News / Ocean carriers plan to blank half their sailings from Asia, post-CNY

© Xuejingwen

Against a background of extremely weak demand forecasts, ocean carriers are preparing to blank around half their advertised sailings from Asia to North Europe and the US after Chinese New Year on 22 January.

High inventory levels in Europe and the US, coupled with uncertainty surrounding future consumer demand, has seen orders cancelled or postponed, resulting in Chinese factories preparing to shut down well ahead of the CNY holiday.

For example, apparel marker Inditex said in its earnings call this week its ...