Chinese niche carrier to launch Shanghai-Los Angeles

Chinese niche carrier to launch Shanghai-Los Angeles expedited service next week.

Hede (Hong Kong) International Shipping Ltd. next week will launch a premium weekly service from Shanghai to Los Angeles, entering the competitive trans-Pacific market at a time when it is beginning to turn around from a weak 2023.

The Chinese-owned carrier’s first vessel will depart Shanghai on March 21, with arrival at the West Basin Container Terminal (WBCT) in Los Angeles scheduled for April 3, according to Roger Zhang, COO of Duke Shipping, the exclusive agent for the service.The transit time will be 13 days, and with access to a leased chassis fleet at WBCT, containers requiring expedited treatment will be discharged from the vessels directly to chassis so customers will be guaranteed next-day pickup at the terminal, Zhang told the Journal of Commerce.

“Hede is demonstrating its long-term commitment to the trans-Pacific trade by entering it now, before the trade really takes off,” he said.Hede is a China-based carrier that operates in the domestic and intra-Asia trades, Zhang said.Imports from Asia on the rise US imports from Asia have been rising on a year-over-year basis since October, with February volumes up more than 30% from a year ago, according to early readings of data from PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global.  That came after a 16% year-over-year jump in January.

The early gains in 2024 follow a year that saw imports from Asia decline 13% from 2022.US imports from Asia up year-on-year since October.

Total monthly TEU volume of US containerized imports from Asia, with year-over-year change.The expedited service will fill a niche for e-commerce and similar shipments that require faster handling, Zhang said.  Standard trans-Pacific services have transit times of 14 days or longer, and containers can often sit on the terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach for several days or longer before being picked up by truckers.

The Hede service will operate from Shanghai to Los Angeles and back to Shanghai, with vessels ranging in size from 3,400 to 4,250 TEUs capacity, Zhang said.More than a half dozen niche carriers entered the booming trans-Pacific trade in 2021–22 when US imports hit pandemic-driven highs and spot rates exceeded $10,000 per FEU.  Many of those carriers have long since left the trade.