A significant wave of blank sailings is set to impact Asia–U.S. container trade lanes, with U.S. East and Gulf Coast services facing the sharpest cuts. Sea-Intelligence reports that nine scheduled sailings on the Asia–U.S. East Coast route will be blanked in May 5–11 (Week 19), reducing capacity by 42%. The U.S. West Coast will have 10 blank sailings from April 28 to May 3, cutting capacity by 28%, and again from May 12 to 18, lowering capacity by 25%.

Sea-Intelligence has indicated that these cancellations are being announced with minimal notice, a strong sign that container demand is sharply falling. The analyst commented, “Presently, this is likely one of the best up-to-date indications of the impact on tactical container demand.” In a previous assessment, Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, had predicted that last-minute blank sailings to the U.S. would be if there was a notable decline in bookings.

Drewry’s Blank Sailings Tracker confirms the trend, recording 72 planned cancellations between now and the end of May. Of these, 56% affect the Trans-Pacific trades, with 31% on Asia–Europe routes and 14% on Trans-Atlantic routes. Drewry noted, “A rise in cancelled sailings is expected in coming weeks, predominantly in the Trans-Pacific Eastbound, booking cancellations continue to climb, with some vessels potentially departing China with significant empty space through May.”

A Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson stated on Wednesday that 30% of shipments to the U.S. from China had been canceled by its customers. The container shipping firm noted a sharp increase in demand for shipments from Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Source: The Loadstar