YML has signed charter container spaces for its independent trans-pacific express service with HMM, which has agreed to sell 1388 teu (teu) spaces for its PSX service to YML. According to the agreement submitted to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the space allocated to Yang Ming may be between 500 and 2000 TEUs.
the service was launched by the South Korean carrier after a partner in the alliance decided to disband a similar trans-Pacific express service. Trans-Pacific freight rates have risen due to increasing ocean freight volumes, and airlines are relying more on their own independent services when deploying ship capacity, rather than allied services.
previously HMM signed a similar space charter agreement with Hapg-Lloyd in mid-July for 500 to 1,000 TEUs for PSX services. The German carrier said its containers will begin arriving at the port of Long Beach on the PSX, with a 8270 TEU HMM scheduled for Aug. 24 Blessing.
PSX, which debuted in August, is a standalone service launched by HMM after the end of the alliance PS8 trans-Pacific service, according to research firm Linerlytica. The PSX has the same port coverage as the PS8, including Shanghai, the ports of Busan, Incheon and Guanyang in South Korea; and Long Beach and Oakland on the west coast of the United States. PSX offers a 14-day transit time from China to Long Beach, slightly longer than the delivery service that U. S.-based Matson began offering during the container shipping boom. In September last year, due to the decline in Asian import demand, Matson canceled the ship express service.
The additional deployment of vessels in the PSX service follows the pattern of other ocean carriers that are considering how to deploy vessel capacity outside of the alliance service, even if in some cases the position charterers are alliance partners.
According to data released by the Alphaliner, Hyundai Merchant Marine has replaced 4 ships with a capacity of 6800 teu on PSX with ships of 8000 to 11000 teu. Earlier this year, Cosco Shipping added larger ships to its separately operated Asia-US Gulf route.
Interest rates push up
Freight rates have rebounded from the bottom set earlier this year, as it injects extra capacity into the trans-Pacific market. According to data from exchange rate benchmark company Xeneta, as of August 3, the spot exchange rate from Shanghai to the west coast of the United States was US $1,938 per FEU, up 56% from US $1,242 per FEU in April.
since then, us imports from asia have kept rising month by month. According to data from Standard & Poor's PIERS, Asian imports reached 1.42 million TEUs in June, up from 1.37 million in May and the highest level in 2023.
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