CSCL, Evergreen to exit CMA CGM transatlantic service

CSCL, Evergreen to exit CMA CGM transatlantic service    China Shipping and Evergreen appear set to end their participation in a north transatlantic service with CMA CGM in September.
   CMA CGM confirmed Tuesday that China Shipping will drop out of a service they jointly operate that connects three North Europe ports with U.S. South Atlantic and Gulf ports. The French carrier said China Shipping would no longer participate in the service, but that CMA CGM will continue the loop. China Shipping provides two of the five ships operating on the service.
   A report this week by the information service Alphaliner said China Shipping will also cease buying slots on its other North Europe/North America connection — the CKYH Alliance’s TAS service, which China Shipping brands as EAX — but that it will continue to buy slots on Zim’s ZCS pendulum service connecting Mediterranean ports to the U.S. East Coast.
   The Shanghai-based carrier did not respond to numerous requests for comment from American Shipper.
   Alphaliner quoted China Shipping as saying it expected the move to be a temporary one and plans to reopen its transatlantic services 'once the overall economic situation has improved.'
   The report also said Evergreen Line will drop out of the CMA CGM Victory service, where it provides one of the five ships, a fact the Taiwanese line confirmed to American Shipper as well.
   “Given the dismal outlook, it is necessary to adjust service offering in line with the market downturn,” the carrier said in an e-mail. “The measures of rationalization can narrow the gap of demand and supply, improve the slot utilization of remaining services and above all, boost freight rates to more sustainable levels. In September we will withdraw from the EUG service (which is what Evergreen brands CMA CGM’s Victory service), which is jointly operated with CSCL and CMA CGM. Moreover, we will carry on with ongoing study to improve the performance of our transatlantic service. The alternatives include further cooperation with strategic partners but the negotiation has not reached any conclusive result yet.”
   Evergreen’s final participation on the service will come on a Sept. 28 eastbound voyage via a CMA CGM vessel.
   According to ComPair Data, Evergreen provides transatlantic port coverage through its own 12-ship NUE pendulum service that swings from the Far East through the Panama Canal to the U.S. East Coast to Europe and back to North America. ' Chris Dupin and Eric Johnson