MAJOR container lines are to withdraw capacity on Asia-Europe trades with services cut in response to dampening demand on the back of the Euro zone debt crisis.
Hong Kong's Orient Overseas (International), the parent of OOCL, cut back on Grand Alliance Asia-Europe loops so its overall capacity has dropped 20 per cent in the third quarter.
The Maersk rationalisation includes the merging of Icon service, which links the Far East and the Indian subcontinent to northern Europe with its Asia-Europe Daily Maersk network, prompting a dedicated feeder link to this service between the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong and Tanjung Pelepas.
Other lines, such as Zim, are looking to cut back during the financial troubles, after MISC to quit the box business altogether after losses of US$749 million over the last three years, reported from London's International Freighting Weekly.
