong and the main international gateway for Guangzhou.

Roberto Giannetta, chairman of the Hong Kong Liner Shipping Association, said the move by the Gemini Cooperation to drop Hong Kong mainline calls continues the decline in deep-sea services that has been seen for some time. This is reflected in total container volumes, which fell to 14.3 million TEUs last year, the lowest since 1998.

Giannetta said the slide was exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions which largely prohibited truck traffic from moving between Hong Kong and adjacent Shenzhen, with carriers encouraging shippers to use Shenzhen port rather than Hong Kong.

“The lack of strategy on the part of Hong Kong port to intentionally promote and attract services compared to significant and meaningful planning on the part of all other regional ports has also contributed to the decline,” Giannetta told the Journal of Commerce.

Commenting on the sidelining of Hong Kong by the Gemini alliance, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Transport and Logistics Bureau said the government will actively work with the industry to explore new external markets.

“Specifically, we need to expand the international connections of the port and increase the volume of origin and destination cargo handled by the port, so as to solidify our status as the transshipment hub in Asia,” the spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce.

Customers ‘skeptical’ at this point

Maersk said Gemini’s 26 mainline services across seven trades including Asia-Europe, the US East and West coasts, Asia-Middle East and trans-Atlantic will be complemented by 32 feeder shuttle services, including 13 in Asia.

Hapag-Lloyd said 95% of the Asia-Europe volume would get faster or stay the same using the hub and shuttle network, although that would drop to 85% on the trans-Pacific based on forecast transit times. Schedule reliability would be 90% across four of the main trades, Hapag-Lloyd said in a Gemini presentation.

“The potential saving in time and cost made on their core loops will be translated into more third-party feedering,” a senior executive at an Asia carrier told the Journal of Commerce. “From what we hear at this stage, customers, overall, are rather skeptical it will work.”

The Gemini combination will comprise a pool of about 290 vessels with a combined capacity of 3.4 million TEUs, of which Maersk will deploy 60% and Hapag-Lloyd 40%.

Both Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk said the service details provided when the Gemini alliance was announced last month were “preliminary.” The carriers said they were also studying the possibility of operating their own services outside the alliance on Gemini’s seven main trades.

“The Gemini Cooperation will cover most of our services on these trades, however, we may choose to continue to operate or participate in a few parallel services outside Gemini, just like we do today,” a Maersk spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce.

Added a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson: “We are currently reviewing our network outside Gemini Cooperation but have not finalized our plans yet.”

Source:

Wallis, K. (2024, February 23). Asia Gateways Scramble as Gemini Alliance plans big shift to Feeder Port Network. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/asia-gateways-scramble-gemini-alliance-plans-big-shift-feeder-port-network_20240223.html

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Canada’s two major railways could see strike in May: Teamsters

Tensions between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) union and railways Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) are ramping up after the Dec. 31, 2023 expiration of three major collective agreements.

About 9,300 workers at the railways are covered by the agreements.

“CN and CPKC aim to eliminate all safety-critical rest provisions from our collective agreements. These provisions are necessary to combat crew fatigue and ensure public safety. We want to reach a negotiated settlement, but their demands are non-starters for the Teamsters. Safety is non-negotiable,” national president of Teamsters Canada, François Laporte, said in a release.

“Canadian railroads don’t care about supply chains, farmers, or small businesses. They care about their bottom line, and squeezing everything they can out of their employees. If they need to manufacture a work stoppage to get there, they won’t think twice,” added the president of the TCRC, Paul Boucher.

Negotiations have come to a standstill and CN and CPKC have filed notice of disputes with the federal government, requesting government mediators be appointed. Teamsters points out the notice of dispute starts the legal countdown to a possible strike or lockout, which could come as soon as 81 days after government mediators are appointed. This could lead to a labor disruption as early as May.

