Premier Alliance Pulls Jacksonville Off EC2 Map: What the HMM/ONE/Yang Ming Move Means for U.S. East-Coast Shippers

1. What Is the Premier Alliance?
   Formed in 2023, the Premier Alliance is a vessel-sharing and slot-exchange partnership between South-Korea’s HMM, Japan’s Ocean Network Express (ONE), and Taiwan’s Yang Ming. Together they operate six mainline strings (EC1-EC6) linking North-East Asia to the U.S. East Coast via the Panama Canal, pooling over 520,000 TEU of weekly capacity.

2. Jacksonville Removed from EC2
   According to a carrier advisory released 23 July, the EC2 string will “omit Jacksonville effective voyage QGJ-25-08.” The revised rotation becomes:
   Busan ➔ Shanghai ➔ Ningbo ➔ Yantian ➔ Panama Canal ➔ Savannah ➔ Charleston ➔ Busan.
   Jacksonville’s last call was on 19 July voyage QGJ-25-07.

3. Why the Change?
   • Berth congestion at Jaxport’s Blount Island Terminal has averaged 36 hours this quarter.
   • Alliance partners claim the extra loop time is “no longer commercially sustainable” amid Panama Canal drought surcharges.
   • Vessel upsizing: EC2 is upgrading to 15,500-TEU neo-Panamax ships that require deeper draft than Jacksonville can currently guarantee.

4. Immediate Impact
   • All import bookings with final POD Jacksonville will be defaulted to Savannah (SAV) or Charleston (CHS) at no extra ocean freight.
   • Exporters will need to reposition empty containers from Savannah (2-hour truck) or Charleston (3.5-hour truck).
   • Chassis shortages in Jacksonville are expected to peak the last week of July; carriers will waive drop-off fees for containers returned to Savannah until 10 August.

5. Recommended Actions
   a) Review existing EC2 bookings and accept the carrier’s rebooking proposal within 48 hours.
   b) Adjust inland routing—Savannah offers daily block-train service to Atlanta and Charlotte; Charleston has barge links to Florida.
   c) Secure Savannah or Charleston chassis/drayage early; rates have already jumped 8 % week-on-week.

CONTACT FOR CONTINGENCY PLANNING
Need help rerouting cargo, securing Savannah chassis, or negotiating last-mile rates to Florida? Reach our 24/7 routing desk:

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