The Shape Of Carrier Alliances From 2025
Steamship lines have been maneuvering during recent weeks, as the carrier alliance pack starts to reshuffle itself ahead of 2025.
It seemed likely we would see further changes to the current alliance structure as soon as Maersk and MSC announced last year that they would be splitting from their exclusive arrangement in the 2M alliance.
It was initially believed that both carriers would be operating independently until Maersk announced last month that they would be working with Hapag Lloyd in the new Gemini Cooperation, meaning that the latter would be exiting THE Alliance (THEA).
This week, Ocean Network Express (ONE) have announced a joint service with Taiwanese carrier Wan HAI Lines, which has added to a suggestion in The Loadstar that Wan Hai may be set to enter the Asia-Europe trade by taking Hapag Lloyd’s place in THEA.
As things stand, the carrier alliance set up looks something like this for 2025:
Gemini Cooperation – Maersk, Hapag Lloyd.
The Ocean Alliance – CMA CGM, OOCL, Cosco, Evergreen.
THE Alliance – ONE, Yang Ming, HMM.
Independent – MSC.
This may not be the end of the story and we suspect there could be a surprise or two to come. The team at Killick Martin are watching the situation develop with great interest.
