China Shipping suspending Asia/Med loop as Chinese exports dip

China Shipping suspending Asia/Med loop as Chinese exports dip China Shipping Container Lines is suspending its Asia/Mediterranean AMX1 service as a consequence of the downturn in Chinese exports after the Lunar New Year holiday and snowstorms.
   A spokesman for the company told Shippers’ NewsWire the Shanghai-based carrier is picking up some of the Med ports on the AMX1 by diverting some ships sailing between the Far East and North Europe, adding the service will likely resume as soon as production and volumes pick up again. “It is sleeping, not cancelled,” he said.
   He added that some of the vessels from the AMX1 have been redeployed in the Asia/Australia trade in which China Shipping is seeing good returns right now.
   The last westbound sailing on the AMX1 was made by the 4,250-TEU CSCL Felixstowe, which departed Shanghai on Feb. 15. The same ship will make the final eastbound voyage departing from Genoa today.
   The full rotation of the AMX1 is Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shekou, Port Kelang, Jeddah, Damietta, Valencia, Barcelona, Genoa and back to Shanghai.
   Argentine carrier Maruba takes space on the service.