Small is beautiful for an expanding band of niche-focused container shipping carriers which have forsaken larger ships and slower sailing speeds in favour of "greyhound" services which can offer quicker transits across the Pacific.
The move by the four carriers - Horizon Lines, Matson Navigation, The Containership Company and TS Lines - to launch services on one of the world's biggest trade lanes runs counter to the approach adopted by larger container carriers.
These include Orient Overseas Container Lines, which saw transpacific routes generate 905,000 TEUs in the first nine months of the year and Cosco Container Lines, which carried almost 1.2 million TEUs across the Pacific.
The Tung-family-controlled shipping line, together with European and Asian rivals, have favoured leviathans capable of carrying around 6,500 TEUs to generate economies of scale.
Cutting the speed of vessels from around 24 knots to 17 or 14 knots has also cut fuel consumption and costs.
By comparison, the four smaller companies operate ships of about 3,000 TEUs at a full service speed of 24 knots.
Commenting on what made the transpacific attractive for smaller shipping lines, Brian Taylor, Horizon Lines senior vice-president for international services, said: "Fortunately, we do not live in a one-size-fits-all transportation world."
Shippers today need a variety of options in a rapidly changing logistics environment.
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Source: cargonewsasia
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