Another commodity that has seen massive growth in demand is milk powder, with the amount shipped from Europe to Asia tripling over the past three years, Maersk Line estimates show.

As a result of this structural shift, the Danish line has more or less stopped carrying recyclable cargoes, according to Mr Sigsgaard.

Wastepaper, for example, that once accounted for up to one-fifth of eastbound shipments, now represents less than 4%.

Instead, Maersk is focusing its efforts on new customers emerging in this trade who are shipping more valuable goods and so in turn are prepared to pay higher freight rates, in contrast to shippers of low-value commodities such as wastepaper that, in the past, have paid next-to-nothing because of the round-trip economics of the Asia-Europe trades.



The average value of the contents of a loaded 40 ft container being sent from northern Europe to Asia rose by about one-third in the period from 2009 to 2013 to $77,000,  according to the consultancy firm Seabury. Container weights are also lighter, with implications for deadweight limitations.

The Asia-Europe schedules of 2M, which formally started at the weekend with the departure of the 18,270 teu Munkebo Maersk from Dalian, gives specific consideration to the needs of European exporters, with some eastbound services speeded up.

In recent years, the Europe-Asia leg has been slower than westbound voyages because of the perceived greater importance of shipping Asian-manufactured consumer goods to European retailers as fast as possible. European exports were considered less time-sensitive.

But those Maersk loops that call at Asian ports close to big centres of population such as Shanghai, Hong Kong or Singapore will now be going quicker eastbound.

Speeds on most return legs were typically as low as 13-16 knots, with a couple of exceptions, as carriers brought in slow-steaming programmes to offset soaring fuel prices, but these have been increased  in the new 2M network.

Specifically, five of the Asia-Europe loops are scheduled to sail at between 18-19 knots eastbound, only fractionally below westbound speed ranges. Maersk’s AE5 loop, in which the Triple-E ships are deployed, will be operated at the same pace both ways. Middle East calls on the return leg have also been cancelled on some strings in order to reduce sailing times.

A similar trend is being seen in the Asia-US trades, where the eastbound transpacific leg remains dominant, but structural changes are apparent. The shift is less marked than in the Asia-Europe trades, partly because of the logistics challenges of moving cargo from the US hinterland to ports, but one significant development has been the increase in services from southeast Asia to the North America east coast via the Suez Canal.

Mr Sigsgaard regards the Atlantic as more of a possible model for the Asia-Europe market and an indication of how fast trade dynamics can shift. The dominant leg has swung back and forth over the years, and can change very suddenly under the influence of regional economic conditions, exchange rates and local spending patterns.

Unlikely as it seems right now, given the big trade gap, Mr Sigsgaard believes it is not inconceivable that eastbound and westbound Asia-Europe container volumes could be roughly equal by the end of the decade.
(Source : www.lloydsloadinglist.com)