The members of G6 Alliance said they would not reinstate Loop 2 of the seven Asia-Europe services that the six carriers had planned to launch in April.
The decision not to launch Loop 2 will limit the amount of additional capacity in the Asia-Europe trade that analysts said would erode the recent, successful rate increases carriers implemented in that trade since the beginning of the year.
The alliance of New World Alliance and Grand Alliance members, which announced the combination of their vessel-sharing agreements last December, had originally planned to start operating seven joint loops this spring.
Instead they are operating six of those loops.
The G6 Alliance said it decided not to launch Loop 2 in March because of “the unsuitable market conditions at that time.” The carriers said the alliance “has not seen any improvements in the current market environment to justify the implementation of an additional service in the Asia-Europe trade.”
The two alliances decided to combine their services on the Asia-Europe and Asia-Mediterranean trades last year in response to the launch of the Daily Maersk service in October, which they feared would erode their market share. The members of the G6 Alliance include APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, MOL, NYK Line and OOCL.
The G6 Alliance operates six loops between Asia and North Europe, the Asia-Mediterranean Express Service, and the Asia-Black Sea Express Service. The six services connect nearly 40 ports in 25 countries with more than 110 weekly calls.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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