A review carried out by the Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement (TSA) shows that Asia-US cargo demand has rebounded on all major route segments with ship utilisation climbing to more than 90 per cent during the first half of March following the week-long Lunar New Year holidays in Asia.

The TSA said the release of shipping data on trade utilisation is a further step to provide the shipping community with greater insight into the transpacific trade lane. The data will be updated periodically along with views of how the peak season and balance of the year are progressing.

The statistics also show that on the two most heavily-used corridors - local and intermodal cargo arriving at California ports, and freight moving by water to the east coast via the Panama Canal - utilisation was 91 per cent and 94 per cent respectively, at the end of March.

"During much of February, prior to the Lunar New Year factory closures in Asia, vessel utilisation held steady in the 95-100 per cent range. In summary, recent developments in the trade have better aligned capacity with demand, resulting in very healthy utilisation levels for the traditional slack season in the early part of the year," the statement said.

Current cargo trends and forward bookings received to date by TSA carriers, indicate an increase in container traffic through April.

"A brief lull is anticipated in early May due to national holidays in China and Japan, after which shipping lines are preparing for another record peak season, which will require the additional capacity coming into the trade to adequately serve the market demand."

TSA chairman Ron Widdows says cargo demand and utilisation are strong in spite of some mixed views regarding the US economy. The TSA is forecasting 9-10 per cent Asia-US cargo growth for 2007, and slightly higher growth during 2008.

TSA member lines include: APL, HMM, CMA CGM, "K" Line, Cosco Container Lines, MOL, Evergreen Marine Corp, NYK, Hanjin Shipping, OOCL, Hapag Lloyd and Yangming Marine Transport.