Two services of Hapag-Lloyd on the trans-Pacific trade lane will be merged in response to weak demand during the winter season.
The New York Express and South China Express services will be consolidated into the NYE/SCE Combo sling from November.
The NYE/SCE Combo has the following rotation: Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Shanghai (Yangshan), Busan, Manzanillo, Kingston, Savannah, Charleston, New York, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Kingston, Manzanillo, Balboa, Busan, and back to Xiamen.
A company statement said the last NYE sailing will be the Hyundai Grace, with an expected time of departure of October 27 from Kaohsiung and ETD of November 26 from Savannah.
The last SCE sailing will leave with the Zim Haifa from Xiamen on October 24 and from Savannah on November 25.
The first NYE/SCE Combo sailing is the Zim Ontario, with an ETD from Xiamen of November 1 and an ETD from Savannah of December 3.
The combo sling will operate “for a period as determined by the market conditions,” said the German ocean liner.
On the other hand, Denmark’s Maersk Line has announced a general rate increase (GRI) for dry cargo shipments from the United States to the Far East effective November 15.
The rate hikes will encompass the trade from the West Coast and inland points of the United States to Asia. They are US$80 per 20-foot dry container, and $100 per 40-foot dry container, 40-foot high-cube dry container, and 45-foot dry container.
From the United States’ East Coast to the Far East, freight rates will go up as follows: $160 per 20-foot dry container, and $200 per 40-foot dry container, 40-foot high-cube dry container, and 45-foot dry container.
Photo: Ting Chen, Wing
