Maersk Line sees boost in Asia-Europe bookings

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

30 Oct 2011

Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping company, has experienced a rise in bookings on the key Asia-Europe routes since introducing a new service in mid-September

that offers greater reliability, the company said.
The Daily Maersk service runs on Asia-Europe routes offering daily cut-off times, meaning cargo can be shipped immediately after production without the need for storage. The service also offers higher transport frequency.
Since being introduced on a six-week trial basis, 99% of deliveries have been on time, Maersk Line, a unit of Danish business conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S (MAERSK-B.KO), said in a statement. This compares with an on-time delivery sector average of about 50%.
"Since the announcement of Daily Maersk, there has been a steady and significant increase in the bookings of cargo in the Daily Maersk corridors," said Old Pradsgaard, manager of the Daily Maersk project.
Container traffic on the Asia-Europe routes, which account for about 40% of Maersk Line's total business, has suffered in later quarters from over-capacity and weak rates. With the introduction of Daily Maersk on some Asia-Europe trade lanes, Maersk Line has intended to shift some focus from rates to service and reliability as key competition parameters.
"The final three weeks of testing prior to the commercial launch have firmly substantiated Maersk Line's promise of absolute reliability," the company said.
Source: MarketWatch