By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - South Korean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) is to join THE Alliance when its slot charter agreement with the 2M expires next April. HMM will become the fourth member of the vessel-sharing group, joining Hapag-Lloyd, ONE and Yang Ming. An agreement signed last week also saw the founding members extend the duration of their alliance … [Read more...]
End of Shipping Alliances Would Send Freight Rates Soaring
By Gavin van Marle in Rotterdam (The Loadstar) - Shipper opposition to deepsea liner shipping alliances may be dangerously misplaced, delegates at the TOC Container Supply Chain event in Rotterdam heard yesterday. Lars Jensen, chief executive and partner of SeaIntelligence Consulting, said efforts by some to bar container lines from operating in alliances, claiming they have … [Read more...]
Container Shipping Alliances Reduce Shipper Choice, Says ITF Amid EC Review
By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) - The EU should end the block exemption against forming consortia the liner shipping industry currently enjoys, says a new report from the OECD-funded International Transport Forum. In September, the European Commission reopened its investigation into the block exemption which allows carriers to operate alliances on trades that serve the … [Read more...]
Maersk Line, MSC and ZIM Enter Strategic Cooperation on the Asia – U.S. East Coast Trade
Israeli container shipping company ZIM has reached a deal with 2M alliance members Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company on a new strategic cooperation on the Asia – US East Coast trade. Starting in early September 2018, the companies will operate five loops between Asia and the U.S. East Coast. ZIM will operate one loop and 2M will operate four loops, and the … [Read more...]
ONE Unveils Strategy for Billion-Dollar Cost Savings and Million-Dollar Profits
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Japanese shipping groups K Line, MOL and NYK, now operating as the Ocean Network Express (ONE) joint-venture, have unveiled their business plan, identifying more than $1bn a year in expected synergy cost savings. The three carriers have signed off their final annual accounts covering the period before the transfer of their container … [Read more...]