BWR: G6 Alliance alters Asia-North America loops

After the seasonal suspension of the alliance’s transpacific CC2 service, G6-operated loops from Asia to the West Coast of North America will deploy 7 percent less capacity in the trade.    Members of the G6 Alliance – ocean carriers APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line – will temporarily combine their NYE and SCE loops between Asia and the East Coast of North America for the winter season and temporarily suspend their CC2 loop between Asia and the West Coast of North America for the season, effective in October.
   The merged NYE/SCE will commence Oct. 29 from Xiamen. The service will have a rotation of Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Shanghai, Busan, Manzanillo (Panama), Kingston, Savannah, Charleston, New York, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Kingston, Manzanillo (Panama), Balboa, Busan and Xiamen, alliance members said.
   The G6 Alliance members have not said how many vessels will operate on the merged loop or what the average vessel capacity will be. According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, however, the merged NYE/SCE had the same rotation last winter and operated with 10 vessels with an average capacity of 4,781 TEUs. ZIM, which jointly operates the SCE with the G6 Alliance, has not made any announcements about the loop merging, but the Israeli carrier participated on the merged NYE/SCE as a vessel operator last winter.
   The SCE currently has a rotation of Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Da Chan Bay, Hong Kong, Yantian, Manzanillo (Panama), Kingston, Savannah, Charleston, Kingston, Manzanillo (Panama) and Xiamen. The loop operates with 10 vessels with an average capacity of 4,570 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting. ZIM provides six vessels, NYK provides two vessels and Hyundai and OOCL both provide one vessel.
   The SCE’s last sailing will be Oct. 20 from Xiamen.
   The NYE currently has a rotation of Kaohsiung, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Balboa, Manzanillo (Panama), Savannah, New York, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Manzanillo (Panama), Balboa, Busan and Kaohsiung. The loop operates with 10 vessels with an average capacity of 4,853 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting. Hyundai provides five vessels, NYK provides three vessels and OOCL provides two vessels.
   The NYE’s last sailing will be Oct. 25 from Kaohsiung.
   In addition, the alliance will also seasonally suspend its transpacific CC2 service, with the last sailing departing Ningbo Oct. 18.
   The loop has a current rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Long Beach and Ningbo. OOCL provides all five vessels on the CC2, which have an average vessel capacity of 5,760 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting. 
   The eastbound Busan call will be added to the transpacific CC4 loop during the CC2’s seasonal suspension, alliance members said. The CC4 will then have a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan, Los Angeles, Oakland and Shanghai. The loop currently operates with five vessels with an average capacity of 6,438 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting. NYK provides three vessels and APL provides two vessels.
   BlueWater Reporting illustrates the G6 Alliance is currently the dominant operator of 11 shipping services that allocate capacity from Asia to the West Coast of North America – the CC1, CC2, CC4, PA1, SC1/CH1, SC2, SE2, SE3, NP1, NP2 and NP3. All of these loops except the PA1 and SE3 are dedicated to the transpacific trade, meaning they do not call any other trade regions outside of Asia and the West Coast of North America.
   The adjacent chart illustrates that when the G6 Alliance suspends its CC2 service, its carriers will deploy 7 percent less capacity from Asia to the West Coast of North America on alliance loops. Together, these 11 loops deploy 82,143 TEUs each week from Asia to the West Coast of North America. Once the CC2 is suspended, the loops will deploy 76,383 TEUs each week towards this trade.
   APL also announced this week that Oakland calls on the Pacific Atlantic 2 (PA2) service will be reinstated for three vessel voyages: MOL Express (v.083w), ETA Oakland October 7; MOL Excellence (v.095w), ETA Oakland October 14; APL Tourmaline (v.103w), ETA Oakland October 21.
   APL said the Oakland call on PA2 was previously suspended due to labor-related issues at the terminal.
   The reinstated PA2 Westbound port rotation is as follows: New York – Norfolk – Manzanillo – Balboa – San Pedro – Oakland – Tokyo – Kobe – Busan.