The New Ocean Alliances

On April 1, 2017, the four ocean carrier alliances (2M/CKYHE/G6/O3) became three alliances (2M/Ocean Alliance/THE Alliance).

Here is how each new alliance is comprised:

1. 2M Alliance: Maersk Line and MSC along with a cooperation agreement with HMM and Hamburg SUD

2. Ocean Alliance: CMA, COSCO, Evergreen, OOCL, APL

3. THE Alliance: Hapag-Lloyd, Yangming, UASC, NYK, MOL, K-LINE

These changes will matter significantly to most shippers as these carriers will now represent close to 80% of the global container trade. The following could be impacted by these new alliances:

1. Ocean Rates – Alliances offer more sailings with fewer vessels, and as they control most of the capacity, they could lead to an increase in ocean rates. With peak season coming soon keep an eye on ocean freight costs.

2. Transit Time – Since these new lines will need to work together transportation may be slightly unstable at first. However, transit time will be shortened once all the new lines are integrated and hit their stride.

3. Increased Options – An increase in space, more vessels and additional geographic locations should lead to increased options for shippers.

If you have any questions about these shipping alliances, or if you would like additional information please contact us at sales@allynintl.com.

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Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance.  Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, FL U.S.A, Shanghai, P.R. China and Prague, Czech Republic. For more information, log on to www.allynintl.com.