Niche carriers – the relatively smaller carriers with limited deep-sea scope – accounted for 7%-10% of the total weekly capacity deployed on Asia-North America West Coast (NAWC) throughout 2019. During the height of the pandemic, the Asia-NAWC trade lane saw a slew of new entrants – carriers which had no previous footprint on Asia-NAWC and were only there to seize an opportunity that had presented itself in the form of unnaturally high freight rates and a very strong consumer demand for goods.
At peak deployment, these new entrants accounted for roughly 4.5% of the weekly Asia-NAWC capacity, with niche carriers on a whole increasing their share to 10%-15% in August 2021-May 2023. While 4.5% may not seem much, these new entrants accounted for nearly a third of the capacity deployed by the niche carriers on the trade lane. (....)