U.S. Lines, ANL cutting transpacific leg

U.S. Lines, ANL cutting transpacific leg CMA CGM subsidiaries U.S. Lines and ANL will realign their joint triangular service so that it will exclude calls in the Far East to become a dedicated north/south U.S. West Coast/Australasia loop.
   Santa Ana, Calif.-based U.S. Lines, a recent addition to the French CMA CGM Group, was established in November 2003 after Ed Aldridge, a former APL and Sea-Land executive, and other managers bought the famous brand. The original U.S. Lines run by Malcom McLean ceased trading in 1986.
   The reconfigured service will kick off with the departure of the 1,118-TEU Eagle 2 from Melbourne on Feb. 2. The revised port rotation will be Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Tauranga, Auckland, Oakland, Long Beach, Tauranga and back to Melbourne.
   “This initiative will significantly improve northbound transit times from Australia, and for the first time will offer a competitive alternative for exporters from New Zealand to the U.S. West Coast,” the carriers said in a joint statement.
   U.S. Lines will remain in the transpacific trade by joining CMA CGM's Pearl River Express service in mid-February alongside ANL.