Asia - Europe launch brought forward by G6 Alliance
February 9, 2012
The contest between Maersk Line’s Daily Maersk service and a rival offering from the new G6 Alliance has been brought forward, as carriers jostle for market share ahead of freight rate increases set to take effect in March.
Citing “supportive” economic conditions, the G6 Alliance of Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL, NYK, APL, HMM and MOL will now launch the service in the first week of March – a month ahead of schedule and in time to take advantage of recently announced rate increases.
Analysts and trade bodies have warned, however, that the controversial freight rate increases cannot be sustained without increased demand or reduced capacity, neither of which appear imminent.
Simon Heaney, a maritime consultant at Drewry, told IFW: “Matching the Daily Maersk proposition is beyond the scope of any one carrier, so these partnerships will be looking to achieve economies of scale. It’s likely to be revenue-neutral but it will enable the alliance members to offer broader service to shippers
In a collective press statement, the G6 said the accelerated roll-out was in response to demand from shippers.
“Customer response to the G6 Alliance is strong, the latest economic condition in the trade supports the timing of the launch, and we are ready to meet the market’s expectations.”
There are concerns, however, that customers may not remain supportive for long.
“The problem is that when you find that six carriers are on the same service you’re likely to get a levelling-out of freight rates among the carriers,” said Heaney.
“Shippers will know that and may react badly to the fact that their options are perceived to have been squeezed into big blocks.”
Heaney added: “We’ve yet to see whether the recent rate increases will be successful. The GRI is a wish list and history dictates that the carriers never get all of what they’re after.
“They may get a portion, but an increase of around $800 per teu is a lot to ask for in one go. Whether or not they will be successful is very debateable.”
Courtesy of IFW
