Israeli carrier Zim and 2M Alliance partners Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) are cutting back on the number of services where they cooperate.
The three lines will renew a slot-swapping agreement from Asia to the US East Coast (USEC) that has been in existence for three-and-a-half years.
But the carriers will end a similar collaboration for services linking Asia to the Mediterranean and the Pacific Northwest (Asia-Canada) trades.
Zim has operated together with the 2M partners from Asia to the USEC since September 2018 and later extended that to the trades serving Asia to the US Gulf.
Those agreements will be renewed in April, pending regulatory approval.
However, Zim’s three-year partnership with the 2M partners on two other important trades will end soon.
In April, the lines will cease cooperation on the trade from Asia to the Pacific Northwest and the Mediterranean.
Zim plans to replace that by launching its own independent pendulum service.
Growing demand
Zim’s partnership with the 2M partners was initially hailed for helping to generate cost efficiencies, enlarge port coverage and improve transit time.
But Zim chief executive Eli Glickman said the company has secured the necessary short and long-term capacity in recent months to meet growing demand on the various transpacific routes.
He conceded that the transpacific was a key trade for Zim, but added that the new operation provided “better operational agility”.
He said the arrangement enables the carrier to operate “fast and synchronised connections in the Mediterranean, Asia and the Pacific”.
“Capitalising on our improved financial position, we have also advanced our operational capabilities, boosted our capacity and secured access to state-of-the-art LNG container vessels,” he said.
Zim has made exceptional profits in the past 12 months and some analysts have raised their estimates of what the company will earn this year.
Analysts at Fearnley Securities believe that ongoing supply chain bottlenecks will enable the company to profit from upcoming contract negotiations with shippers.
The Oslo-based analyst today raised its 2022 Ebitda estimate for Zim by 21% to $6.3bn.
In the most bullish scenario, Fearnley Securities said the company could generate Ebitda of between $8bn and $9bn this year.
