This week, MSC will again blank its standalone Swan loop from Asia to North Europe, due it said to “slowing demand”.

It is the third consecutive week the carrier has cancelled the Swan service and shippers are starting to question whether it will be suspended, albeit temporarily.

“It’s quite unusual for a carrier to blank a loop week after week,” a director of a UK-based forwarder told . “It could be that MSC will put this service on the back burner until ...