New capacity added to South American routes! Hapag-Lloyd and ZIM are jointly launching the AS3 weekly service, offering direct calls to Brazil’s five major ports from East and South China.

Hapag-Lloyd and ZIM Shipping officially announced on August 19 that they will jointly launch a new Asia–East Coast South America service effective September 13, 2026. The route is designated AS3 within Hapag-Lloyd’s network and ZFS (Falcon Service) in ZIM’s network, operating on a weekly schedule. The inaugural westbound sailing is scheduled to depart from the Port of Shanghai on September 14, while the eastbound maiden voyage is set to leave Rio Grande, Brazil, on October 21.

Covering China’s five major core ports and providing direct connectivity to the five key hubs on Brazil’s eastern coast.
         According to information released by Hapag-Lloyd, the AS3 service will serve several key Chinese container ports, including Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Hong Kong, and Yantian. On the South America route, the service will call at five major ports along Brazil’s eastern coast: Rio Grande, Paranaguá, Itajaí, Santos, and Rio de Janeiro.

         The complete route rotation is as follows: Shanghai → Ningbo → Xiamen → Hong Kong → Yantian → Rio Grande → Paranaguá → Itajaí → Santos → Rio de Janeiro. The westbound maiden voyage is scheduled to depart from Shanghai on September 14, 2026, while the eastbound maiden voyage is set to leave Rio Grande on October 21, 2026. Via the Port of Rio Grande, the service will further serve the Río de la Plata Basin market and extend into the southeastern region of South America.

Incremental expansion rather than substitution, with standout capabilities in refrigerated container and specialized cargo transport.
         Notably, Hapag-Lloyd has stated clearly that, following the launch of the new AS3 service, its existing AS2 and ASE Asia–East Coast South America routes will remain unchanged. This indicates that Hapag-Lloyd is pursuing an “incremental expansion” strategy rather than a “replacement” approach on its South American network, further enhancing its overall route coverage through the addition of this new service.

         According to the announcement, this route is equipped with a large number of refrigerated container outlets and can handle special cargo such as oversized shipments, hazardous materials, and electric vehicles. This aligns with the South American market’s growing demand for temperature‑controlled exports—including agricultural products, meat, and fruit—and with the rising trend of Chinese exports of new‑energy vehicles and high‑value‑added equipment. For foreign‑trade enterprises, the key benefits of this new service include: expanded options at the Chinese export end, with the route serving multiple major ports across East and South China; and an extended network of Brazilian destination ports, covering not only the country’s core hub of Santos but also Rio de Janeiro, Itajaí, Paranaguá, and others.

China–Brazil trade continues to heat up, and the new air route could not have come at a more opportune time.
         In recent years, the scale of China–Brazil trade has continued to expand, making Brazil’s eastern coast a fiercely contested hub for container shipping lines. According to customs data, in the first six months of 2026, bilateral trade between Brazil and China totaled US$99.076 billion, up 15.16% year on year. Specifically, Brazil’s exports to China reached US$58.322 billion, an increase of 21.92%, while its imports from China amounted to US$40.753 billion. In terms of product composition, machinery and transport equipment accounted for the bulk of Brazil’s Chinese imports, with import value for transport equipment—including new-energy vehicles—rising by 25.88% year on year. As China’s cross-border e‑commerce continues to accelerate its global expansion, substantial volumes of goods are increasingly flowing into emerging markets such as Brazil, leading to persistent capacity constraints on Far East–Latin America routes.

         The launch of the AS3 service has established a direct new shipping route for cargo from East and South China to Brazil, helping to alleviate capacity constraints during the peak season. At the same time, it has increased vessel call frequency at ports beyond Santos—such as Rio de Janeiro, Itajaí, and Paranaguá—thereby enhancing distribution efficiency. For companies planning to export to the Brazilian market, it is advisable to closely monitor cabin availability, rate fluctuations, and actual port call schedules once this route becomes operational.