FRENCH shipping giant CMA CGM will void its North Europe to Asia FAL 1 loop, scheduled to depart from Dunkirk on August 21, and blank its FAL 3 loop, setting off from Rotterdam on September 11.
The carrier said it blanked the sailings because of 'fluctuations between supply and demand' on the North Europe to Asia trade lane, reported London's Loadstar.
As for European shippers, fears are mounting that they will see a repeat of the capacity crunch mayhem of previous years on ships bound for Asia in September and October.
Aside from CMA CGM, shipping alliance members have already revealed that they are cancelling a number of headhaul sailings in August and September for a combined capacity of 150,000 TEU, attributing the action to a disappointing peak season. These moves also seek to stablilise container spot rates, which had been falling for several weeks.
Each cancelled headhaul sailing from Asia to Europe means a withdrawn backhaul ship from North Europe, which has, in the past, thrown the supply chain into chaos, partly due to the inability to plan loads around the 'uncertainty' of export loaders.
Shippers will also be wary of the carriers trying to take the opportunity to hike backhaul rates by only agreeing to prioritise shipment of export containers after the agreement to a premium.
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The carrier said it blanked the sailings because of 'fluctuations between supply and demand' on the North Europe to Asia trade lane, reported London's Loadstar.
As for European shippers, fears are mounting that they will see a repeat of the capacity crunch mayhem of previous years on ships bound for Asia in September and October.
Aside from CMA CGM, shipping alliance members have already revealed that they are cancelling a number of headhaul sailings in August and September for a combined capacity of 150,000 TEU, attributing the action to a disappointing peak season. These moves also seek to stablilise container spot rates, which had been falling for several weeks.
Each cancelled headhaul sailing from Asia to Europe means a withdrawn backhaul ship from North Europe, which has, in the past, thrown the supply chain into chaos, partly due to the inability to plan loads around the 'uncertainty' of export loaders.
Shippers will also be wary of the carriers trying to take the opportunity to hike backhaul rates by only agreeing to prioritise shipment of export containers after the agreement to a premium.
WORLD SHIPPING