BWR: APL unveils new transpacific loop

Ocean carrier APL will launch a new service between North Asia and the West Coast of the United States Nov. 1 that will feature some of the most competitive transit times in the trade.    Ocean carrier APL will launch the Eagle Express service (EX1) between China, Korea and the West Coast of the United States Nov. 1 from Qingdao, the company said in a statement.
   The weekly, U.S.-flagged loop will have a rotation of Qingdao, Shanghai, Busan, Los Angeles, Oakland, Dutch Harbor, Yokohama, Busan, Naha and Qingdao.
   APL will deploy six vessels with a nominal capacity of 5,100 TEUs on the EX1.
   At the Port of Los Angeles, the ocean carrier said it expects shippers to benefit from seamless connectivity. APL-run U.S.-flagged vessels discharge containers at APL’s Global Gateway South at the Port of Los Angeles. From there, 11 weekly APL-dedicated LinerTrain services directly depart on-dock for transits to destinations including Chicago, Memphis, Dallas, Houston and New York.
   In addition, the loop will offer competitive transit times. Transits from Shanghai to Los Angeles will take 13 days, transits from Busan to Los Angeles will take 11 days and transits from Dutch Harbor, Ala. to Yokohama will take seven days, APL said.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting’s Port-to-Port Transit Analysis by Carrier application, transit time on the future EX1 from Busan to Los Angeles will be tied for the quickest between the two ports along with the CC1, operated by the G6 Alliance, and the AAS2/AWS1/Yangtse, jointly operated by the Ocean 3 Alliance and Yang Ming, which both also take 11 days.
   The adjacent chart compares the transit times of all seven container shipping services that currently deploy capacity from Shanghai to Los Angeles with the future EX1’s transit times between the two ports. APL’s new loop will offer the second fastest transit time, based on current data, with Matson’s China/Long Beach Express currently offering the fastest transit time from Shanghai to Los Angeles at 10 days.
   Meanwhile, APL said in a separate statement it will end its dedicated transpacific CC3 loop, which offers a 19 day transit from Shanghai to Los Angeles, with the Oct. 25 sailing of the APL Singapore from Qingdao. The CC3 operates with six vessels with an average capacity of 4,944 TEUs and has a port rotation of Qingdao, Shanghai, Busan, Yokohama, Los Angeles, Oakland, Dutch Harbor, Yokohama, Busan, Naha and Qingdao, according to BlueWater Reporting.
   In sum, a total of 21 container shipping carriers deploy capacity across a total of 39 loops that serve the Asia to the West Coast of the United States trade, as illustrated by BlueWater Reporting’s Carrier Trade Route Deployment Report and Capacity Report applications.