Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) have received advice announcing the continuation of the cooperation between ONE, HMM and Yang Ming under the new alliance name Premier Alliance (PA), effective for five years from February 2025.
The three carriers had already been working together under THE Alliance (THEA) along with Hapag Lloyd, however with Hapag Lloyd signalling their intention to leave THEA in January 2025 to commence the new Gemini Cooperation with Maersk effective February 2025, the PA announcement sees another piece of the puzzle fall into place.
In a coordinated joint statement, the carriers confirmed that their strategic and long-standing partnership will enable them to continue delivering reliable and flexible services with expanded global coverage, ensuring enhanced value and seamless operations for customers worldwide.
The cooperation encompasses mainline services across major East-West trade lanes, including routes between Asia and the North America West Coast, North America East Coast, the Mediterranean, North Europe, and the Middle East.
Premier Alliance Announcements
Statement from ONE
Statement from HMM
Statement from Yang Ming
Premier Alliance Network
Further to the PA announcement, MSC chose the same day to announce :
- a slot exchange agreement with PA on the Asia-Europe trade
- the unveiling of it's 'future standalone East/West network' effective February 2025, in which it aims to provide complete coverage across all East/West routes, while also offering clients both Suez and Cape of Good Hope routing options.
MSC Announcements
Statement from MSC
MSC East/West Network
Last but not least, ZIM also chose the same day to announce a new three-year operational cooperation with MSC effective February 2025 covering the strategic transpacific trade. ZIM stating that it has entered into a new long-term operational cooperation with MSC on the Asia - US East Coast and US Gulf trades.
ZIM Announcement
Statement from ZIM (includes network offerings)
The announcements today, along with previous announcements by the Gemini Cooperation and the OCEAN Alliance, see recent changes in alliances resulting in greater diversity in network configurations available in the market.
FTA/APSA Comment
The announcement of both the Premier Alliance and further cooperation between MSC and ZIM is yet another sign that the continuation of vessel-sharing arrangements and slot exchange agreements should give the Australian government a level of confidence to repeal the protections offered to shipping lines aligned to Part X of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA).
As recommended in the Productivity Commission's (PC) final report into Australia's maritime logistics system handed down to government on 21 December 2022, the Australian Government should repeal Part X of the CCA as ;
- no other industry has an exemption like Part X, even though there are industries with similar characteristics to the shipping industry.
- shipping lines should show that their agreements provide a net public benefit.
- either a class exemption or the existing provisions under Part VII of the CCA could deal with shipping line agreements under a net public benefit test once Part X is repealed.
FTA/APSA continues to call on the federal government to respond to the Productivity Commission's final report and address a raft of recommendations that would serve the best interests of the broader supply chain. This includes not only the repeal of Part X of the CCA but also the urgent introduction of a mandatory code to regulate unmonitored landside charges.
These actions, alongside other unaddressed recommendations, are crucial to enhancing productivity and fostering a more competitive and transparent industry.
Tom Jensen - Head of International Freight & Logistics - FTA | APSA
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