APL announces significant cutbacks in capacity

The shipper, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines, will reduce its capacity in the Asia–Europe trade by close to 25%. From November 2, its China Europe Express (CEX) service will be suspended until further notice. The South China Express (SCX) service will be revised to include new westbound calls at Xiamen, Colombo and Southampton and new eastbound calls at Salalah and Hong Kong. The SCX will cease calling at Thamesport and eastbound at Chiwan; the service will now deploy nine vessels.

In its Transpacific trades, APL will reduce capacity by around 20%. The Pacific South Express 3 (PS3) and Pacific South West (PSW) services have been suspended. The Pacific China Express (PCX) service has been upsized, however, with the following revised port rotation: Ningbo, Yangshan, Kwanyang, Pusan, Long Beach, Oakland, Pusan, Kwanyang, Ningbo. The South Asia Express (SAX) service will now make additional calls at Yantian and Chiwan. The Pacific Coast Express (PCE) omits calls at Xingang and Nagoya, but includes an additional eastbound call at Pusan.

Among intra-Asia routes, the Singapore Subcontinent Express (SSX) service has been suspended. Its route will be covered by a combination of the CMX and CSS services. The China Middle East Express (CMX) has been upsized to a five-ship loop with a revised rotation of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Jebel Ali, Sharjah, Nhava Sheva, Colombo, Singapore and Shanghai. The China Singapore Service (CSS) meanwhile will provide additional coverage of Shanghai and Ningbo.