Maersk has started the restructuring of its services from Asia to south America following the restructuring of Hamburg Sud. As outlined in Panjiva research of November 27 this came with minimal regulatory requirements – largely covered by selling its Brazilian cabotage business to CMA-CGM – leaving the group free to optimize its portfolio as it sees fit.

In the Brazilian market this will include new services to Pecem directly, which has so far received minimal incoming freight from Asia. Panjiva data shows just 195 TEUs were delivered from Asia in the 12 months to November 30, vs. over 1,500 for most “second tier” ports.

Chart segments Brazilian imports from Asia, denominated in TEUs, by port of unlading and carrier SCAC. Source: Panjiva

The routings will also improve direct access from Asia (and vice versa) to Chilean ports. That may be particularly helpful for suppliers outside of the major port routes. So far those have been dominated by shipments from Shanghai (15.3% of shipments in the past three years), Busan (12.8%) and Hong Kong (4.7%) for freight originating in Asia.

Chart segments Chilean imports from Asia by port of lading. Source: Panjiva

Finally, the re-routings should help reduce shipments times to the Colombian market. That may allow Maersk to extend its advantage in inbound marine traffic, where it is already 2.1x the size of its nearest competitor for containerized freight but has seen an 18.1% drop in handling in the 12 months to October 31 vs. a year earlier.

Chart segments Colombian imports from Asia by carrier SCAC. Source: Panjiva