Due to continued congestion in the eastern ports of the United States, MSC announced the suspension of the Pacific route
MSC and Maersk announced the cancellation of four voyages from Asia to the Eastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico due to continued congestion caused by port strikes in the Eastern United States. Delury data shows that the cancellation rate of major routes in the next five weeks is 10%, with the trans-Pacific eastbound hardest hit. Shipping companies are adapting their services to meet market challenges.
MSC explained in detail in the notice that due to the strike in the ports of the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States, the continuous congestion in the eastern port of the United States has resulted in a significant extension of cargo processing time and a sharp increase in the number of vessels waiting at the port. This situation has seriously affected the ability of vessels to return to Asia in time to resume normal rotations. As a result, MSC and Maersk were forced to implement a blank sailing plan for services from Asia to the East and Gulf coasts of the United States, meaning four sailings were cancelled.
At the same time, MSC stressed that despite the suspension plan, customers can still make reservations as usual. The company is actively arranging contingency plans for alternative services to ensure transportation needs are met as much as possible.
In addition, according to Delury's latest cancellation tracking data, for the next five weeks (Week 42 (October 14 to October 20)- Week 46 (November 11 to November 17), on major trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic and east-west routes from Asia to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, Shipping companies announced the cancellation of 69 of 693 scheduled voyages, a cancellation rate of 10%.
Specifically, the trans-Pacific eastbound route will bear the greatest impact, with 58% of empty flights occurring on this route; Routes from Asia to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean come in second at 26%. Westbound transatlantic routes accounted for 16 per cent.
From THE perspective of the alliance, THE Alliance announced the largest number of canceled voyages, reaching 19.5; The Ocean Alliance followed suit, cancelling 19.5 voyages; The 2M alliance has cancelled nine voyages. In addition, non-alliance companies cancelled 28 voyages.
The current challenges and uncertainties facing the global shipping market, shipping companies are adjusting route services to cope with the impact of unexpected events such as port congestion and strikes.
