CU LINES BECOMES THE LATEST CARRIER SET TO BENEFIT FROM TRANSPACIFIC BONANZA

China United Lines (CU Lines) has entered the transpacific tradelane, becoming yet another new entrant on the Pacific with a service out of Shanghai.

Written by Martina Li in Taiwan                                            

China United Lines (CU Lines) has entered the transpacific tradelane, becoming yet another new entrant on the Pacific with a service out of Shanghai.

CU Lines will launch the Trans-Pacific Express (TPX) service from Shanghai to Los Angeles on 18 July with five chartered ships ranging from 1,700 teu to 4,400 teu.

The Chinese state-controlled liner operator announced that its first transpacific sailing will see the 1,740 teu A Daisen depart Shanghai on 18 July, and is expected to arrive in Los Angeles on 2 August.

Other ships assigned to the service are the 2,742 teu AS Columbia as well as the 4,400 teu Ren Jian 20, Ren Jian 26 and Ren Jian 27.

Between this month and next, there will be two to three monthly TPX sailings. From September, there will be weekly TPX sailings on larger vessels, in anticipation of more cargoes ahead of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Primarily an intra-Asia carrier, CU Lines ventured into the Asia-Europe segment in February, lured by runaway freight rates on long-haul routes.

CU Lines said: “We’re heeding the authorities’ call to shipping companies to increase shipping capacity and ease the challenges facing the international supply chain.”

In a media briefing in June, China’s vice-minister of transport, Zhao Chongjiu, disclosed that the government had asked liner operators to add more capacity to long-haul routes.

Tight shipping capacity and the slow return of empty containers continue to place upward pressure on freight rates, tempting regional carriers such as Wan Hai Lines and BAL Container Line to start solo transpacific services in recent months.

Drewry’s senior manager (container research), Simon Heaney told The Loadstar that the container market is now in a gold rush, attracting regional carriers to lucrative trades.

He said: “Previously, new entrants to a market have often destabilised trades, leading to reduced freight rates, but we don’t expect that to happen in these conditions where supply chain disruption is driving prices rather than traditional drivers such as supply-demand and market concentration.

“I think we’ll see less of this trade hopping as freight rate differences between trades balance out. There’s a good chance these new entrants will withdraw when conditions normalise.”

Source: theloadstar.com 


Related News

Ammonia as a marine Fuel
Ammonia as a marine Fuel

2842 Views

Ammonia (NH3) was identified as a zero-carbon fuel that can enter the global market relatively quickly and help meet the GHG reduction target for 2050 set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Ammonia offers ship owners and operators a zero-carbon tank-to-wake emissions profile, regardless of the source of the fuel.

Chinese export container rates drop despite normal CNY cargo rush
Chinese export container rates drop despite normal CNY cargo rush

1355 Views

An unusual drop in prices was observed in Chinese container exports, according to chief shipping analyst at BIMCO, Niels Rasmussen, who noted that box rates, which normally enjoy a spike in the weeks leading up to Chinese New Year (CNY), seem to be on a free fall this year.

China trade surplus under threat as peak season collapses and demand cools
China trade surplus under threat as peak season collapses and demand cools

1213 Views

China enjoyed a record $101bn trade surplus in July, but cargo volumes could soon decline, due to “cooling demand” and “no peak season” for Asia-Europe trades.


Comment
  • Your review
main.add_cart_success