- Hong Kong is being rapidly deselected from the East-West trades by all major shipping lines.
- In the network overview provided by Gemini, there are no direct deep-sea calls in Hong Kong.
- For Ocean Alliance’s updated 2024 network, direct port calls in Hong Kong will decline from 11 to just 6.
According to Sea-Intelligence, the alliances’ network overviews have revealed that Hong Kong is rapidly being deselected from the East-West trades by the main shipping lines.
Sea-Intelligence noted that Gemini’s network overview shows no direct deep-sea calls in Hong Kong. Direct port visits to Hong Kong will be reduced from 11 to six on Ocean Alliance’s modified 2024 network.
Last week, THE Alliance published their 2025 Transpacific network overview, which revealed that Hong Kong will be withdrawn from their Pacific South West and Pacific North West services, leaving only a single Asia-US East Coast service.
Furthermore, the latest Liner Shipping connection Index (LSCI) data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reveal a consistent drop in connection for Hong Kong over the last decade.
This is seen in Figure 1. Liner connectivity in Hong Kong fell to its lowest point of 388 in 2023-Q4, slightly improving to 390 in 2024-Q1. Overall, however, the trend is a consistent severe decline.
Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence, said: “While this does not bode well for the Port of Hong Kong, it should also be seen as a sign that an element of network consolidation is afoot, especially as it relates to transhipment hubs.”
“Analysis of network design and network efficiency will show that fewer, but larger, hubs are economically more efficient. Hong Kong appears to be the first major ‘victim’ of this. But as the new alliance constellations improve their networks in the coming years, it is likely that more ports could risk the same fate as Hong Kong.”
In March, Sea-Intelligence revealed that shipping companies lost $1.44 billion in combined EBIT in the fourth quarter of 2023.
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Source: Sea Intelligence
