Container Rates Stall as Capacity Glut Offsets Hormuz Shock
Container spot freight rates on the main east-west trades largely flatlined this week as excess capacity and uneven demand failed to further spur recent pricing increases by carriers.
Gunvor Maersk, a 9,024 TEU containership, image by Bernhard Fuchs/Flickr
Maersk Line announced today it has entered into Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA) with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) on the Asia to East Coast of South America trade.
22 vessels will serve two loops between the regions. MSC and Maersk Line will each operate six, 9,000 TEU vessels on Loop 1 and MOL will operate ten vessels of 5,500 TEUs on Loop 2.
Asia to the East Coast of South America is a key route for the transport of electronics and automobile parts, says Maersk Line. The route also facilitates protein exports from the East Coast of South America to Asia.
The new VSA is expected to start with the first vessel departure from the Far East during the first week of July. It will replace all current VSAs in place on this route, which will expire at the end of June.
Since July 2014, MSC and Maersk Line have been working together via a 10-year, 185-ship vessel sharing agreement with an estimated capacity of 2.1 million TEU, deployed on 21 strings.
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