AUTOMATION was said to be the best road to shipping success by speakers at the TPM Asia Conference at the Hotel Intercontinental in Shenzhen this week.
But automation in the widest sense - from the interoperability of ship and shore gear to a more automatic co-operation between often mistrustful waterfront agencies whose interface problems gum up the works.
Before each speaker agreed with the last one that this was the way forward, adding to a widening the definition of automation as they did so, they each addressed their own areas of concern.
Hua Joo Tan, Alphaliner's executive consultant, saw the future of shipping as one of slow organic growth rather than great leap forwards, with shipping alliances and mergers playing less of a role than widely supposed.
The day-to-day emphasis would be cost cutting, and the more automation, the more benefit would be achieved by all, he said.
The key factor was the continuing flow of fresh tonnage into the market, expected to increase eight per cent in the coming year versus a 4.6 per cent in anticipated shipping demand growth.
"There is no evidence to support the belief that 18,000-TEU ships or big shipping alliances will bring about rate stability," said Mr Hua, who cited US$600 per TEU as the last Asia-Europe rate quote he had heard.
Mr Hua traced the present state of affairs to the advent of the "Daily Maersk" in 2012, which directly led to the growth of mega alliances, to meet the Danish shipping giant's "conveyor belt" threat to their market share.
Some of the force of the Daily Maersk idea was lost when circumstances induced the Danish shipping giant to drop a day from the service.
But the alliance ball was rolling. Starting with the G6 made up of APL, Hapag Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, MOL, NYK and OOCL and then followed by the CKYH group, made up of Cosco, "K" Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and lately joined Evergreen Marine, moved to stave off the threat.
This culminated in the later China-banned P3 Network of the three big lines, Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, but then dissolved into the recently formed 2M of Maersk and MSC, with jilted CMA CGM joining the new Ocean Three created with UASC and China Shipping.
All this is nothing new, said Mr Hua, who said it would not solve what ails shipping today, recalling alliances and conferences of the 1980s, which did not help shipping companies, some of which are no longer in business.
Panelist Andy Lane, partner in Container Transport International Consulting, contradicted claims that "big ships bring big problems" as they take up whole quays meant for two ships leaving cranes idle, which he said was problem easily solve by bring four cranes to work the ship.
Panelist Sandra Moran, marketing chief for electronic booking and billing company INTTRA, which serves 54 shipping lines and NVOs worldwide, said shippers are increasingly disappointed with slowing on-time performance.
She noted that the time it took between the time the ship docked to the time the cargo was available ranged from two to three days and got worse from year to year.
WORLD SHIPPING
16 October 2014 - 22:06
Automation and intra-agency co-operation best way forward: TPM speakers
AUTOMATION was said to be the best road to shipping success by speakers at the TPM Asia Conference at the Hotel Intercontinental in Shenzhen this week.
WORLD SHIPPING
16 October 2014 - 22:06
Automation and intra-agency co-operation best way forward: TPM speakers
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