LOS ANGELES, May 10 (Reuters): Major container shipping companies are suspending at least six scheduled weekly routes between China and the United States as President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs on the world's top exporting country collapse trade, maritime consultants said.
The ships on those routes have the combined capacity to deliver 25,682 40-foot containers stuffed with toys, tennis shoes, car parts and things US manufacturers use to produce goods each week - or more than 1.3 million 40-foot containers a year, based on capacity data provided in customer advisories.
The service cuts, coupled with cancellations of individual voyages, come as hulking container ship operators move to mitigate fallout from Trump's erratic trade policies.
Policy makers, economists, and business owners have become increasingly hungry for information on ocean trade, responsible for 80 per cent of the world's commerce, because it is a gauge of global economic health.
"This is not the precursor, it is the proof of a drop in economic activity," Simon Sundboell, CEO of Danish maritime data provider eeSea, said of the container vessel capacity reductions now underway.
The route suspensions include scheduled weekly services operated by MSC, Zim and the Ocean Alliance that includes Cosco, Evergreen, CMA-CGM and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Sundboell said.
Four of the service cuts affect West Coast ports, one impacts the East Coast and one hits the Gulf Coast, he said.
The container shipping companies culling those services either declined to comment or did not immediately respond.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd's Gemini Alliance have not suspended services - even though both partners experienced significant tariff-related China to US booking cuts in April and have swapped out some ships for smaller vessels.
Representatives from the US and China are meeting this weekend in Switzerland after more than two months of stalemate over trade.
Global shipping companies use service suspensions and cancellations of individual voyages, known as blank sailings, to shelter profits by ensuring they do not have more ships on the water than are needed by customers. That reduces unnecessary overhead costs and keeps supply and demand in balance, supporting competing off-contract spot rates.
© 2025 - All Rights with The Financial Express
