The plan by Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Mediterranean Shipping Co. to form the world’s largest vessel-sharing alliance, which would control about 25 percent of the container volume in the trans-Pacific, presents great opportunity for U.S. ports, but also significant competitive risks.
In an attempt to influence the world’s three largest carriers that will make up the P3 Network and other lines to ship more containers through its port, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission in early November approved an incentive program that will pay carriers for every container they ship through the port in 2014 above what they shipped in 2013.
In Los Angeles-Long Beach, carrier tenants sign leases that commit them to a minimum annual guarantee of volume. In the alliance environment, any volume above that guarantee is in play for the other port.