Maersk, CMA CGM, Hyundai halt transpacific service

Maersk, CMA CGM, Hyundai halt transpacific service    Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Hyundai Merchant Marine will temporarily suspend their joint China/Korea/U.S. East Coast service via the Panama Canal at the end of September.
   The move will be made due to declining demand on the route, the carriers said in a statement.
   The service — called the Hudson by CMA CGM, TP10 by Maersk, and CSX by Hyundai — is operated with eight 5,100-TEU vessels, with Maersk providing four, CMA CGM three and Hyundai one. French carrier CMA CGM said the service's port calls would be covered by other services, such as the Columbus loop, which CMA CGM and Maersk also jointly operate.
   'This rationalization of port coverage and slot supply corresponds to the actual trend demand observed on the Asia-U.S. market since beginning 2009,' said Philippe Th'noz, CMA CGM vice president of North America lines. 'Suspension of services is in our mind a temporary move. We are fairly confident that the North America trade will rebound in the near future.'
   The rotation of the service is Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Pusan, Balboa, Savannah, New York, Miami, Balboa and Ningbo.
   The Hudson/TP10 loop was announced in December as part of a major cooperative effort between Maersk and CMA CGM. At the time CMA CGM said it was withdrawing from an existing transpacific all-water loop it operated with China Shipping, known as the PAX1 service.
   The Hudson/TP10 service started in May. The last vessel on the service will depart Ningbo Sept. 27.