'Trading and market conditions on the trans-Atlantic route warrant elimination of excess capacity between Europe and North America,' says Soren Castbak, Senior Director of Atlantic Services for Maersk Line.
Subject to regulatory filing, the TA3 service will be discontinued in mid-December 2009, reducing by one third the capacity offered by the New World Alliance, a partnership between French container carrier CMA-CGM and Maersk Line.
Maersk Line will continue its partnership and space exchange with the New World Alliance in the trans-Atlantic trades. Maersk Line will also continue its slot charter with CMA-CGM; however, excess capacity will be eliminated in response to market conditions.
'We monitor the dynamics of the marketplace closely to ensure our product network is efficient and matches the demands of the trade. Although we believe we have seen the bottom, these capacity reductions are necessary due to the lower demand caused by the economic downturn,' continues Castbak.
Maersk Line will maintain its current port offering as today with those calls in the TA3 service being added to the Trans-Atlantic 1 (TA1) and Trans-Atlantic 2 (TA2) services. Furthermore, Maersk Line will offer service to Antwerp as a part of the revised TA1.
'We have found ways to adapt our network without affecting overall port coverage or service levels. In fact, we continue to add new ports to our network and with additional vessels deployed in the revised services, our on-time performance will remain best in class,' Soren Castbak says. 'With a revised service network in the Atlantic trades, we are able to continue to provide our customers with comprehensive, sustainable service coverage, reliability and on-time delivery.'
Changes to the TA1 service will include the addition of an eastbound call at Antwerp, Belgium and also Le Havre, France, previously offered as part of the TA3 service. The new eastbound rotation includes: Miami, Jacksonville, Savannah, Charleston, Newark, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Le Havre.
The westbound rotation will not only offer service to the US West Coast through Los Angeles and Oakland, but will also feature new calls at Antwerp, Belgium and Le Havre, France. The new rotation consists of: Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Le Havre, Newark, Norfolk, Charleston, Los Angeles, and Oakland.
In addition to its current port schedule, the TA2 service will offer new port calls at Miami on the eastbound rotation and Newark, Savannah, and Miami on the westbound. Thus, the revised eastbound rotation will be: Miami, Houston, Mobile, Norfolk, Rotterdam, Felixstowe and Bremerhaven. The westbound rotation will be: Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Newark, Charleston, Savannah, Miami, Houston, and Mobile.
