Maersk Cuts 16% West Central Asia-Europe
Maersk Line, the container shipping unit in the A.P. Moller-Maersk group in Copenhagen, says it will cut about 16% of its capacity on the West Central Asia-Europe trade lane.
"In our continuous effort to provide our customers with an attractive and competitive West Central Asia / Europe network - both in terms of capacity and coverage - Maersk Line is enhancing the ME1, ME2 and ME3 services and discontinuing the ME5 service with effect from October 2015," says a statement from the company.
The closure of the ME5 will result in a capacity reduction corresponding to approximately 16 percent of our dedicated West Central Asia / Europe service capacity.
The termination of the service will not impact our ability to serve our customers in the market that the ME5 covers. We are adding new port calls to the ME1, ME2, ME3 services and, at the same time, launching a dedicated feeder shuttle between Chennai, Colombo and Salalah to ensure a world-class product between West Central Asia and Europe.
Volume from from Western Asia to Europe last year totaled 1.1 million 20-foot-equivalent units, a 4 percent increase, according to IHS World Trade Services.
