The restructuring of the shipping alliance resulted in a brief drop in traffic on trans-Pacific routes this month, despite an increase in the number of flights. According to data from maritime intelligence company EEsea, four more flights will be added to the eastbound trans-Pacific route in February, bringing the total to 53. However, functional throughput is expected to decline by 8% compared to January.
Industry experts attributed the drop in traffic to the schedule period of service deliveries and the planned stoppages before the Lunar New Year. The second half of February is expected to see the most significant drop in traffic, with a drop of 7%, mainly due to schedule delays and shorter days in the month.
CONGESTION IN MAJOR CHINESE PORTS, INCLUDING SHANGHAI AND NINGBO, FURTHER EXACERBATED TRAFFIC CONSTRAINTS. StephenNotDurft, vice president of sales for MolConsolidation Service North America, said late shipments arriving at ports ahead of the festival, coupled with the alliance restructuring, led to more confusion.
Despite the significant short-term impact, EEsea forecasts trans-Pacific activity to resume normal in the second quarter of 2025. The company's data show that momentum will rebound to around 330,000 TEU by the end of March and will stabilize after the transition period. Despite the short-term impact, industry analysts remain optimistic about the long-term stability of the trans-Pacific route once the alliance is complete.
