The 2M Alliance (Maersk and MSC) has formally signed the slot-exchange and -purchase deal with Hyundai Merchant Marine that was first flagged in December. That is instead of Hyundai MM joining 2M in full, and comes just ahead of the launch of the Ocean and THE alliances in April. Panjiva data shows Hyundai MM brings strength on South Korean, Thai and Indonesian routes to the U.S. to the alliance. It isn’t clear whether Hyundai MM will also get access to Hamburg Sud’s capacity once Maersk’s takeover of it is complete.