MAERSK's and MSC's 2M alliance says it will reintroduce its AE2/Swan Asia-North Europe loop in the second week of December, reports London's Loadstar.
Describing the move as the 'pivotal moment' in the Asia-Europe trade, Drewry said the 2M decision puts back six per cent of capacity at a time when future bookings were becoming uncertain.
'A big drop in spot rates now would weaken carriers' hands and make it far harder to secure improvement over the previous terms,' said London's Drewry Maritime Research.
The 2M players had suspended their AE2/Swan service at the end of September, anticipating slackening demand after the mainland's Golden Week holiday in October. This meant the withdrawal of eleven 18,300- to 20,600-TEUer.
Said Maersk chief operating officer Soren Toft: 'By implementing a structural solution in line with lower seasonal market demand, we are supporting our customers' supply chain needs better than the alternative of irregular and ad-hoc sailing cancellations.'
Maersk Line told customers the AE2 would 'resume in line with demand pickup', which it said it expected to be before Chinese New Year in February, while MSC told its customers its Swan service would be resumed 'towards the end of the year'.
This contrasted with the Ocean Alliance, which ramped up its capacity offering on the route. Evergreen, CMA CGM and Cosco had all taken delivery of new ultra-large 20,000-TEU plus ships for immediate deployment.
Describing the move as the 'pivotal moment' in the Asia-Europe trade, Drewry said the 2M decision puts back six per cent of capacity at a time when future bookings were becoming uncertain.
'A big drop in spot rates now would weaken carriers' hands and make it far harder to secure improvement over the previous terms,' said London's Drewry Maritime Research.
The 2M players had suspended their AE2/Swan service at the end of September, anticipating slackening demand after the mainland's Golden Week holiday in October. This meant the withdrawal of eleven 18,300- to 20,600-TEUer.
Said Maersk chief operating officer Soren Toft: 'By implementing a structural solution in line with lower seasonal market demand, we are supporting our customers' supply chain needs better than the alternative of irregular and ad-hoc sailing cancellations.'
Maersk Line told customers the AE2 would 'resume in line with demand pickup', which it said it expected to be before Chinese New Year in February, while MSC told its customers its Swan service would be resumed 'towards the end of the year'.
This contrasted with the Ocean Alliance, which ramped up its capacity offering on the route. Evergreen, CMA CGM and Cosco had all taken delivery of new ultra-large 20,000-TEU plus ships for immediate deployment.