Source:

Menzies, J. (2024, February 20). Canada’s two major railways could see strike in May: Teamsters. Truck News. https://www.trucknews.com/human-resources/canadas-two-major-railways-could-see-strike-in-may-teamsters/1003182139/

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NY-NJ marine terminal chief expects new ILA labor contract before October

The chief of the largest container terminal at the Port of New York and New Jersey said he’s confident a new contract with longshore workers can be reached before the current deal’s expiration, something that would avert a potential strike later this year at East and Gulf coast ports.

Gary Cross, president of Maher Terminals, said the current leadership of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) “are the most business-minded” union officials that he’s dealt with during his tenure in logistics. Cross delivered the remarks last week at the New York-New Jersey Foreign Freight Forwarders and Brokers Association’s annual dinner, where he was honored for his 45 years in the industry.

His message came after the governor of South Carolina struck a more defiant tone about ceding more power to unionized dockworkers at one of the largest ports in the Southeast.

Maher, which handled about 2 million of the approximately 4.2 million containers that crossed the New York-New Jersey docks last year, is also the port’s largest employer, with some 1,500 ILA members and management staff.

While not directly involved in current labor negotiations, Cross said the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents port employers, “are dedicated to making sure cargo flows and they are dedicated to getting a deal done.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll have a new deal before the expiration of the current contract,” Cross said. “I’m not losing any sleep over whether we’ll have a contract before the expiration of this one.”

Cross delivered the remarks as shippers begin to plot which ports and service routes they’ll use in their 2024 contract negotiations with ocean carriers. The ILA and USMX started informal talks on a new six-year collective bargaining agreement in 2022 in hopes of reaching an agreement before expiration of the current contract on Sept. 30.

The National Retail Federation (NRF), though, said recently it was “concerned that the discussions have been on hold for months and talk of potential disruptions has increased.” The NRF urged both sides to “return to the table as soon as possible and resume negotiations.”

John Nardi, a USMX director and president of the Shipping Association of New York and New Jersey, said his group and the ILA are still negotiating a master contract that would cover all 45,000 longshore workers at East and Gulf coast ports.

“We are talking and trying to find a way forward,” he said.

Nardi did not comment on what’s holding up further progress on contract talks. However, ILA officials have said publicly that alongside higher wages, they want local agreements that would add supervisory and foreman roles for union longshore workers at ports along the Southeast and Gulf coasts.

Details please refer to JOC news.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024, February 6). NY-NJ marine terminal chief expects new ILA labor contract before October. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/ny-nj-marine-terminal-chief-expects-new-ila-labor-contract-october_20240206.html

 

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NY-NJ port chief sees delays, but no congestion, from Suez diversions

Shippers need to add two weeks of lead time to their ocean supply chains to account for container ships being rerouted around southern Africa amid ongoing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, according to the chief of the Port of New York and New Jersey.

While off-schedule ships are periodically crowding marine terminals, the port is not seeing any major impact from the longer transits as vessels divert from the Suez Canal, Bethann Rooney said.

Speaking at a state of the port event in Jersey City, Rooney, port director for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), said Monday that about 45% of the port’s cargo volumes typically move through the Suez Canal, either on both voyage legs or combined with a transit through the Panama Canal.

Rooney added that while the port is expecting a normal year as far as volumes — the PANYNJ’s budget forecast is for 3% growth in 2024 — the diversions away from the Suez Canal and the drought limiting ship transits through the Panama Canal “will surely impact what goes on there on the port.”

So far, Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. have routed four services to the US East Coast offered under the 2M Alliance via the African Cape with two of those still using the Panama Canal for their eastbound trans-Pacific voyage.

THE Alliance members Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express and HMM are using a combination of Cape routings and Panama Canal transits on three East Coast services. Ocean Alliance member CMA CGM has rerouted two Indian subcontinent and one East Asia service via southern Africa.

Ocean carriers have been adding extra loaders and resetting schedules to account for the longer journey around the African Cape. Even so, Rooney said shippers need to plan that any vessel leaving Asia for the US East Coast will be two weeks later than usual due to the Cape routing.

