THE Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) and Maersk are suspending a transpacific US east coast service after freight rates have been cut by more than half from the summer peak, reports IHS Media.
MSC and Maersk, partners in the 2M Alliance, said in separate statements this week that they will temporarily suspend their jointly run Liberty/TP23 service until further notice, adding that the suspension “will help alleviate port congestion.”
The last sailing will be November 23 from Indonesia. Liberty/TP23, which was introduced in March 2021, offers service from Indonesia, Vietnam and China to the US ports of Charleston, Savannah, and New York-New Jersey with a string of ships in the 8,000 TEU range.
The service suspension comes as rates into the US east coast see further weakening as the end of 2022 nears. After dropping about 25 per cent from October, average US east coast freight rates now sit at $4,500 per FEU, with bookings done as low as $3,700, according to a transpacific forwarder. That is down 55 per cent from levels seen in June, he said.
With rates returning to pre-pandemic levels, ship supply to the US east coast appears too high to offset rate declines. Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis said in its most recent Sunday Spotlight newsletter that November vessel capacity into the USEC is 19.5 per cent above the level seen in November 2019, with December capacity running even higher at 37.7 per cent above the same month in 2019.