CMA CGM and COSCO have launched a new Asia Subcontinent Express 2 (AS2) service that connects Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Singapore, Colombo, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Singapore, Shanghai from 16 November 2023. The AS2 will turn in 5 weeks using 5 ships of 4,200-6,300 teu, of which 4 ships are operated by CMA CGM (4,253 teu DERBY, 5,466 teu CMA CGM LEKKI, 6,350 teu APL MINNESOTA and TBN vessel)and 1 ship is from COSCO (5,085 teu COSCO NEW YORK).
Zhejiang Xiehai has launched a new container service connecting Taizhou and Valparaiso using the 1,728 teu XH DOLPHIN. Xiehai has acquired the 2013 built ship formerly named CERINTHUS from Hadley Shipping in May 2023 for $17.3m. The ship was modified at COSCO Zhoushan from 6 June to 8 November 2023 to become a fully air-cooled refrigerated containership. It departed for the first voyage after modification on 13 November 2023 from Taizhou and is bound for Valparaiso on a 23 day trip. The serv
Russian container carrier Transmasters have taken control of 3 former Wan Hai ships of 1,662 teu for its China-Russia service. The 3 ships - WAN HAI 261, WAN HAI 262, WAN HAI 263 - were originally to be sold for scrap but they have been retaken by Chinese owners and renamed as HONRISE, NEW EVERPROSPER and STAR BRIGHT respectively. The 3 ships have joined Transmasters progressively in July and August 2023 and deployed on the China-Russia service that calls at Lianyungang, Taicang, Nansha, Colom
Evergreen has teamed up with PIL, CUL and RCL to launch a new China-India service that will call Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Singapore, Port Klang Westport, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Karachi, Port Klang Westport, Singapore, Haiphong, Shanghai using 6 ships of 2,700-5,400 teu on a 42-days round trip. The service will be branded as the China-India Express 4 (CIX4) by Evergreen, China-Subcontinent Express (CSE) by PIL, China India III (CIS) by CUL and RCL China West Asia (RWA) by RCL. The service will
Customs of PRC reported foreign trade figures on 7 Jun, for which the market was negatively surprised by the 7.5% YoY drop in May whereas analysts were expecting just 0.4% decline. But what the market have missed may be more concerning for container shipping, in our view, which is the sequential drop in export since March. Since 2014, Chinese export has always grown sequentially and on average 14% from March through May, an usual seasonal pattern. This year, the Chinese exports fell 10% in t
China's April PMI New Export Order came out as 47.6 on 30 April, suggesting Chinese export order experienced sequential contraction in April comparing to that of March. Reading through to the volume, the China PMI export orders suggests container volume may experience sequential softening in May or even June relative to the previous months. Though, it is important to read this data bearing in mind that China could be losing export market share to the ASEAN exporters (read here [https://www.liner
China's March PMI New Export Order came out as 50.4 in the morning session of 31 March, suggesting Chinese export order may have seen marginal sequential growth in March comparing to February. But March's 50.4 comparing to February's 52.4 means growth decelerated over the past month. Softness of exports from China could be a combination of the market share losses and overall soft demand in the western hemisphere. In terms of container shipment volume, China has been losing market share to the
Chinese port data for January remains unavailable, with the publication of official government monthly statistics conspicuously delayed since September 2022. Chinese port data have been inflated since July 2022 with throughput volumes still showing positive growth year-on-year while volumes reported at ports in the rest of the world are clearly in decline. Chinese port volumes have historically led global volume growth, with the pick-up in Chinese port volumes in late 2020 and early 2021 foresh
The cyclical or short term trend is the down turn in the container shipping volume , which has seen global port throughput falling for 5 consecutive months since September 2022, driven by the destocking cycle in the US, soft housing market in the US impacting particularly the housing related shipments, inflation that reduces western consumers' disposable income, rising share of services relative to goods in consumption. The secular trend or the long term trend maybe the fall in China's contrib
Transpacific container volumes from Asia to the US slipped in the 2nd half of 2022 but still ended the full year with a 3% gain compared to 2021. Exports from China and Taiwan to the US were down -2% and -3% respectively yoy, but all the other key export regions registered positive growth, led by Vietnam (+12%), Thailand (+15%) and Indonesia (+18%). But the momentum has turned negative even for these emerging export markets in Southeast Asia, with all origins recording significant falls in the 2