“All of our services that go through the Suez Canal have for the most part decided to go around the Cape of Good Hope,” Rooney said. “That adds between 10 and 14 days to the transit. But it’s at least a consistent addition of that time.”

Some vessel bunching, but no congestion

With schedules in flux due to the longer routes or delays entering the Panama Canal, Rooney said New York-New Jersey marine terminals are sometimes getting hit with more than one ship in the same vessel service at the same time.

The Cape routings “have led to some vessel bunching, albeit pretty mild,” Rooney said. “What terminals are experiencing now as we’re beginning to see these vessels rerouted is a couple of days where there are more ships than they would typically handle.”

However, the vessel bunching is not creating any measurable slowdown at the port. Year to date, the PANYNJ said ships are only having to wait a little over one day at anchorage for a berth. The vessel bunching has also not increased dwell times for import containers and truck turn times at marine terminals.

While the Cape routings have only been in effect for the last month, there has yet to be any wholesale move by shippers back to West Coast ports.

Data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) shows the two East Coast Class I railroads — Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation — handled 365,483 containers through the first four weeks of 2024, down 2.4% from the year-earlier period. West Coast Class I railroads BNSF Railways and Union Pacific Railroad handled 500,534 containers during the same period, up 3.2% from a year earlier.

Ocean carriers are working to smooth out schedules to get back on track with regular weekly arrivals. Maersk said Friday it blanked three scheduled departures between Jan. 10-29 because of “delays affecting performance of our services on Asia to US East Coast trade, resulting in arrival behind schedule of certain voyages.”

Source:

Angell, M. (2024c, January 30). Ny-NJ port chief sees delays, but no congestion, from Suez Diversions. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/ny-nj-port-chief-sees-delays-no-congestion-suez-diversions_20240130.html

 

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Red Sea diversions drag carrier schedule reliability to 2022 levels

The on-time performance of ocean carriers on the Asia-Europe trade lane in December fell to levels not seen since October 2022 and is likely to deteriorate further as the container fleet continues to divert around southern Africa to avoid ongoing attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Red Sea.

Carriers have also warned shippers to prepare for further disruption to their supply chains as ports are omitted to try to make up time lost to the longer voyages, adding unplanned transshipment moves to cargo bound for Europe and the Mediterranean.

“Rotations will be changed and vessels will be added to limit the disruption on sailing schedules of the rerouting via the Cape,” Mediterranean Shipping Co. said in a customer advisory this week. MSC added that its ships would not be transiting the Red Sea, either eastbound or westbound, “until Red Sea passage is safe again.”

Arrival delays caused by the sudden changes to voyage routings were reflected in schedule reliability data. On the Asia-North Europe corridor, schedule reliability in December fell 9.2 percentage points from November to 46.4%, according to Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis.

It was the lowest reliability since October 2022 when severe congestion choked ports at both ends of the trade lane. Ships arrived in North European ports almost five days late on average in December, one day later than in November.

On the backhaul Europe-Asia trade lane, the on-time performance of vessels in December declined 8 percentage points to 64.8%.

Asia-Mediterranean schedule reliability fell 3.2 percentage points to 63.5% last month. Sea-Intelligence data shows the average arrival delay for ships in the Mediterranean was just short of seven days in December, up 2.59 days from November.

Details please refer to JOC news.

Source:

Knowler, G. (2024c, January 26). Red Sea diversions drag carrier schedule reliability to 2022 levels. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/red-sea-diversions-drag-carrier-schedule-reliability-2022-levels_20240126.html

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Zim launches its own Asia-Western Canada express service

Zim Integrated Shipping has launched its first standalone express container service between Asia and the Port of Vancouver, augmenting the carrier’s slot-sharing agreement with Mediterranean Shipping Co. for service to the west coast of Canada.

Zim’s Pacific Northwest Xpress (ZPX) service kicked off with the Jan. 21 departure of the GSL Valerie from Vietnam’s Port of Cai Mep. It’s scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on Feb. 12.

