CMA CGM rejoins TSA

CMA CGM rejoins TSA After more than a year's absence, French carrier CMA CGM has decided to rejoin the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, which has just restructured its leadership following the retirement of Executive Director Albert Pierce.
   Marseilles-based CMA CGM, the world's third-largest ocean carrier in fleet capacity, left the TSA in December 2005.
   The TSA is now led by chief executive officers from four of its member carriers: APL, Evergreen Marine, Hanjin Shipping and NYK Line, with Ron Widdows of Singapore-based APL, serving as executive committee chairman for the next year.
   Giving its reason for rejoining, CMA CGM said in a statement: 'CMA CGM strongly believes that the new management structure of the TSA ' will allow the members to work to recover continuously increasing costs while still providing cost effective service to our customers.'
   The TSA recently announced that it 'projects strengthening market conditions in 2007 for ocean carriers in most of the world's major trade lanes,' with double-digit world trade growth, driven by Asian exports as well as 'a more balanced supply/demand relationship for the 2007-2008 contract year.'
   The 12 carriers of the TSA are now APL, CMA CGM, 'K' Line, COSCO Container Lines, NYK, Evergreen, OOCL, Hanjin, Hapag-Lloyd, MOL, Yang Ming and Hyundai Merchant Marine.