‘Targeted Injection of Capacity’ Into Vietnam, Thailand Reshapes Ocean Networks

Why It Matters

The reallocation signals a permanent realignment of global supply chains toward Southeast Asia, reshaping trade flows and carrier economics.

Key Takeaways

• Ocean Alliance adds capacity to Vietnam, Thailand
• Haiphong reach up 33% via new services
• Laem Chabang sailings double to West Coast
• Resources shifted from Malaysia’s Port Klang
• US imports from Thailand, Vietnam surge 36.5% and 17.8%

Pulse Analysis

The latest Ocean Alliance Day 10 schedule reflects a strategic pivot toward Southeast Asian origins, driven by apparel manufacturers seeking "China + one" sourcing alternatives. By upgrading Vietnam’s Haiphong and Thailand’s Laem Chabang to deep‑sea hubs, carriers reduce reliance on transshipment hubs like Malaysia’s Port Klang, cutting transit times and offering shippers more direct routes to North America. This capacity injection aligns with broader industry trends, as rivals such as ONE and Gemini also expand services to these ports, reinforcing the region’s emerging role in global container traffic.

From a market perspective, the shift has tangible effects on trade volumes. U.S. import data for January shows Thailand’s TEU growth at 36.5% and Vietnam’s at 17.8%, while China’s shipments fell 22.7%. These figures illustrate the rapid reallocation of cargo away from China toward Southeast Asian suppliers, prompting carriers to reconfigure networks to capture higher‑value, time‑sensitive goods. The added $600 million CMA CGM terminal in Haiphong and doubled frequencies at Laem Chabang signal long‑term investment confidence, suggesting carriers expect sustained demand from manufacturers diversifying their supply bases.

For shippers and logistics providers, the new routes promise operational efficiencies and cost savings. Direct calls eliminate an extra transshipment leg, reducing handling fees and exposure to congestion at traditional hubs. However, the rebalancing also introduces competitive pressures, as carriers vie for limited capacity on the newly prioritized lanes. Stakeholders must monitor capacity utilization, freight rate adjustments, and potential service reductions on other corridors—such as the noted decline in Ocean Alliance’s Asia‑to‑Europe connections—to fully leverage the evolving maritime landscape.

‘Targeted Injection of Capacity’ Into Vietnam, Thailand Reshapes Ocean Networks

By Glenn Taylor · February 20, 2026 · 9:00 am

As apparel sellers seek out alternatives to China in the wake of U.S. tariffs, ocean carriers appear to be following suit by calling at more ports in Southeast Asian countries benefiting from sourcing diversification.

An analysis of the Ocean Alliance’s upcoming network update by Sea‑Intelligence suggests Vietnam and Thailand will be attracting more carrier traffic in 2026, marking what the maritime consultancy calls a “strategic pivot” that positions the shipping firms to directly serve emerging “China plus one” markets in Southeast Asia.

“This is not a general expansion, but a targeted injection of capacity into Vietnam and Thailand,” said Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea‑Intelligence, in a weekly update on Sunday. “Ocean Alliance has effectively upgraded these markets into core deep‑sea origins.”

The vessel‑sharing alliance, which is comprised of liners including CMA CGM, Evergreen, Cosco Shipping and its subsidiary Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), will see its “Day 10” service updates go into effect in April.

The Sea‑Intelligence analysis indicated that the Port of Haiphong would see a 33 percent increase in direct market reach due to the shifts, “allowing high‑value goods to bypass traditional transshipment via South China,” Murphy said.

Calls to the Vietnamese port, where CMA CGM plans to build a $600 million terminal, will be added to four trans‑Pacific services to North America, two on each coast, according to Cosco’s Day 10 schedule.

Thailand’s top port, Laem Chabang, will see service frequency to the West Coast double, moving from one to two weekly sailings, according to Sea‑Intelligence.

“Crucially, this expansion appears to be a zero‑sum game,” said Murphy. “The data shows a direct operational swap, where resources were stripped from a transshipment hub like Malaysia’s Port Klang to fuel the direct call frequency in Laem Chabang. This indicates that Ocean Alliance is betting on the permanence of the sourcing shift, establishing direct, high‑frequency corridors for ‘China + 1’ volumes.”

As part of the network shift from its “Day 9” update last year, Ocean Alliance introduced 21 port‑to‑port connections and discontinued 26 direct links. There are 318 connections that remain unchanged.

Other vessel‑sharing alliances have made recent changes of their own incorporating Vietnam and Thailand’s major ports.

• In late January, the Premier Alliance of Ocean Network Express (ONE), Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and Yang Ming added the Port of Haiphong to its FP2 service, which connects the Asia‑Pacific region with the ports of Tacoma and Vancouver.

• ONE also announced that its EC2 China‑to‑U.S. East Coast service will call the Port of Cai Mep in Vietnam on eastbound rotations, dropping a call at China’s Port of Xiamen.

• The Gemini Cooperation of Hapag‑Lloyd and Maersk revealed in January that it was adding Laem Chabang to its WC1 Asia‑to‑Los Angeles service line, replacing the Chinese Port of Nansha.

The prospects of growth out of Vietnam have impressed a major U.S. port. In December, Georgia’s Port of Savannah called Vietnam the gateway’s “fastest‑growing trade partner.” The port offers nine direct ocean‑carrier services between Savannah and Vietnam, with an average transit time of 33 days from one stop to another. Savannah’s container trade with Vietnam has climbed 38 percent over the past five years, adding 104,000 TEUs to reach 379,000 TEUs last year.

January figures of U.S. import volumes reflect the realities of “China plus one,” and the impacts the diversification has had on trade flows. According to Descartes’ monthly global shipping report, only three markets in the top‑10 countries of origin saw year‑over‑year TEU growth entering the U.S.:

• Thailand – largest jump of the top 10 markets at 36.5 percent (32,251 TEUs)

• Vietnam – cargo increased 17.8 percent (43,862 TEUs)

• Indonesia – increase of 18 percent (9,319 TEUs)

Conversely, China’s 22.7 percent year‑over‑year export collapse (226,816 TEUs) in January weighed overall containerized inbound cargo down at a 9 percent clip, decreasing 164,692 TEUs.

Lars Jensen, CEO of container‑shipping consultancy Vespucci Maritime, observed within the Sea‑Intelligence analysis that there was likely some pullback of direct service connectivity to key ports in other regions as well. The analysis indicated that Day 10 connections for the Ocean Alliance declined 4.8 percent on the Asia‑to‑Mediterranean Sea trade route, from 126 last year to 120 for 2026.

“One particularly interesting development is a reduction in direct service connectivity from Busan to Europe for Ocean Alliance,” said Jensen in an update on LinkedIn Monday. “This development follows Gemini which also designed a network last year with no direct connectivity from Busan to Europe but using shuttles instead. It would appear that whereas Busan is indeed a key regional hub, its role as a hub for European cargo appears to be reducing.”