WITH the 2M Alliance between the two largest shipping lines, msc and Maersk ending in February 2025, and with Maersk then joining Hapag-Lloyd to form the Gemini Cooperation, MSC, it seems, is already shifting their focus onto their own-operated services, according to Sea-Intelligence.
MSC have been growing capacity market share for their stand-alone services (services offered outside the 2M alliance) on the Transpacific and Asia-Europe trades.
This increase for MSC should be seen not only in the context of the extreme pressure the markets are currently under, but of course also in the context of the termination of the 2M alliance.
The Gemini Cooperation, which was supposed to begin legally on July 15, 2024, has been postponed by Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) over competition concerns.
'The Commission has determined that the Gemini Cooperation Agreement as submitted lacks sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of its potential competitive impacts,' the FMC explained.
Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence, said : 'Clearly, MSC is beginning to carve out services on their own prior to the 2M termination date, whereas Maersk is not doing the same.
'It can also be seen that MSC began doing this before the Red Sea crisis - although an acceleration has clearly happened after the outbreak of the crisis.
'On Asia-Mediterranean, the move from MSC to increase stand-alone capacity share pre-dates the Red Sea crisis, with MSC stand-alone services accounting for approximately 9 per cent of deployed capacity in the trade lane since 2023-Q2.'
The analyst said a similar trend can also be seen on the two Transpacific trade lanes, especially on Asia to North America East Coast, where MSC have been increasing their stand-alone capacity market share from 3 per cent to 6 per cent in 2023-Q3.
On the Asia to North America West Coast trade lane, MSC stand-alone services were introduced when the pandemic market tightened in 2020-Q3 and have held a somewhat consistent capacity market share of around 6 per cent, outside of a temporary increase to around 12 per cent during the height of the pandemic in late 2021, Mr Murphy added.
SeaNews Turkey
MSC have been growing capacity market share for their stand-alone services (services offered outside the 2M alliance) on the Transpacific and Asia-Europe trades.
This increase for MSC should be seen not only in the context of the extreme pressure the markets are currently under, but of course also in the context of the termination of the 2M alliance.
The Gemini Cooperation, which was supposed to begin legally on July 15, 2024, has been postponed by Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) over competition concerns.
'The Commission has determined that the Gemini Cooperation Agreement as submitted lacks sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of its potential competitive impacts,' the FMC explained.
Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence, said : 'Clearly, MSC is beginning to carve out services on their own prior to the 2M termination date, whereas Maersk is not doing the same.
'It can also be seen that MSC began doing this before the Red Sea crisis - although an acceleration has clearly happened after the outbreak of the crisis.
'On Asia-Mediterranean, the move from MSC to increase stand-alone capacity share pre-dates the Red Sea crisis, with MSC stand-alone services accounting for approximately 9 per cent of deployed capacity in the trade lane since 2023-Q2.'
The analyst said a similar trend can also be seen on the two Transpacific trade lanes, especially on Asia to North America East Coast, where MSC have been increasing their stand-alone capacity market share from 3 per cent to 6 per cent in 2023-Q3.
On the Asia to North America West Coast trade lane, MSC stand-alone services were introduced when the pandemic market tightened in 2020-Q3 and have held a somewhat consistent capacity market share of around 6 per cent, outside of a temporary increase to around 12 per cent during the height of the pandemic in late 2021, Mr Murphy added.
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