Four Carriers To Cut Trans-Atlantic Capacity
October 20, 2009Peter T. Leach
The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story
APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine, MOL to slash capacity by a third
Maersk Line and the three carriers that belong to the New World Alliance, APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and MOL, on Tuesday said they will cut the capacity and services they share on the trans-Atlantic trade in the slack season starting from December.
The NWA carriers said the changes will reduce their existing capacity in the trans-Atlantic by around one third.
Maersk Line said it is withdrawing its Trans-Atlantic 3 (TA3) service between North America and Northern Europe in an effort to adjust capacity to better suit market demand.
“Trading and market conditions on the trans-Atlantic route warrant elimination of excess capacity between Europe and North America,” said Soren Castbak, senior director of Atlantic Services for Maersk Line.
Maersk Line will maintain its current port offering as today with those calls in the TA3 service being added to the Trans-Atlantic 1 (TA1) and Trans-Atlantic 2 (TA2) services.
Furthermore, Maersk Line will offer service to Antwerp as a part of the revised TA1.
The three NWA carriers said that while they are eliminating excess capacity from the trans-Atlantic, they are making enhancements on other routes that will ensure service reliability and rapid transit times.
The changes are as follows:
The ATN/TA3-Maersk Line loop between the U.S. East Coast and Europe, where APL and HMM have space, will be suspended as of December.
The segment of the APX/TA1-TNWA loop between the U.S. East Coast and Europe will include additional calls at Antwerp and Le Havre.
The revised port rotation for this segment will be: Manzanillo, Miami, Jacksonville, Savannah, Charleston, New York, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Le Havre, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Manzanillo, Los Angeles, and Oakland.
Maersk Line will continue to participate in the APX/TA1-TNWA loop as a slot charterer.
The ATS/TA2-Maersk Line rotation will include additional calls at New York, Savannah and Miami. An additional ship will be added to make this a six-vessel loop.
The revised rotation will be Houston, Mobile, Norfolk, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, New York, Charleston, Savannah, Miami, Houston.
Currently, APL, HMM, and MOL operate the space. After this change, APL and HMM will operate the space.
Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com.
