TSA: Ship utilization rates above 90 percent on transpacific
The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement said Wednesday that containership utilization on the world's busiest trade lane is higher than 90 percent on most sailings, after a dip in early March.
The TSA, a liner conference of 12 ocean carrier members, in March pledged to be more transparent about market data and operating costs after rates stagnated in 2006, impacting the profitability of most members.
The drive for more informative interaction between the carriers and their shipper customers was brought about by what TSA said was misinformation in recent years from analysts about the gap between demand and actual capacity. This gap, the conference said, artificially suppressed rates in an environment where operating costs rose.
Some carriers — most notably Maersk Line — have removed vessels from service this year, and that's led to high load factors on the transpacific.
'On the two most heavily used corridors — local and intermodal cargo arriving at California ports, and freight moving by water to the East Coast via the Panama Canal — utilization was 91 percent and 94 percent, respectively, at the end of March,' the TSA said. 'During much of February, prior to the Lunar New Year factory closures in Asia, vessel utilization held steady in the 95 to 100 percent range. In summary, recent developments in the trade have better aligned capacity with demand, resulting in very healthy utilization levels for the traditional 'slack season' in the early part of the year.
'Current cargo trends, and forward bookings received to date by TSA carriers, indicate an increase in container traffic through April. A brief lull is anticipated in early May due to national holidays in China and Japan, after which shipping lines are preparing for another record peak season, which will require the additional capacity coming into the trade to adequately serve the market demand.'
Ron Widdows, TSA chairman for this year, said that a slowing U.S. economy is not having an impact on container trade with Asia.
'Even as overall U.S. economic growth is moderating, increased trade volumes due to the amount of goods produced in Asia continue to drive cargo growth in 2007,' he said in a statement.
TSA carriers are forecasting 9 percent to 10 percent Asia-U.S. cargo growth for 2007, and slightly higher growth during 2008.