News Highlights week: 24 - 2020

Responding to retailer demand for time-definite, expedited services priced lower than air freight, Zim Integrated Shipping Services this month will launch its Zim eCommerce Xpress (ZEX) service with a 12-day transit from South China to Los Angeles. The ZEX service, with calls at Da Chan Bay and Yantian using 5 vessels of up to 6,000 teu capacity, will launch June 22. It also marks the return of Zim to the US West Coast with a product it hopes will differentiate the independent carrier from the larger lines that operate mega-ships in vessel-sharing alliances. 

CMA CGM chief executive Rodolphe Saadé has set an objective for the container line to be carbon neutral by 2050. Mr Saadé said that the coronavirus pandemic had highlighted some of the weaknesses of the current business and development climate, providing and opportunity to focus on future globalisation models. 
Maersk and MSC have agreed to extend the suspension of the Far East-North Europe ‘AE-2 / Swan’ service and the Far East-Med ‘AE- 20 / Dragon’ service during the third
quarter. As both carriers are expecting a small and gradual recovery of cargo volumes in the summer months, a fortnightly hybrid service will be launched to add capacity on both Asia-North Europe and AsiaMed trades. 
The impact of container line blanked sailings and rerouting is continuing to take its toll on Suez Canal transit numbers. The latest figures from Leth Agencies show that boxship transits of the waterway hit a record low for the second month in a row during May, falling to just 330 voyages, as overall canal traffic continued to be constrained. Last May, 486 vessels transited the canal during the month, almost 50% more than this year. The average number of monthly containership transits this year to date has been 384, down 15% from 448 across the whole of last year. 

MKT