MSC truncates ECNA-WCSA loop

   The ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. has announced in a newsletter on its Chile Website a series of changes to its hub and spoke network in the Americas based on Cristobal and Balboa. Most importantly it has terminated its USEC-WCSA service beyond Cristobal (on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal).
  This loop, on which CMA CGM has been chartering slots, now has a shortened rotation of Philadelphia, New York, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, Freeport (Bahamas), Port Everglades, Cristobal, Freeport and Philadelphia.   
   A separate feeder link based on Cristobal serves the U.S. Gulf, Mexico and Columbia with a rotation of Cristobal, Mobile, New Orleans, Houston, Altamira, Vera Cruz, Cristobal, Cartagena, Santa Marta and Cristobal.
   Cristobal continues to be connected by transshipment with WCSA by means of MSC’s North Europe-WCSA loop, which at the same time switches from calling Felixstowe to Tilbury in the UK. It’s revised rotation is Rotterdam, Antwerp, Tilbury, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Caucedo, Cartagena, Cristobal, Balboa, Callao, Puerto Anganos, Coronel, San Antonio, Balboa, Cristobal and Rotterdam.  
   In addition to these changes, MSC is also adding two new WCSA feeders based on Balboa, providing separate connections with Valparaiso, Arica, and Buenaventura. The “Chile” feeder calls Balboa, Arica, Coronel, Valparaiso and Balboa, while the “Andean” feeder calls Balboa, Buenaventura, Callao, San Antonio and Balboa. 
   From Balboa the Europe loop and these two feeders link WCSA via MSC’s California Express with the West Med and WCNA, while its Alpaca loop runs express to Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo in Mexico en route to Xingang, Qingdao and Busan, then ports in central and southern China. A double transhipment will be necessary between the two new WCSA feeders and ports in East and Gulf Coasts USA.
   MSC has a direct Asia-WCSA “Andes” loop which calls Manzanillo (Mexico) in both directions and stops in Balboa eastbound. Its rotation is Shanghai, Keelung, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Yokohama, Manzanillo (Mexico), Balboa, Callao, Iquique, San Antonio, San Vicente, San Antonio, Callao, Manzanillo (Mexico) and Shanghai.
   Finally the newsletter mentions a new intra-Mexican feeder connecting Manzanillo (Mexico) with Mazatlan and Guaymas, returning to Manzanillo.
   MSC informs that from March 1 all rates from Chile to North Europe and the Med will rise by $895 per TEU; to the Far East by $567 per TEU; and to North America by $430 per TEU. — Francis Phillips