4 FBJ FREIGHT BUSINESS JOURNAL contacts 2010


SALES JOHN SAUNdERS - publisher tel: +44 (0)151 427 6800 Fax: +44 (0)151 427 1796 Mobile: +44 (0)7932 102026 john.saunders@fbj-online.com


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EdITORIAL


cHRIS LEWIS - editor tel: +44 (0)208 645 0666 Mobile: +44 (0)7778 106433 chris.lewis@fbj-online.com


GILES LARGE tel: +44 (0)1728 685 558


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OpINION FROM THE EDITOR


ISSUE 2 2010


FBJ has already become established as the only UK and one of the few pan-European Multimodal newspapers. The comments we have received prove there is still room for a hard copy publication with the freighting industry. You don’t have to look at a screen all day!


FBJ boasts the most informative and authoritative source of information with unrivalled in-depth knowledge of the rapidly changing freight business environment.


Chris Lewis


If SITPRO, the trade simplification organisation does end up being axed under the latest round of government cut-backs – and we sincerely hope it is doesn’t though the omens at the time of writing were not good – it could well be a victim of ignorance. While its work is greatly valued by people involved in cross-border trade, very few people outside our world will have heard about it, much less actually realise why that work is so crucial to UK plc. And it is so much easier to cut something that the public doesn’t know about or understand than a high-profile area like health or education. What makes it even more galling is the paltry £900,000 involved - less than 2p for every UK citizen. In fact, our sources tell us that the actual amount saved could be even smaller because some staff will be absorbed back into BIS, the monster department of business, innovation and science produced during one of the previous government’s reorganisations.


It perhaps is no coincidence that the same issue of


FBJ that carries the news about SITPRO also contains a comment by Dr Andrew Traill bemoaning the demise of the shipping manager. If we had more people that actually understood international trade in this country, perhaps we wouldn’t be contemplating cutting one of the few decent sources of information available to traders. Perhaps, with a strong manufacturing export base like Germany, our emergence from recession wouldn’t be so slow and hesitant. Or maybe we wouldn’t have got ourselves into such a big mess in the first place.


Enough of all this doom and gloom – now for some good news. Well, sort of. Greenhouse gas emissions from European Union businesses have fallen and by quite a large amount - 12%, last year, according to Brussels’ data. However, the reasons for the fall are not hard to


guess. It was almost all due to the economic crisis, rather than all those windmills and recycling centres that have sprouted up throughout Europe. It could though be seen as a good starting point. If


we can manage to get global trade growing again, but without increasing the amount of gas we pump into the atmosphere as we do so, the EU could become the first world economic region to achieve economic growth while simultaneously cutting its carbon footprint. Climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard is pinning hopes on the EU’s emission trading system to actually achieve that goal, by driving the market for investment in low-carbon technology. The big question, though is whether cash-strapped business can continue to invest in the sort of innovation and technology that will maintain the progress that has been made.


As the definitive publication within the sea, air, road and rail freight sectors, each issue includes regular news and analysis, in-depth coverage discovering the business decisions behind the news stories, shipper and exporter reports, opinion, geographical features, political and environmental issues.


If you have any stories or letters which should be of interest or any feedback on FBJ, please contact our editor Chris Lewis - +44 (0)208 6450666 chris.lewis@fbj-online.com


NEXT ISSUE


Our September issue will include features on Germany, South Africa, Russia/Eastern Europe, Airline GSA’s, European Trucking plus our regular IT Section and Multimodal News Pages. For further details contact John Saunders - +44 (0) 151 427 6800 john.saunders@fbj-online.com


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Literally a lifeline


We in the West may think we have a lot to moan about as we grapple with recession, but our troubles must always be put into context. Be thankful that you’re not a Malawian villager, where the few transport facilities that are available can literally be a lifeline There, if you fall ill or have an accident, even the most basic medical help can be several days away. We must therefore commend the efforts of marine insurers Thomas Miller, who instead if blowing lots of money on a 125th anniversary bash are instead supporting the renovation of 1898-built Chauncy Maples as a floating clinic. The 38m long vessel, believed to be the oldest ship still afloat in Africa, will bring primary health care to half a million isolated lakeside villagers along with western stretch of Lake Malawi. The ship will bring nurses to lakeside villages that have almost no other access to the outside world and where most people live on under $1 a day. The Chauncy Maples Trust has already had several generous donations, including one from


M&S Shipping but still needs to raise up to £2m (to complete the planned refit within 12 months. As the vessel is being almost completely refitted – the winches will probably be the only original mechanical parts to be retained - parts and expertise from engineering companies would also be welcomed. The Trust is also looking for help with ongoing costs, including fuel. The hull of the ship, which latterly was converted


into a floating bar, is in remarkably good condition, testament to the Glasgow firm that built it in kit form in 1898 and the fact that she has never sailed in salt water. The original vessel was carried as 3,481 small parts to the lake shore on the heads of local workers, while the 11 ton boiler was dragged on wheels by a 450-strong workforce. Her shallow draught is also ideally suited to lake operation. The ship will in fact be returning to its original role, as she was originally designed as a floating clinic and mission, and was named after the Bishop of Nyasaland who drowned in a storm on Lake Malawi. www.chauncymaples.org


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