The 2M Alliance of Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) plans to suspend one of its loops on the Asia-North Europe trade in the coming months.
Although both carriers declined to comment on which specific loop will be suspended, they did say the change will take effect around the end of the third quarter.
The service is being suspended due to seasonal market reductions during the second half of 2018 but is expected to resume, subject to improved demand, in December, Maersk said.
Of the three major ocean carrier alliances, the 2M Alliance has the strongest presence on the Asia-to-North Europe trade, according to data from BlueWater Reporting’s Capacity Report.
The 2M Alliance currently operates six loops on the Asia-to-North Europe trade, which collectively deploy 68 vessels with a total combined capacity of 1.21 million TEUs. The OCEAN Alliance trails closely behind, operating six services from Asia to North Europe, which collectively deploy 65 vessels with a total combined capacity of 1.04 million TEUs. THE Alliance only operates five loops from Asia to North Europe, which collectively deploy 52 vessels with a total combined capacity of 712,853 TEUs.
Asia-North Europe spot rates have taken a particularly brutal hit over the last 12 months, according to data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), as well as Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI). The SCFI measures spot container rates from Shanghai to 13 regions around the world, while the WCI measures spot container rates on eight major routes to and from the United States, Europe and Asia.
During the first week of July, rates from Shanghai to Europe were $881 per TEU, down 9.1 percent from the first week of last July, according to the SCFI. Meanwhile, the WCI said Thursday that spot rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam totaled $1,661 per FEU, down 11 percent year-over-year, while rates from Rotterdam to Shanghai tumbled 39 percent from a year ago to $826 per FEU.