Many airlines have intensively introduced suspension plans: after suspending a route launched in May, another trans-Pacific route originally planned to resume in the same period was postponed; another company suspended independent route services from South China ports (Nansha, Yantian, Shekou, Xiamen) to Los Angeles; a certain express line that provides 35-day round-trip service from Shanghai-Ningbo-Long Beach also announced a temporary suspension, involving 5 5500TEU ships. It is worth noting that in order to adapt to the growth of Vietnam's exports, some companies plan to add Haiphong Port to their Far East routes to disperse regional transportation pressure. Due to the uncertainty of the current market tariff trend, the frequency of capacity adjustment by shipping companies has increased significantly, and 9 voyages have been canceled in the 20th week.
Suspension of trans-Pacific routes surges, and shipping companies adjust capacity to cope with tariffs
2025 04/27
Affected by the Sino-US trade tariff policy, spot freight rates on trans-Pacific routes continue to be sluggish, shipping companies are accelerating the adjustment of capacity layout, and the number of suspended flights has increased significantly. Data shows that due to the sharp drop in China's export volume with tariff uncertainty, 12 voyages were canceled from the Far East to the West Coast of the United States in the 18th week, and the number increased to 16 the next week, far exceeding the average of 8 in April. Analysts pointed out that the proportion of suspended capacity has soared from 13% to 28% in the past two weeks, in line with the escalation of trade frictions.