Photo 67673434 © Erin Cadigan - Dreamstime.com
By Mike Wackett
29/09/2022
Maersk has suspended an Asia-US east coast loop, confirming that transpacific ocean carriers are seeing a reduction in bookings to North American ports on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
The carrier announced the last sailing of its TP28 pendulum service would be performed by the 4,447 teu Merkur Archipelago from Vung Tau, Vietnam, on 13 October.
Thereafter, the loop will be merged into Maersk’s TP20 pendulum service, with a revised rotation of: Jakarta-Vung Tau-Shanghai-Ningbo-Busan-Panama Canal-Mobile-Newark, returning to Jakarta via the Suez Canal. The first sailing will be the 4,658 teu Maersk Kentucky on 16 October.
“We remain committed to carrying all cargo contracted to Maersk and or awarded through the Maersk Spot and Twill channels,” said the carrier. “As soon as cargo demand recovers, we will bring capacity back.”
The termination follows the suspensions of the 2M’s TP3/Sequoia loop, Matson’s CCX service, CU Lines’ TPX and unconfirmed reports that CMA CGM was halting its Golden Gate Bridge service.
Up to this point, demand for US east coast services has remained strong, fanned by the shift from congested west coast ports and nervousness about the lack of a new west coast labour agreement, the previous one having expired on 1 July.
According to Blue Alpha Capital founder John McCown’s analysis of the top 10 US ports, August container imports for US east and Gulf coast ports increased year on year by 12%, to 1,187,095 teu, on the volume for west coast ports, which declined 11.5% in the month, to 978,844 teu.
Moreover, August saw New York & New Jersey officially overtake Los Angeles as the nation’s biggest container port, after a 10.5% increase in volumes, compared with the year before, to 441,511 teu, while LA saw a decline of 16.8%, to 404,513 teu.
Mr McCown’s report notes that US port congestion has also shifted, with the cargo, to the east coast, with a monthly average of some 110 ships at anchor on the Atlantic side, compared with around 20 in the west. Savannah had the highest average, of 37, with New York at 25 and Houston 24.
Nevertheless, despite the congestion, freight rates for all-water services have been tumbling in the past weeks, albeit not as fast as for US west coast destinations, which have declined by around 65%, compared with 12 months ago, to under $7,000 per 40ft – although they are still 50% higher than the pre-pandemic rate.
However, clearly Maersk has found that operating two 4,500 teu panamax vessels on proforma 77-day round-trips, plus waiting time, is becoming uneconomic, particularly with the scarcity of higher-paying contract shipments, which need to be supplemented with spot cargo to fill ships.
照片67673434©Erin Cadigan-Dreamstime.com
作者：Mike Wackett，2022年9月29日
马士基暂停了一条亚美东海岸环线，证实跨太平洋海运公司在太平洋和大西洋沿岸的北美港口的预订量正在减少。
该航空公司宣布，其TP28钟摆服务的最后一次航行将于10月13日由4447标准箱的越南翁头Merkur群岛进行。
此后，该环路将并入马士基的TP20钟摆服务，修订后的轮换为：雅加达翁头上海宁波釜山巴拿马运河移动纽瓦克，经苏伊士运河返回雅加达。10月16日，首航将是4658标准箱的肯塔基马士基
“我们仍然致力于通过马士基Spot和Twill频道运送所有签约和/或授予马士基的货物，”该承运人表示。“一旦货物需求恢复，我们将恢复产能。”
该协议终止之前，2M的TP3/Sequoia环路、Matson的CCX服务、CU Lines的TPX以及未经证实的报告称，CMA CGM正在暂停其金门大桥服务。
到目前为止，美国东海岸服务的需求仍然强劲，这是由拥挤的西海岸港口的转移和对缺乏新的西海岸劳工协议的紧张所引发的，之前的协议已于7月1日到期。
根据Blue Alpha Capital创始人约翰·麦考恩（John McCown）对美国前十大港口的分析，8月份美国东部和海湾沿岸港口的集装箱进口同比增长12%，达到1187095标准箱，而西部沿海港口的进口量则同比下降11.5%，达到978844标准箱。
此外，8月份，纽约和新泽西州正式取代洛杉矶成为美国最大的集装箱港口，与去年相比，货运量增长了10.5%，达到441511标箱，而洛杉矶下降了16.8%，达到404513标箱。
麦考恩先生的报告指出，随着货物的运送，美国港口拥堵也转移到了东海岸，每月平均约有110艘船只在大西洋一侧停泊，而在西方大约有20艘。萨凡纳的平均得分最高，为37分，纽约为25分，休斯顿为24分。
尽管如此，尽管交通拥堵，但所有供水服务的运费在过去几周一直在下跌，尽管没有美国西海岸目的地的运费那么快，与12个月前相比，美国西海岸的运费下降了65%左右，降至每40英尺7000美元以下，尽管仍比大流行前高出50%。
然而，马士基显然发现，经营两艘4500标准箱巴拿马型油轮进行形式上的77天往返，加上等待时间，变得不经济，特别是由于缺乏支付更高的合同货物，需要补充现货来填充船舶。