According to the American Shipper, the three major Japanese container shipping lines reported an aggregate loss of about $691m in the fiscal year ending 31 March 2017. As is widely known, after having joined Hapag Lloyd and Yang Ming in the new THE Alliance in April of this year, the three Japanese carriers (“J3”) are currently pursuing a consolidation that would take effect in April of 2018. There are many questions and concerns about the implications of this planned liner shipping amalgamation for the various container terminal concessions in which subsidiaries of these three Japanese carriers have ownership stakes, such as the Yusen Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles. With the exact composition of the vessel deployments to be operated by the new joint venture of these three lines still unknown, it is unclear how specific liner services and corollary volumes will be distributed among their affiliated terminals, especially those in selected North American and Asian ports. For more information, click here.
Mercator has conducted a number of engagements in which strategic considerations about how carrier alliances might impact vessel networks and terminals called were of utmost importance. In formulating views on these matters, Mercator provides thoughtful and independent insights based on scientific analysis, as well as industry perspective gained from the aggregate experience of Mercator’s consulting team.