The ship will be one of seven with an average capacity of 3,500 TEUs that will be in the ZPX service string, according to Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis. The ZPX’s eastbound rotation includes Cai Mep, Yantian, Kaohsiung, Xiamen, Ningbo, Shanghai and Vancouver, with an additional call on the westbound voyage at Busan.

The ZPX joins the Zim North Pacific (ZNP) service between China and Vancouver. MSC operates that service, where Zim charters space through its cooperative working agreement with the carrier.

While Zim saw its most recent operating results dragged down by weak freight demand, the carrier nonetheless has been looking to add capacity in certain trades. It restarted an Asia-US West Coast express service in late 2023 due to increased demand from e-commerce shippers and added a north-south express service to tap increased demand for refrigerated produce cargo into US Southeast ports.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024b, January 24). Zim launches its own Asia-Western Canada Express service. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/zim-launches-its-own-asia-western-canada-express-service_20240124.html

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2M adjusts Asia-US East Coast ship schedules to account for Cape reroutings

Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. have reset schedules for container services between Asia and the US East Coast through the end of March due to the ongoing diversion of ships away from the Suez Canal. The 2M Alliance partners are telling shippers that vessels will return to regular weekly departures as they adjust to longer voyages around southern Africa.

Maersk said in a Wednesday advisory that four US East Coast services jointly operated with MSC will continue to forgo Suez Canal transits and reroute around the Cape of Good Hope as the security risk in the Red Sea “remains at a significant level.” Houthi militants based in Yemen have been launching drone and missile attacks against commercial shipping since mid-December.

The latest attacks came Wednesday when the Iranian-backed Houthis fired three missiles at the US-flagged Maersk Detroit during a transit through the Gulf of Aden, according to US Central Command. A US Navy guided missile destroyer intercepted two of the missiles, while a third landed in the sea. Maersk confirmed the attack in a statement to the Associated Press, adding that another US-flagged vessel, the Maersk Chesapeake, also came under attack.

Maersk said it adjusted schedules on the four other services “to preserve weekly departures for our services with the goal of offering more predictability, reliability, and consistency, despite the associated delays that come with the current reroutings.”

The TP17/America service between South China and the US East Coast will divert around the Cape of Good Hope for 15 east and westbound voyages departing between Jan. 24 and March 26. Maersk said it will add another vessel to the TP17 service, starting with the Maersk Sana departing Hong Kong on Feb. 18, to compensate for the “longer transport times.”

The Red Sea vessel updates show that a transit from Singapore to Newark will now take between 27 and 28 days, while the pro forma schedule for the TP17 shows an estimated transit time of 25 days.

Similarly, a transit from Vietnam’s Vung Tau to Newark will now take 33 days compared with TP17’s pro forma transit time of 25 days.

The TP11/Elephant service from Southeast Asia will also divert 16 westbound and eastbound voyages around the African Cape between Jan. 25 and March 30, according to Maersk, with westbound weekly departures resetting with the Maersk Saigon’s Feb. 22 departure from Singapore. The update shows that a voyage from Oman’s Port of Salalah to Newark will take between 24 and 25 days via the African Cape compared with an 18-day pro forma voyage time through the Suez Canal.

The TP12/Empire and TP16/Emerald services will use the African Cape for eastbound voyages to North Asia from the US for departures through Feb. 29 and March 18, respectively. The Red Sea update shows the Cape reroutings will affect 11 scheduled US departures through March 18.

The TP12 will omit eastbound calls at Salalah starting with the Jan. 25 US departure of the Georg Maersk.

The two services, though, will continue to use the Panama Canal for their voyages from Asia to the US East Coast.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024, January 24). 2M adjusts Asia-US East Coast ship schedules to account for cape reroutings. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/2m-adjusts-asia-us-east-coast-ship-schedules-account-cape-reroutings_20240124.html