The Weekly Roar

Getting to know the 3 New Ocean Carriers

As of April 2017, the new ocean shipping alliances are fully merged and operational, and they represent a stunning ~80% of global container trade, and an even more impressive 90% of container capacity on major trade routes. Last month we looked at how these mergers have and are affecting competition in the contemporary shipping industry in our article titled Competition & Carrier Alliances. This month we want to take a look at how these 3 alliances that comprise most of the industry are structured, and what their trade routes are.

What are the new Ocean Carrier Alliances?

Ocean Alliance:

CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL, APL and Evergreen (APL is now owned by CMA CGM)

The Alliance:

NYK Group, MOL, “K” Line, Hapag Lloyd, UASC and Yang Ming (UASC has merged with Hapag Lloyd)

2M Alliance:

Maersk Line and MSC, with HMM and Hamburg Sud (Hamburg Sud is now owned by Maersk Line).

Major Shipping Trade Routes

The Trans-Pacific trade route is the largest trade route in the world by volume. It is the route between the Far East and North America, mainly dominated by containers hitting US West Coast ports.

The Asia-Europe trade route is between Asia and Europe (most going to Western Europe) with the majority of vessels going through the Suez Canal.

The Trans-Atlantic trade route is the route between Europe and North America, mainly between Europe and the US East Coast.

The main trade lane that is highly affected by this change and the main reason for the new alliances is the North America-Asia a.k.a. “East-West” trade lane between the Far East and North America which will represent 96% of East-West trade.

Weekly Sailings

Ocean Alliance will have 13 weekly services between Asia and the US West Coast, 7 weekly services between Asia and US East Coast and 3 Trans-Atlantic services.

The Alliance will have 16 weekly services for the Trans-Pacific trade and 7 weekly services for the Trans-Atlantic trade.

2M Alliance, which has a slot agreement with Hyundai Merchant Marine, will have 16 weekly services.

We’ll be covering the changes throughout the year, so stay tuned to our blog, or subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page. Always a step ahead, our team of Freight Architects has deep and current knowledge of international supply chain management. To learn more about how we can assist your company and ensure you have excellence in your supply chain, visit our services page.