Hanjin/COSCO suspend 2 transpac loops

   Member lines within the CKYH Alliance are due to suspend two transpacific services over the next quarter, one of the lines confirmed to American Shipper this week.
   The two services, the multi-operator CLX service and the CKYH-operated SJX service, will be pulled in October and early December, respectively, a Hanjin Shipping spokesperson said. The spokesperson characterized the service suspensions as part of the line’s and alliance’s rationalization for winter.
   Reports of the suspensions emerged earlier this week, as transpacific carriers struggle with low rate levels on the trade. In an American Shipper webinar Thursday, Mathijs Slangen, a senior maritime analyst with the consultant Seabury Group, said that while capacity on the transpacific has held steady, demand levels are falling as peak season is expected to arrive much later than in 2011.
   “Consumer confidence is at a low level now,” Slangen said. “Inventory managers now are really scared to restock again.”
   The CLX, due to stop in October, is not technically a CKYH service, with CKYH members COSCO Container Lines and Hanjin providing two and one vessels, respectively. PIL and Wan Hai provide the other two vessels on the five-ship service, which has a rotation of Fuzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, Yokohama, Long Beach, and Fuzhou. Average vessel capacity on the service is 4,368 TEUs, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data. CKYH members “K” Line and Yang Ming do not participate on the service.
   The SJX, due to be pulled in December, is a CKYH service, operated predominantly with Hanjin vessels. It has a rotation of Port Kelang, Singapore, Yantian, Kaohsiung, Osaka, Tokyo, Long Beach, Oakland, Tokyo, Osaka, Kaohsiung, and Port Kelang. Hanjin provides six of the seven vessels on the service (COSCO provides the other), with an average capacity of 5,502 TEUs. Wan Hai takes slots on the service. — Eric Johnson