THE Alliance decreases Asia-North America loops

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index estimates spot rates are down 8 percent from this time last year.    THE Alliance — comprised of the Ocean Network Express, Yang Ming and Hapag-Lloyd — announced it is altering its Asia-North America West Coast service network.
   The most notable change is the PS5 and PS8 will conjugate into one combined service.
   The PS4, PS6, PS7 and PN3 will change rotation, while all of THE Alliance’s other services covering the Asia-to-North America West Coast trade will remain unchanged.
   The PS8’s final sailing will be voyage 056E/W with the YM Mandate, which Yang Ming’s latest online service schedule shows is projected to leave Xingang July 24.
   Starting from the first week of August with voyage 104E/W of the Conti Crystal (ETA Qingdao Aug. 6), the PS5 will have a revised rotation of Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland and Qingdao.
   Revised port rotations of the other loops are as follows:
     • The PS4 will have a revised rotation of Hong Kong, Yantian, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Keelung, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong with voyage 060E/W of the YM Mutuality (ETA Hong Kong Aug. 4);
     • The PS6 will have a revised rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Pusan, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tokyo and Ningbo with voyage 074E/W of the Humber Bridge (ETA Ningbo Aug. 9);
     • The PS7 will have a revised rotation of Xiamen, Hong Kong, Yantian, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland and Xiamen with voyage 023E/W of the MOL Beacon (ETA Xiamen Aug. 2);
     • And the PN3 will have a revised rotation of Hong Kong, Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Pusan, Prince Rupert, Vancouver (Canada), Seattle, Pusan, Kwangyang and Hong Kong with voyage 023E/W of the Leverkusen Express (ETA Hong Kong July 29).
   Carriers in general recently have been scaling back operations amid spot rates that are down significantly from a year prior. The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, an estimate of spot rates published each Friday from Shanghai to 13 regions around the world, had a reading of 817.40 this week, down 8 percent from the first week of July 2017.
   Hapag-Lloyd in June had slashed its 2018 profit outlook. In addition, the 2M Alliance recently suspended its transpacific TP1/New Eagle, while the OCEAN Alliance is slated to decrease its number of loops on the Asia-Middle East trade later this month.