CMA CGM, COSCO and ONE Add Seasonal Pisco Call to US East Coast Service

CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping Lines and Ocean Network Express (ONE) will add a seasonal call at Pisco, Peru, to their joint West Coast South America–US East Coast service, with the extra port staying in the rotation only until the end of January. The addition gives exporters in southern Peru direct access to the service's US East Coast coverage during the region's peak export period.

The three carriers market the shared loop under different names: CMA CGM sells it as Americas XL, COSCO Shipping Lines as NEWS, and ONE as FLX. Despite the three brands, a single vessel rotation serves all three carriers' customers on the same strings of ports.

What changes in the rotation?

The revised port rotation now reads:

• Guayaquil (Ecuador)
• Callao (Peru)
• San Antonio (Chile)
• Pisco (Peru)
• Callao (Peru), called a second time
• Guayaquil (Ecuador)
• Cartagena (Colombia)
• Port Everglades (US)
• Philadelphia (US)
• New York (US)
• Charleston (US)
• Cartagena (Colombia), called a second time
• Guayaquil (Ecuador), closing the loop

Pisco slots in between the Chilean port of San Antonio and a repeat call at Callao, meaning Peruvian cargo can be lifted on either the first or second Peruvian call within a single sailing. That structure keeps Callao's role as the loop's main Peruvian hub intact while extending coverage roughly 200 kilometres down the coast to the smaller southern port.

Why a seasonal call, and why Pisco?

The carriers have framed the addition as seasonal rather than permanent, matching capacity to the region's peak export window. Peru's southern agricultural exports are highly concentrated in the months leading up to the end of January, and a fixed year-round call at a smaller port would risk underutilised slots outside that window.

For shippers in the Pisco region, the practical consequence is simpler: cargo can move directly onto the joint service instead of trucking north to Callao for loading. The loop's US East Coast coverage spans four American ports — Port Everglades, Philadelphia, New York and Charleston — reached via the Caribbean transshipment hub of Cartagena.

What does this mean for shippers and forwarders?

The move has clear commercial implications on both sides of the trade.

For southern Peruvian exporters, direct access to the loop during peak season should cut inland transport costs and transit time to the US East Coast, and it removes a dependency on feeder or overland connections into Callao.

For forwarders booking on the service, the window is short. Bookings via Pisco only remain available until the end of January, after which shippers in the region revert to Callao or alternative routings for the remainder of the season.

For the three carriers, the seasonal call is a low-commitment way to capture peak-season volumes without adding permanent capacity, and it strengthens the joint loop's position against competing strings on the West Coast South America–US East America trade.

The addition also underlines how the three-way vessel-sharing arrangement allows coordinated network tweaks: one rotation change by the joint partners simultaneously adjusts the products sold as Americas XL, NEWS and FLX.

Barring an extension, Pisco drops out of the rotation after January, and the service's Peruvian coverage returns to Callao alone.