Under the Ocean Alliance Day 4 product CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping, Evergreen and OOCL have outlined the latest service offering which will begin in April 2020.
The agreement, signed on January 9th, will see the use of 325 container ships, 38 services and the carrying of an estimated 3.8 million TEUs.
While much fanfare has been made on the agreement it is notable that this is not a huge step away from the 2019 Day 3 agreement which saw similar numbers, 330 container ships, 38 services and 3.8 million TEUs.
Simply, the Day 4 agreement will see the same number of TEUs carried out by five fewer vessels.
CMA CGM in 2019 had committed 111 container ships to the Day 3 agreement, in 2020 the liner will commit 112 vessels.
Speaking at the time of the announcement, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO, CMA CGM Group, stated: “One year after the extension of Ocean Alliance until 2027, the launch of the Day 4 Product will enable us to further strengthen the competitiveness and quality of CMA CGM’s offer. With this agreement, we are pursuing the continuous improvement of our services for the benefit of our customers.”
Cosco said the new agreement will provide broader coverage, better and more stable service in several trade lanes including its transpacific services, Asia – Europe services and Asia – Mediterranean services.
CMA CGM also said that Ocean is the only alliance offering 4 services between Asia and the Middle East and 2 Asia-Red Sea services.
Cosco Shipping highlighted the Piraeus hub which has been the subject of huge investment from the Chinese shipping line after an agreement of €600 million ($665 million) was made in November 2019, further enhancing its Mediterranean service.
A new China-Europe rail express service will also provide connection to hinterland of Europe, Czech Republic and Hungary for example, as well as Egypt in the south Spain in the west.
In addition, a new feeder service is to be established by Cosco for Israel and North Africa to provide reliable services.
CMA CGM highlighted the comprehensive service offerd by the Ocean Alliance including the Transpacific trade with a total of 19 services; a strong offer between Asia and Europe with 7 services; A large offer between Asia and the Mediterranean with 4 services; 2 Transatlantic services linking North Europe to the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico.
