Poor cargo fit prompts APL to drop 53-foot containers on transpacific


SINGAPORE's APL, the container shipping arm of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), has discontinued transpacific service to 53-foot containers after championing US standard truck-length box since 2007.

"The economics just didn't work," said APL Americas CEO Gene Seroka, reported American Shipper. "We'll keep watching it, but at this time it's just not a viable option."

It was hard to find exports to match inbound cargo arriving in the containers which were fortified of ocean passage and now used by Trailer Bridge, a truck-box barge service between Jacksonville, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Some 53-footers were now used by APL Logistics while others have been sold.


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