HYUNDAI Merchant Marine will stop serving Portland in the US state of Oregon in mid-September in a bid to increase the speed of its shipments.
Under the carrier's current schedule, HMM ships have been up to a day or more late in visiting Portland and other US West Coast ports.
Maintaining the carrier's schedule integrity was the "driving force" behind the decision, said HMM district manager Anthony Galati.
The line's decision will leave two shipping companies, K Line and Hanjin Shipping, to transport containers between Asia and Portland although they will be able to absorb only a portion of the shipments, Portland officials said. HMM, like the other two carriers, primarily handled agricultural exports to Asia.
This is likely to result in exporters of hay, alfalfa and frozen vegetables bearing increased costs of trucking freight to the Puget Sound ports of Seattle and Tacoma.