By Jite Eriabie
The New York Shipping Exchange (NYSHEX) has announced that Maersk Line, the world’s largest container ocean carrier, has joined as a founding member and investor.
This marks the latest milestone for NYSHEX which now, in less than 9 months, has added six of the top global ocean carriers as members, representing a combined 52% of the global capacity (source: Alphaliner). Maersk Line joins Hapag Lloyd, CMA CGM, MOL, OOCL, and COSCO as carrier members of the exchange.
Established in 2015, NYSHEX provides the global shipping industry with a standardized digital freight contract, the industry’s first, and is compliant with all U.S. regulations as well as the Federal Maritime Commission’s contract filing requirements.
“We are very pleased to have Maersk Line join NYSHEX as a founding member. Maersk Line has been a pioneer of many digital initiatives, and we are delighted to be working together in digitizing the freight contracting process, as well as improving shipment reliability. With each additional carrier that joins the exchange, our members benefit from more offerings and services to choose from,” said Gordon Downes, CEO of NYSHEX.
The member carriers on NYSHEX now represent all three major alliances: 2M, Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance. This provides shippers with a broad array of services to choose from.
“Our investment in NYSHEX is another example of our commitment to be a key player in the industry’s digital transformation. This platform will help us expand the range of digital products and services to ultimately enhance the customer experience,” mentioned Peter Hildebrandt, Head of Revenue Management for Maersk Line and future industry representative on the NYSHEX Member Council.
Speaking to the importance of addressing the issues of over-bookings and rollings in the shipping industry, Omar Shamsie, President of Maersk Line North America added, “The time is now to create a more collaborative environment for all participants in the ocean transportation industry. That is why we’re excited to begin piloting NYSHEX’s processes and technology in North America starting March 2018 to increase visibility and certainty for shippers which we hope will result in a better end-to-end experience for our customers.”
With the NYSHEX platform, Maersk Line will offer a product for customers who want to agree and control their costs upfront, and receive a commitment from the carrier for the transport of their shipment. Maersk Line will begin piloting in its transpacific export agriculture market (exports from U.S. to Asia), as of March 2018.
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