Asia cargo service will stop in Miami

The 2M Alliance, comprised of Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co., recently announced the launch of a new service, the "Lone Star Express," between Asia and the United States Gulf and East Coasts which includes a weekly rotation at PortMiami.

The Lone Star Express will start operations on May 2 using container vessels with a capacity of approximately 4,500 - 5,000 TEUs. (Each TEU is the equivalent of a 20-foot cargo container.) The string includes the ports of Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Busan, Cristobal, Houston, Mobile, Miami, Balboa, and Busan.

PortMiami has been steadily capturing new trade. It posted its strongest container traffic in a decade with a total of 1,007,800 TEUs during the 12 month period ending Sept. 30 an increase of 15 percent. Additionally, Miami was recently ranked among the fastest-growing seaports in the nation. In January alone cargo moves increased approximately 20 percent over January 2015.

MIAMI HERALD STAFF

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Asia cargo service will stop in Miami."