After cutting capacity on the Asia-Europe trade early this year, Maersk Line announced a further reduction “in view of declining demand,” but said the move would not affect its Daily Maersk service.
The world’s biggest container shipping line said the latest capacity cut for the year would entail the permanent removal of the AE5 service and the suspension of the AE9 service until early December 2012.
“Further to the 9% capacity reductions we made earlier this year, this brings the total capacity reduction in 2012 on Maersk Line’s Asia-Europe network to 21%,” said Vincent Clerc, chief trade and marketing officer for Maersk Line, a unit of the Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk.
The AE5 service, which currently operates eight vessels of 6,500 TEU nominal capacity, will be closed, with the last sailing departing Tanjung Pelepas on November 8.
The AE9 service’s 11 vessels with 8,000 TEU nominal capacity will be suspended immediately until early December.
But the Copenhagen-based box carrier said that its flagship product, Daily Maersk, would not be included in the capacity change.
Maersk Line said that total trade volume has declined, and that the outlook for the economies of Europe and Asia remains weak.
“We do not expect volume growth on the Asia-Europe trades this year so there is currently no need for the number of ships sailing,” Clerc said.
In fact, the company expects a 3 percent slump on the Asia-Europe container trades for 2012, and said they are taking steps to adjust to the situation, such as considering further capacity reductions and slow-steaming activities.
Photo courtesy of Maersk Line
