The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a brand new container alliance comprising Cosco, China Shipping, OOCL, CMA CGM and the French line’s soon to be subsidiary APL will be announced in Shanghai very shortly. The new alliance has been speculated about for many months. It will shake up all the existing container partnerships if regulators give it the go ahead.
The new alliance would control around 26% of the Asia-Europe tradelane.
Dubai-based United Arab Shipping Co (UASC) will be left exposed as it is in an alliance with China Shipping and CMA CGM.
The Wall Street Journal also hinted tha Maersk and MSC, which form the 2M alliance, are angling for a new partner to bolster their position on the transpacific.
“I expect three main alliances instead of four going forward, and anyone not making it into those groupings won’t be able to survive in five years time,” Lars Jensen, chief executive of Copenhagen-based SeaIntelligence Consulting told the Wall Street Journal. “No matter how this pans out in the coming days, I expect more consolidation to come, which will again change the alliances landscape.”
Splash contacted OOCL, Cosco, China Shipping, Evergreen and CMA CGM for comment on the alliance speculation with no party confirming the report.
