Maritime operators are actively cutting ship capacity as Chinese exports to the United States drop sharply amid sharp shifts in reshaping the trans-Pacific trade route. Industry insiders warn that this wave of rapid operational capacity adjustments could continue to impact global supply chains in the coming months.
pursuantVizion versusDun & Bradstreetof the data,Chinese exports to the United States in the last week of April fell 54% compared to the same period in March, showing the far-reaching impact of the ongoing US-China trade dispute. In response, major carriers such asZim Integrated Shipping Services、Mediterranean Shipping (MSC)and Premier Alliance Alliance members HMM, OceanNetwork Express (ONE), YangMing Ocean ShippingAll of them announced significant cuts in operational capacity.
365 Logistics CEO Sanjay TejwaniSays: “Sailors have learned lessons from past crises. “Despite the significant drop in shipments, they are able to prevent a freight crash like they did before the pandemic by strategically adjusting their shipping capacity.”
Since the beginning of April, flight stoppages and suspensions have continued to intensify in April and are expected to last at least until May. pursuantEEsea data,Zim and MSC have withdrawn more than 100,000 TEUs from trans-Pacific routes in the past month。 whereinZim stops ZX2 service, withdraw 3.5 million TEUs,MSC Terminates Orient Service, 7.7K TEU REDUCTION.
In addition, the scheduled departure in MayPremier Alliance PS5 ServicesAlready Indefinite Postponement。
“The carriers are clearly withdrawing ships from the China route to Southeast Asia,” said one US non-shipping operator in the Joint Carrier (NVO) industry.
As Chinese export costs rise and uncertainty increases, U.S. importers are increasingly turning to Southeast Asia. Reservations for shipments in Southeast Asia in late AprilOver 20% increase from two weeks ago, shows that the supply chain is quickly looking for alternatives.
Stops are also intensifying:EEseaThe data of the display,Nearly 14% of Trans-Pacific Shipping Discontinued in April, estimateIt will increase to 18% in May。 At the same time, the number of port berths has also been significantly reduced,Reduced the number of scheduled port calls from 7 to 21 April by more than a quarter。
Not only are carriers canceling flights, they're also starting to reduce their frequency.Sino-long Sea FreightAnnounce it BOHAI FLIGHTS TO LONG BEACH PORT WILL BE CHANGED FROM WEEKLY TO BIWEEKLY AND WILL LAST AT LEAST UNTIL MID-JUNE。
Other services such asEvergreen Sea Freight's HTW Express Serviceand Long river services in the middle There are still weekly shifts, mainly because these services are also stopped.Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan, supported by strong demand.
However, there are risks behind operational withdrawal. An NVO insider warned: “If tariffs are suddenly cancelled, it is not easy to restore operations for a short time. Ship and route recovery is not as simple as pressing a switch.”
With the immediate realignment of trans-Pacific routes, importers must be more flexible and perhaps reassess their supply chain arrangements outside China to keep cargo flowing.
