Evergreen Line launches new ASEAN service with COSCO, China Shipping

Taiwanese carrier Evergreen Line has partnered with COSCO and China Shipping by launching a joint ChinaSurabaya Express (CSX) service in response to the increasing market demand resulting from significant trade growth between China and the ASEAN countries.

The new CSX service, Evergreen's latest initiative to enhance its service on the Intra-Asian trade will deploy four ships of 2,000-2,700 teu, including one each provided by Evergreen and CSCL and the remaining two by COSCO.

The first sailing departed from Qingdao on the 20th of May, with the following the port rotation: QingdaoShanghai-Xiamen-Shekou-Pasir Gudang (Malysia)-Singapore-Surabaya (Indonesia)-Singapore-Qingdao.

The weekly service covers major ports from China in the north to Malaysia and Indonesia in the south, providing regular and convenient links for regional trade and connecting to Evergreen's global service network via Singapore.

After the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) was established in 2010, bilateral trade volumes have continued to rise. According to the statistics published by the General Administration of Customs in the PRC, its import and export trade with ASEAN grew by 8.3% to $480.4 billion in 2014.

In addition, the ASEAN community has actively negotiated with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand to establish the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that would further encourage free trade and have the effect of driving cargo growth within the Intra-Asia trade.

Earlier, Evergreeb launched its new Vietnam-Singapore-Malaysia (VSM) service that utilized two A-type containers of 1,164 TEUs with the first sailing started from Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh City, Port Klang, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas and back to Haiphong.

The regional service will also connect Evergreen's global service network via its trans-shipment hubs in Singapore and Tanjung Pelepas. Economic forecasts indicate a strong momentum of trade growth in the region.

IMF has forecasts that the ASEAN economy is set to grow by 5.2 percent in 2015 and 5.3% in 2016, surpassing its performance of 4.6 percent in 2014. The positive indicators support expectation of a steady cargo growth within the intra-Asia trade.