Multiple Carriers Restart Transpacific Services as US-Bound Demand Surges

With the temporary truce in the China-U.S. tariff war, a surge in shipment demand has led to tight capacity on Transpacific routes. Carriers are responding by announcing rate increases and resuming U.S.-bound services. 

Korea Marine Transport Co. (KMTC) is returning to the Transpacific trade after 40 years, joining SeaLead and TS Lines on the Asia–U.S. West Coast (AWC) route. KMTC previously operated U.S. services between 1978 and 1985, but has focused on intra-Asia trade in recent years. Its comeback signals a strategic shift towards global routes. 

The AWC/APX services are being upgraded, with 6,000–10,000 TEU vessels replacing the current 2,900–5,600 TEU ships. KMTC will deploy a 6,655 TEU vessel for this route. 

ONE, HMM, and Yang Ming have also announced they will launch the PS5 service earlier, starting on June 5, to accommodate growing demand after the trade agreement.

In addition, ZIM’s ZX2 U.S. West Coast express service, which was suspended on April 22 due to retaliatory tariffs, has now resumed—marking one of the shortest service suspensions in shipping history.