Container transport has shown the first signs of recovery following the economic downturn, which forced carriers to choose container transport to the detriment of bulk transport due to its lower costs. This evolution may, however, prove to be counterproductive, seeing as the market is not supported through sustainable investments in intermodal facilities. There is also the risk of having a surplus of containers, which could generate blockage or even gaps in the logistics flow. Another aspect which influences container transport is the balance between the production and the commodity markets. The large gaps in terms of transport flows affect mainly the end customers, who redirect their business towards other, more remote, markets. Stimulating container traffic at national level or integrating the terminals within a country into a national or cross-border network may ensure the constant and sustainable development of container transport.
The trend that changed the face of worldwide logistics was container transport, a process that carries on even today; a process that managed to survive the economic downturn and the first to show the first signs of recovery. According to the statistical data provided by Datamonitor, the international logistics market is beginning to show the first signs of economic recovery. Experts estimate that in 2013, the market will return to the values recorded before 2008 (around USD 4.000 Billion). The recovery is mainly due to container transport. In Q1 2010, container transport recorded a 4.3% increase compared to the same period of 2009. This was the first sign that the logistics market is beginning to recover after the 2008-2009 deadlock.
The most sustainable growth of container transport was recorded in Russia. Here, container traffic in ports recorded a 36.4% increase in the first half of 2010. The port of Saint Petersburg recorded a total traffic of 880.737 TEU; the port of Novorossysk – 203.900 TEU and the port of Vladivostok – 148.278 TEU. All three ports recorded a higher traffic compared to the same period of 2009. China recorded a 22.1% growth in container transport, which represents 61.8 million TEU. The port of Shanghai recorded 13.86 million TEU (18.8% more than H1 2009), while the port of Hong Kong recorded 11.43 million TEU (+16.1%).
Dmitry Baranov, a logistics expert at Finam, explains the success recorded by container transport and the stagnation of bulk transport. “Container transport is cheaper than bulk transport. That is why container transport has continued to develop. Bulk transport customers are gradually turning to container transport because it’s cheaper, it involves fewer people and is easier to operate. Therefore, although we are dealing with a traffic increase, it doesn’t attract more freight from the market, but from a different type of transport”. According to Baranov, this increase would be even greater if a larger number of containers were available. In this case however, the container market presents a high risk: there could be a surplus of containers due to the unbalanced development of the production and commodity markets. The development of container transport should be dictated by the capacity of every country to adapt to market requirements, so that the investments made in new terminals or the extension of existing terminals would prove to be vital to an early development.
Cross-border terminals should be unified
Experts also talk about other solutions that could ensure an ascendant growth pattern. One of these solutions would be to stimulate container transport on domestic markets. This could help take over the so-called “dead traffic”, more precisely the containers that are stored and which do not carry freight over a long period of time. Another solution would be to unify the terminal market. A separation among the companies that own container shunting facilities would be counterproductive. More terminals owned by fewer companies means less bureaucracy and administrative formalities. At the same time, the unification of cross-border terminals would facilitate freight flows and reduce customs formalities, providing customers with a single business partner, thus significantly simplifying the operations.
by Alin Lupulescu
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