'Daily Maersk' proclaimed as next major advance in container shipping
The much-touted "Daily Maersk" Asia-Europe shipping scheme was presented at a Hong Kong press conference yesterday as major milestone in the development of international containerisation, Shippingazette reported.
The Daily Maersk service will start October 24 on the Asia-North Europe trade lane with ships departing at the same time seven days a week, and arriving daily at the same time at the four Asian ports of Ningbo, Shanghai, Shenzhen-Yantian and Tanjung Pelepas, and at the three European ports of Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven.
Daily departures from China and arrivals were proclaimed as a game changer in container shipping because factories could integrate production into a seamless conveyor belt-like supply chain.
"The lack of on-time delivery costs large sums of money because it makes shipping more of an art than a science. Companies have to make up for an unreliable supply chain. They are forced to build a buffer in their supply chains and lose income when goods are not on time," Mr Kolding said.
"When Maersk started, there were only monthly sailings, then they became weekly, then twice weekly, and today we offer Daily Maersk, with a guarantee of schedule reliability," Mr Kolding told journalists in Kowloon as he had done in London a few days before.
The Daily Maersk scheme, served by seventy 8,500 - 15,000-TEU vessels totalling 57,000 TEU weekly, comes with a money-back guarantee. The carrier promises to pay US$100 per container if consignments are delayed three days and $300 per box is delayed four or more.
Asked by the Hong Kong Shipping Gazette about Maersk's earlier scheme to collect a no-show fees from shippers who book space and fail to deliver, Mr Kolding said the plan was still in the works; implementation is being studied.
"Normally, we invoice for cargo that does show up. Now we are to invoice for cargo that doesn't. We are still working on it," he said.
While no-show collection fees would apply to the its Daily Maersk, the concept is applicable to all trades, he said.
At present 44 per cent of containers shipped on Asia-North Europe trade are late, he said, with 11 per cent more than two days late and eight per cent suffering delays of more than eight days.
Asked about setting off a rate war, Mr Kolding said Daily Maersk was more likely provoke a "reliability war", which would benefit all. The service would add no significant capacity, said Mr Kolding, who expects Maersk utilisation to remain or surpass its present 90 per cent level.
The Daily Maersk service will start October 24 on the Asia-North Europe trade lane with ships departing at the same time seven days a week, and arriving daily at the same time at the four Asian ports of Ningbo, Shanghai, Shenzhen-Yantian and Tanjung Pelepas, and at the three European ports of Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven.
Daily departures from China and arrivals were proclaimed as a game changer in container shipping because factories could integrate production into a seamless conveyor belt-like supply chain.
"The lack of on-time delivery costs large sums of money because it makes shipping more of an art than a science. Companies have to make up for an unreliable supply chain. They are forced to build a buffer in their supply chains and lose income when goods are not on time," Mr Kolding said.
"When Maersk started, there were only monthly sailings, then they became weekly, then twice weekly, and today we offer Daily Maersk, with a guarantee of schedule reliability," Mr Kolding told journalists in Kowloon as he had done in London a few days before.
The Daily Maersk scheme, served by seventy 8,500 - 15,000-TEU vessels totalling 57,000 TEU weekly, comes with a money-back guarantee. The carrier promises to pay US$100 per container if consignments are delayed three days and $300 per box is delayed four or more.
Asked by the Hong Kong Shipping Gazette about Maersk's earlier scheme to collect a no-show fees from shippers who book space and fail to deliver, Mr Kolding said the plan was still in the works; implementation is being studied.
"Normally, we invoice for cargo that does show up. Now we are to invoice for cargo that doesn't. We are still working on it," he said.
While no-show collection fees would apply to the its Daily Maersk, the concept is applicable to all trades, he said.
At present 44 per cent of containers shipped on Asia-North Europe trade are late, he said, with 11 per cent more than two days late and eight per cent suffering delays of more than eight days.
Asked about setting off a rate war, Mr Kolding said Daily Maersk was more likely provoke a "reliability war", which would benefit all. The service would add no significant capacity, said Mr Kolding, who expects Maersk utilisation to remain or surpass its present 90 per cent level.