G6 Alliance merges Asia-U.S. West Coast loops

Ocean carrier members of the G6 Alliance revealed their CC1 and CC2 services, which are dedicated to the Asia-U.S. West Coast trade, will be merged until further notice.

   Members of the G6 Alliance – ocean carriers APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) – announced today that due to changes in market demand, their CC1 and CC2 services will be merged until further notice.
   In June, the CC1 was originally suspended for six weeks. As a result, the calls from the CC1 were placed onto the CC2 and will now remain there indefinitely as one service.
   The port rotation for the merged service is Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Kwangyang, Busan, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Busan and back to Qingdao. The merged loop is operated with six vessels, all from OOCL, with an average capacity of 8,228 TEUs, according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting.
   The CC1 previously operated with six HMM-operated vessels with an average vessel capacity of 6,624 TEUs, and a rotation of Qingdao, Shanghai, Kwangyang, Busan, Los Angeles, Oakland, Busan, Kwangyang and back to Qingdao.
   The previous CC2 deployed five OOCL-operated vessels with an average vessel capacity of 8,228 TEUs and a rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Long Beach and Ningbo.
   Once the CC1 was suspended, the CC2 added the sixth vessel to the service, upping total vessel capacity by 16 percent, from 41,140 TEUs to 49,368 TEUs.
   In addition to the merged CC1/CC2, the alliance operates 10 other loops serving trade from Asia to the U.S. West Coast, according to BlueWater Reporting’s Capacity Report. Eight of the alliance’s 11 loops are dedicated to trade between Asia and the U.S. West Coast, while three of the loops — the PA1, PA2 and SE3 — also serve other trades. Between these 11 services, the G6 Alliance allocates 60,953 TEUs a week towards the Asia to the U.S. West Coast trade.