The number of cancelled sailings in March and April on the Transpacific, Transatlantic and Asia-North Europe & Med routes rose to 198 – far more than in the same period of 2024 (135). So, what is going on?
According to Drewry, the increase in the number of sailings that are now being cancelled is particularly high on the Asia-West Coast North America and the Transatlantic routes.
On the Asia-West Coast North America route, carriers normally cancel many sailings in February due to Chinese New Year, but reduce this practice in the following months. But this year, carriers continued to cancel more than 40 Asia-West Coast North America sailings a month in both March and in April.
In Drewry’s opinion, U.S. importers are hesitant to ship from Asia without knowing what new U.S. tariffs will hit them once they clear their goods on arrival in North America. Therefore, after strong volumes in January and February, which included some front-loading, carriers may have anticipated lower shipping volumes and a slowdown in YoY import growth and blanked sailings.
Another factor behind the ramp-up of cancelled sailings may be carrier tactics. While carriers and shippers are currently negotiating new service contracts starting from May 1, some carriers may have cancelled sailings to justify increases in contract rates in a market where capacity seems tight.
Read more in an article from Drewry.
