Maersk’s Flagship intermodal service via LA

   In a similar vein to its Daily Maersk product on the Asia-Europe trade, Maersk Line has launced a “Flagship” intermodal product, in conjunction with the BNSF Railway, to support three of its weekly transpacific shipping services in the highly competitive corridor between Asia and Los Angeles.  
   From Los Angeles, Maersk will offer non-stop rail service arriving at an agreed time in five key Midwest and southern destinations, including Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Memphis and Northwest Ohio. Flagship trains will bypasss connecting points along the route allowing for unmatched service velocity, according to Maersk.
   Together, BNSF and Maersk aim to offer 95 percent reliable on-time delivery.
   Maersk’s TP5 loop, averaging 4,100 TEUs, connects South Korea and Japan with Los Angeles, returning via Oakland and Dutch Harbor, Alaska. CMA CGM, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Evergreen all take slots. It arrives in Los Angeles on Mondays.
   Maersk’s TP6 loop, averaging 8,900 TEUs, starts in North Europe and eventually connects Salah in the Middle East, then Tanjung Pelepas in Southeast Asia, Cai Mep, Vietnam, and finally Nansha, Yantian and Hong Kong, arriving in Los Angeles on Sundays.
   Maersk’s TP8 service is provided by means of chartering slots on a joint CMA CGM/MSC loop averaging 8,400 TEUs, arriving in Los Angeles from Northern China and Shanghai on Fridays.
   “Absolute reliability is not about being faster. It’s about being absolutely reliable based on time,” said Timothy O’Connel, Maersk’s senior director of trade and marketing in North America, explaing the Flagship concept. — ComPair Data, Francis Phillips