Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL, extending the capacity cuts by container lines, will combine a joint trans-Atlantic service into a single loop with Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s Canadian Gateway service.
The carriers will put four vessels into the service, which will operate between Montreal and four European ports: Liverpool, Antwerp, Bremerhaven and Le Havre.
Trans-Atlantic trade has been falling sharply this year, and Drewry Shipping Consultants forecasts westbound container traffic between North America will decline 17.7 percent this year and 25.4 percent eastbound.
The Port of Montreal, which counts two-thirds of its inbound and outbound container trade from the United Kingdom and Europe, saw its containerized cargo volume fall 21.1 percent in the second quarter ending June 30, a more rapid decline than the port saw in the first quarter.
But Drewry also suggests capacity reductions on the trade lanes have not come at the same pace as the rapidly declining container volume. The firm estimates vessel utilization on Europe to North America lanes will be 72 percent in the third quarter and utilization will be 73.6 percent on eastbound lanes despite cuts in capacity.
The action by Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL combines their St. Lawrence Coordinated Services joint SLCS1 North Atlantic/GEX1 service with MSC’s Montreal Express1 loop.
MSC will put two ships with 3,007 TEUs of capacity on the loop while Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL will contribute one 2,808-TEU ship apiece.
The carriers will put four vessels into the service, which will operate between Montreal and four European ports: Liverpool, Antwerp, Bremerhaven and Le Havre.
Trans-Atlantic trade has been falling sharply this year, and Drewry Shipping Consultants forecasts westbound container traffic between North America will decline 17.7 percent this year and 25.4 percent eastbound.
The Port of Montreal, which counts two-thirds of its inbound and outbound container trade from the United Kingdom and Europe, saw its containerized cargo volume fall 21.1 percent in the second quarter ending June 30, a more rapid decline than the port saw in the first quarter.
But Drewry also suggests capacity reductions on the trade lanes have not come at the same pace as the rapidly declining container volume. The firm estimates vessel utilization on Europe to North America lanes will be 72 percent in the third quarter and utilization will be 73.6 percent on eastbound lanes despite cuts in capacity.
The action by Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL combines their St. Lawrence Coordinated Services joint SLCS1 North Atlantic/GEX1 service with MSC’s Montreal Express1 loop.
MSC will put two ships with 3,007 TEUs of capacity on the loop while Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL will contribute one 2,808-TEU ship apiece.