 CMA CGM¡¯s new Asia service to give Oakland long-sought first call |
Source |
American Shipper |
Post Date |
01/18/2021 |
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CMA CGM in mid-January will launch a premium service from Yantian to Oakland and Seattle, giving US importers a West Coast option for avoiding congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Importantly, the new service will give Oakland a long-sought-after first US inbound port of call, propelling its ability to tap growing e-commerce imports.
The carrier, in a customer advisory, said Seapriority Express (SEA-X) will provide priority vessel space and equipment release in Yantian, with the fastest transit time available of 12 days to Oakland. Existing Pacific Southwest services call Los Angeles and/or Long Beach inbound and Oakland outbound.
The new service, which will feature vessels of 3,500 to 6,500 TEU capacity, will offer importers a ¡°reliable native to Los Angeles-Long Beach¡± for imports destined within California and to inland hubs such as Chicago, Memphis, Dallas, and Kansas City via intermodal rail, the carrier said.
In addition to offering importers shorter delivery times to inland destinations ¡ª considering the vessel delays of four to five days being experienced in Los Angeles-Long Beach ¡ª the Oakland service will also feed e-commerce retailers serving the large and affluent San Francisco Bay area consumption base, an industry consultant and former logistics utive at a national retailer who asked not to be identified told JOC.com Monday.
The Southern California gateway and its inland supply chain have been overwhelmed with imports from Asia since late June, when parts of the US economy began to re after the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns. The Marine Exchange of Southern California reported Monday there were 62 container ships in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, with 33 ships at anchor awaiting berth space and 29 being worked at berth. The Marine Exchange said 19 additional arrivals are scheduled through Tuesday. This is the largest vessel backup in Southern California since the disruptions associated with the 2014-15 West Coast longshore labor dispute.
The port rotation on the SEA-X service will be Yantian, Oakland, Seattle, Shanghai, and Yantian. Oakland and the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) of Seattle and Tacoma have also experienced increased import volumes in recent months, but not to the magnitude of Los Angeles-Long Beach.
NWSA¡¯s imports from Asia in November increased 9.9 percent from November 2019, while Oakland¡¯s imports were up 2.2 percent year over year, according to PIERS, a JOC.com sister product within IHS Markit. Asian imports moving through Los Angeles-Long Beach in November were up 26.5 percent year over year, taxing the marine terminals, longshore labor force, drayage truckers, and import distribution cent
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