CAPACITY cuts and service withdrawals are looming over the Asia-Australia container trade over the next few months.
Business on the trade is thriving, with volumes and utisation rising and freight rates increasing as a result since mid-year on a better supply-demand balance.
This month sees the closure of the KIX joint-service of ANL (CMA CGM) and Hanjin Shipping that serves Asia, Australia and New Zealand with five ships averaging 2,500-TEU, Drewry said in its Container Insight Weekly. NYK is also planning to withdraw from the trade next year, reported IHS Media.
The KIX service called at ports in Singapore, Port Kelang, Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Lyttelton, Wellington, Napier and Tauranga.
"Hanjin Shipping has advised of its withdrawal from the New Zealand and trans-Tasman services by the end of the year, and Japanese company NYK has already announced their withdrawal from the Australian container trade by the end of this financial year," Shipping Australia CEO Rod Nairn wrote in the company's latest magazine.
ANL will join the NZS consortium of APL, NYK, OOCL and PIL, replacing the out-going MOL. The NZS service is adding a new call at Brisbane and MOL will instead take slots on three Southeast Asia-New Zealand services provided by Maersk Line.
NYK currently provides vessels on two Asia-Australia loops -- one from Northeast Asia and one from Southeast Asia-and takes slots on other services. Drewry said it was understood that NYK would retain a presence in the New Zealand market.
Drewry said after nine months, total Asia-Oceania volumes were up by 9.9 per cent year on year. The inbound Australia trade grew 10.9 per cent to 1.6 million TEU, while New Zealand imports were up 3.4 per cent at 234,000 TEU.
"Carriers in the Northeast Asia trade have seemingly heeded the lesson from the additional capacity introduced through the first-half of the year that dragged down freight rates by scaling back in recent months. In fact, the number of available southbound slots in both the Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia routes has fluctuated by only a few thousand TEUs since July," the analyst pointed out.
Drewry's Container Freight Rate Insight reports that Shanghai to Melbourne spot rates in October reached their highest level since March, rising by 30 per cent against September to US$1,460 per 40-foot container.
WORLD SHIPPING
26 November 2015 - 22:31
Asia-Australia rate recovery is spurred by capacity reductions
CAPACITY cuts and service withdrawals are looming over the Asia-Australia container trade over the next few months.
WORLD SHIPPING
26 November 2015 - 22:31
Asia-Australia rate recovery is spurred by capacity reductions
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