Supply Chain Research

The 2M Alliance of Maersk and MSC have made the unusual move of suspending a China-Europe service ahead of China’s four day holiday and for the following five months rather than simply blanking sailings for the week. 2M’s reduction in capacity comes as China-Europe container rates have done slightly better than average with rates at the end of August having risen 17% vs. 14% since mid-April’s lows. The Chinese national holidays in October lead to a lull in volumes shown by U.S.-inbound shipments from China in November that have fallen by an average 14% vs. the August peak over the past f...