25 Januari 2013

[250113.EN.LOG] Forwarders, Carriers Find New Markets In Adverse Economic Conditions

BOTTOM feeding for growth appears to be the trend emerging from random comments collected by researchers of the Payload 2013 supplement, as forwarders and carriers appear to see growth well away from major trade lanes.

Talking to Lloyd's Loading List researchers, opportunities in Africa, South America, Turkey as well as the "stans" arise from comments as well as an apparent distancing from China sourcing.

"China, even India are not growing as everybody hoped. There will be a move over the next five to 10 years as China becomes less important for manufacturing and more important as an import country, and manufacturing moves closer to Europe and other centres, say Mexico," said one NVOCC.

Many had high hopes of Africa. "African destinations are looking at healthy growth over the next five years," said a forwarder.

Said another: "Africa is growing nicely, especially east and west Africa. There seems to be a lot of freight and not a lot of competition."

But some expressed caution. Said one NVOCC: "In African markets, there is a lot of corruption and a lot of bureaucracy with regards to documentation. We've been in the market 20 years, but there are some markets in which, when something goes wrong, you can never get to the bottom of it."

Another said: "The port rate increase in Mombasa means a lot of people will be looking for an alternative. It is such a big increase - people might start looking at Dar-es-Salaam."

Said an NVOCC: "East Africa has potential for growth. The only issue is that trying to find skills."

Said a forwarder: "Russia presents opportunities but is also a risk market. It does a lot of business but it is difficult to build relations mainly because of the language barrier."

On South America, one said: "South America because of the investment in the Olympics and the World Cup. A lot of materials will be sourced from the UK and Europe. Tax embargoes around South America are also now being lifted."

Said a carrier agent: "People are discovering natural resources in Africa and South America. Natural resources are what are keeping the economy and shipping lines going."

Turkey too aroused interest. Said one NVOCC: "Istanbul is interesting because more business is moving from Turkey than it used to because of prices. China is farther away and not much cheaper whereas Turkey is much cheaper so it is featuring more."

Said another NVOCC: "Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar will remain key growth catalysts for the contract logistics market in the Middle East."

Said one forwarder: "Russia - St Petersburg. Our growth in that market is considerable."

Another said: "Business to Baku [Azerbaijan capital on he Caspian Sea] is increasing. It used to be just drilling equipment but now the country has started spending money on consumables, and exports from the UK are increasing. We are dealing with Debenhams and other high street retailers."

A carrier agent agreed: "There is huge potential in the 'stan' states. Resources there are huge, but getting freight there is hard."

There was even money in poverty, said one forwarder: "We have moved municipal vehicles to Greece - second-hand vehicles. Markets are created out of adverse times. "

One NVOCC said: "Movements across borders - meaning border controls and the quality of processing more than security."

Source : HKSG, 25.01.13.

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