After a 40-year hiatus, South Korea’s KMTC Line is returning to the Transpacific trade, joining SeaLead Shipping’s Asia–US West Coast (AWC) service, which it rebrands as the Asia Pacific Express (APX), starting June 17.

KMTC becomes the third Korean carrier on the route after HMM and SM Line, marking a return to the trade it last served between 1978 and 1985. Linerlytica reports that KMTC will deploy a 6,655 TEU vessel, likely the KMTC Mundra or KMTC Colombo.

In parallel, the AWC/APX service will be upgraded with 6,000–10,000 TEU vessels, replacing the current 2,900–5,600 TEU ships. The rotation includes Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan, Long Beach, and back to Qingdao, with SeaLead contributing three vessels.

This move follows KMTC’s April 30 collaboration with regional carriers including SeaLead, RCL, TS Lines, Emirates Shipping, Sinotrans, and Sinokor to launch a new Asia–Mexico service, tapping into rising China–Mexico trade.

The timing aligns with a 90-day US–China tariff reprieve signed May 12, which spurred a surge in Transpacific volumes and rates. Spot rates hit a 3-month high as US importers front-load shipments, fearing post-window tariff reinstatement.

According to the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, spot rates on May 17 rose to:

• $3,091/FEU to the US West Coast (+$3296 WoW)
• $4,069/FEU to the US East Coast (+22%)

In response to the surge, ONE, HMM, and Yang Ming under the THE Alliance will launch the PS5 loop on June 5, deploying six 6,500 TEU ships with a six-week turnaround between Qingdao, Ningbo, Long Beach, Oakland, Kobe, and back to Qingdao.