Container Shipping News

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New Alliances Begin to Impact Containership Schedule Reliability

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced their new alliance called the Gemini Cooperation for key east-west trade routes promising 90 percent reliability for the key long-distance trade routes. Based on large investments in terminals and port operations, they are using a new approach based on more feeder routes into hub ports and fewer port calls for the larger vessels on the long-distance routes.

Sea-Intelligence says it will only be possible to truly evaluate the performance this summer as the transitions in the industry are completed and carriers settle into new patterns. However, the possible safe return to Red Sea routes could also have a strong impact on container shipping, and other segments, with some analysts expecting it could happen by the second or third quarter of 2025.

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Maersk slashes 2025 global container projections - Splash247

“Container volume data for Asian exports in April will not be available before early June, but indications from carriers and forwarders suggest a Chinese booking downfall in the -30% to -50% range, much greater than the 4%-5% reduction in capacity. While the Chinese volume drop will be partially offset by uptake elsewhere in Asia, it does not seem likely that gains in the rest of Asia can offset the loss from China. This could result in even more blank sailings in the coming weeks, and possibly lead to a significant drop in spot rates,” Sea-Intelligence said in a recent report.