in June, the number of canceled flights on trans-Pacific routes fell to the lowest level in two and a half years. Despite the apparent weakening in demand, major maritime companies continue to deploy new arrivals, with operators starting to incorporate larger vessels into their networks while seeking to cut capacity.
Data from Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis showed that as of last week, routes from Asia to the east and west coasts of the United States had reduced a total of 157830 TEUs in June, while container capacity was 2.397 million TEUs. Initial indications in July suggest that the blank schedule will remain more or less at the current speed. In July, 159,116 TEUs are expected to be idle on the trans-Pacific route, leaving 2.483 million TEUs.
this is the lowest total number of cancellations since November 2020, when airlines canceled about 137,167 TEUs on U.S. voyages, leaving 2.181 million TEUs of capacity at sea. The drop in canceled flights could reflect ocean carriers trying to incorporate newer, larger ships into their networks.
Earlier in the second quarter of, shipping companies had been actively trying to match supply with demand, with a large number of cancellations in April and May. In June this year, the capacity of air ships from Asia to the West Coast of the United States was 149363 TEUs, for a total of 1.342 million TEUs.
The service cuts in the months come at a time when ocean carriers are beginning to implement general tariff increases to encourage beneficiary cargo owners to sign annual service contracts. Sea-Intelligence said it again saw a rapid reversal in 2023, with levels of blank sailing as it entered mid-June at its lowest level since the outbreak began. "
Service cuts, but big ships arrive
According to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) data, the second quarter of the early cancellation of shipping flights for spot shipping prices brought some shocks, Asia's West Coast and East Coast freight per FEU rose about 400 to 500 US dollars.
Zim Shipping suspended an expedited West Coast service from Asia earlier this year when demand was sluggish. However, it has expanded the size of its East Coast expedited service and is also looking to rotate the first post-Panamax vessels in its fleet using liquefied natural gas to East Coast service.
Similarly, although Wanhai Shipping canceled one East Coast service using Panamax vessels, in the spring of this year it deployed a group of Panamax vessels and began a co-operated Asia-US East Coast service with Hapg-Lloyd.
SEE data show that freight rates from Shanghai to the West Coast have fallen from US $1,666/FEU in early June to US $1,173/FEU last week. East Coast freight rates went from $2634/FEU to $2061/FEU.
at this point, further capacity cuts may be hesitant, as a tentative West Coast labor agreement could restore confidence in shippers' ability to move goods without fear of disruption. Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said more ships are coming to the port, indicating that seasonal imports are beginning to arrive.
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