Zim Integrated Shipping looks to withdraw capacity from an Asia-US Gulf Coast service it operates with Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) in response to a“drastic drop”in trans-Pacific cargo bookings. The withdrawal and other changes show how the Trump administration's tariffs against China continue to redraw container services.

In a Federal Maritime Commission filing last week, MSC and Zim said they were making interim changes to their vessel sharing agreement (VSA) struck last September for six trans-Pacific services to US East and Gulf coasts. The interim changes, which take effect next week, were made“in light of the drastic drop in demand resulting from current trade conditions.”

The interim change will affect Zim's South Lotus service that MSC jointly operates as its Lone Star Express service. Under the new arrangement, Zim will provide three ships to the 13-ship rotation. Zim originally provided up to six ships under the earlier VSA, which started out as a 12-ship string.

MSC will provide all the Lone Star capacity by early fall, although Zim will have the option to contribute up to four ships. Zim's container slot allocation on other services under the VSA will also be lower under the temporary arrangement.

The ports served under the VSA were also changed to include Indonesia and Taiwan, along with the existing Asia port network of China, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore. Last week, MSC and Zim announced that their Emerald-Xpress Boston service would add a call in Taiwan.

Evergreen Marine offers Taiwan service into the East Coast, as does the jointly operated Hapag-Lloyd and Wan Hai AA7 service, but carriers have rarely offered direct service from Indonesia. Maersk was the last to try in 2022, but it suspended the service a year later.

The most recent changes come after MSC and Zim announced the suspension of one East Coast and one Gulf Coast service due to the sharp drop in container bookings from China following the April 9 release of President Trump's latest tariffs.

While the subsequent easing of those tariffs will spur a rebound in shipments from China, MSC and Zim's recent schedules are adding calls to Southeast Asia to account for additional import sourcing shifts.