MSC and Zim will jointly operate the enhanced Panda/Zim Northeast Asia-Australia (ZAX) service from 18 October 2023 following the withdrawal of Zim's own China-Australia Express (CAX) service. The Panda/ZAX will call at Nansha, Hong Kong, Yantian, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Busan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Hong Kong, Yantian, Nansha using 7 ships of 5,000 teu of which 4 will be operated by MSC and 3 will be from Zim. Revised rotation of the new Panda/ZAX service from Octob
Zim recorded its worst quarterly loss since its financial restructuring in 2014, with the 2Q 2023 net loss reaching $213m. ZIM’s EBIT loss expanded in 2Q by 11 times QoQ. Zim’s 2Q EBIT margin of -11.2% places it at the bottom of the earnings league table comprising of 10 of the top 12 carriers, with Zim the worst of the 3 carriers that dropped into loss making territory along with Wan Hai (net loss of $76m) and Yang Ming (net loss of $4m). Low operating efficiency and high charter expenses have
Zim will withdraw its ships from the Asia-Oceania trade and replace them with slots on MSC's enhanced Oceania services suite from October 2023. The move will affect 14 ships of 1,100 teu to 2,800 teu that Zim currently employs on 3 services on this route. Zim's existing China-Australia Express (CAX) service will be replaced by slots on MSC's Panda service that calls at Busan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Yantian, Nansha, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Busan. Zim's current Thai
Charter rates for ships below 5,000 teu have tumbled with an increasing pool of redelivered ships and relets while charter periods have also shortened with carriers unwilling to commit to longer periods in a slowing market. Rates for ships above 5,000 teu have remained relatively resilient but this is only due to the limited number of candidates available in the market. Zim continues to shed its surplus tonnage, with the 4,252 teu VOLANS redelivered 10 months early and retaken by Hapag-Lloyd at
Zim has withdrawn the Zim North Pacific (ZNP) service with the last sailing from Busan on 12 July 2023. The ZNP deployed up to 7-9 ships of 2,700-4,300 teu and called at Kaohsiung, Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Vancouver (BC), Busan, Kaohsiung. The removal of the ZNP will remove 1% from the FE-USWC capacity. Zim will replace the ZNP with slots on MSC’s Chinook service with the first Zim sailing on the 6,400 teu MSC DAMLA at Yantian from 15 July. The full Chinook rotation will be Yantian,
Container liftings for main carriers fell 6.8% YoY in 1Q 2023, accelerating from the 6.6% YoY fall in 4Q. All 9 of the main carriers recorded volume reductions, with Zim and Maersk recording the largest drops. The aggregate liftings of the 9 carriers in 1Q 2023 were even lower than the 2Q 2020 level during the first COVID wave. Despite the of the continuous improvement of the vessel turnaround time on the easing of port congestion, liner’s volume yield (liftings per slot) has continued to fall
Zim and Gold Star Line (GSL) have revised the GSL Kolkata Colombo (GKC) service with the addition of new calls at Chittagong and Kattupalli from May 2023. The revised service has been renamed Kolkata Chittagong Express Shutle (GKC) and calls at Colombo, Chittagong, Kolkata, Kattupalli, Colombo, turning in 21 days using 3 chartered ships of 1,000-1,100 teu (IMKE SCHEPERS, SINAR BANGKA, ASIATIC NEPTUNE).
Zim reported losses for 1Q 2023 before market open today (22 May). Both net profit and operating profit level were negative. While the accounting operating cashflow is positive, the depreciation expenses, which are added back for the operating cashflow since 2019, were mostly lease expenses and hence are cash items. Management maintains full year guidance which for EBIT is $100-500m, against $14m LBIT in 1Q. Zim is the second major liner, after Wan Hai, to have reported losses in 1Q 2023. Bo
Lotus Link, the joint venture of Zim and Hai An Transport, has launched its first service from 18 March 2023. The Haiphong-Saigon-Port Klang 1 (HSP1) service connects Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Port Klang, Ho Chi Minh City using 2 Vietnamese flagged ships - the 1,060 teu HAIAN LINK and the 1,134 teu TC SYMPHONY that allows it to operate on both the domestic route and international route.
Zim/GSL's Thailand Fremantle Express (TFX) service will be extended with 3 new port calls added at Nansha, Yantian and Brisbane. The revised TFX will call Port Klang, Laem Chabang, Ho Chi Minh City, Nansha, Yantian, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Fremantle, Port Klang from April 2023 with the first call at Yantian made on 3 April with the 2,554 teu ALS VESTA. The TFX was first launched at the end of December 2022 and originally deployed 5 ships of 1,700-2,700 teu on a 6 week rotation. The extend