Shipping companies cut shifts to save the city! The three major alliances continue to reduce capacity! There may be space shortages! Make a shipping plan early

As demand levels on global trade routes plummeted,Freight rates have plummeted and shipping lines are bracing for the toughest liner service cuts since the outbreak began.

In order to stabilize the freight rate, shipping companies suspended flights and reduced the speed, and the container shipping market changed overnight. Following the recent suspension of services on trans-Pacific routes,The three alliances are considering suspending or merging some Asia-Nordic loop services to mitigate the impact of a sharp drop in bookings and slow the erosion of a sharp drop in freight rates.

October 11,MaerskMaersk is looking to balance the network of transport services accordingly as global demand is forecast to decrease, the announcement said.It will cancel capacity on the Asia-North Europe route after suspending two trans-Pacific routes late last month.

Maersk said, the first affected vessel will be the "MSC Hamburg" with a capacity of 16,652TEU on the 2M "AE1/Shogun" loop from Ningbo on October 26, the ship passes through Ningbo, Xiamen, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia and Rotterdam, Zeebrugge and Bremerhaven in Europe.

According to eeSea data, the loop deploys 11 ships with an average capacity of 15,414 TEUs and takes 77 days for a round trip.

"Our overall aim is to provide predictability to our customers and to minimise supply chain disruptions by providing alternative routes and coverage for affected vessels," Maersk said.Maersk's 2M partner MSC said yesterday that the sailing of the "MSC Hamburg" was only temporarily cancelled, suggesting services would resume within a week.

But the sharp decline in bookings, especially from China, means thatThe three alliances have no choice but to rationalise them to avoid a further plunge in spot and short-term contract rates, negatively impacting its long-term contracts that maintain profits.

In fact, a source serving the Asia-Nordic route recently said the company's bookings were "very bad"."This is the worst outlook we've seen since the start of the pandemic, with demand for bookings falling by 25 per cent."He added that bookings to the UK in the coming weeks were "extraordinarily low", but hoped it was "just a blip". "Demand is weak after the Golden Week holiday and this year could be the worst," he said.

Spot rates have been falling as we enter a period of persistently weak demand, and shipping giants have been forced to take proactive steps to manage capacity,By canceling more sailings and, in some cases, even terminating the route. Next, in order to save the market, the shipping companies may cancel more European sailings. There may even be a tight space situation.

Here is a reminder,For the cargo owners and freight forwarders who are going to ship in the near future, communicate with shipping companies and customers, and make sure to make a shipping plan as soon as possible to avoid affecting the shipment! Forward the knowledge~