26


IRELAND


Thinking the unthinkable as lo lo rivals pair off


Vessel-sharing has become a feature of the Irish Sea lo- lo market as operators adjust capacity to weak import demand. Adjustments are easier than in the ro-ro sector, with charters typically


running months to a year. former


DFDS Container Line, Eucon’s partner,


joined forces


with Samskip at the end of last year while Eucon has partnered with its biggest competitor, BG, in a move that would once have been unthinkable. This has enabled Eucon to trim its fleet to six vessels, says Rory O’Regan, sales manager for Ireland. Deepsea feeder traffic accounts for 40% of Eucon’s business and a new vessel, the 280teu Emstar, came onstream on a Dublin-Antwerp routing in March, largely to serve MSC. She operates in tandem with the Gerd, which was previously running on an Antwerp-Dublin- Belfast loop but will now do Belfast-Antwerp only. Export traffic is “flying” out


from three


of Ireland, correcting a previous imbalance, says O’Regan. Dairy products remain massive and with Eucon also the main carrier for Guinness and Bailey’s, O’Regan says the carrier may add to its reefer fleet to cope. It’s not all high-value cargo, however. Peat moss is still a significant seasonal export to the Benelux countries,


France and


Italy each spring, despite pressure on


the horticultural industry


and retailers to use greener alternatives.


Outbound products also include waste materials. Massive amount of waste paper are shipped to the Netherlands for recycling as well as going to Asia. Waste plastics, clinical and medical waste, and hazardous goods are sent to Europe for recycling or safe incineration, as Ireland lacks its own facilities. A near-complete cessation of activity in the construction industry has meanwhile hit imports. Scaffolding, timber and concrete sections “have not really


moved since 2008,” O’Regan says. Overall volumes were 30% down in 2009, the “disaster” year, with deepsea feeders accounting for the major part of that decrease. Last year saw a 25% rebound and O’Regan is further encouraged by volumes in the first weeks of 2011. “We’re holding our own


despite the entry of players such as Cobelfret,” he says. Eucon has had some success in prioritising yield, “bottom slicing” poorer- paying cargo such as waste products when capacity has been tight.


The company went to the market for a 6% rate increase in December and got close to what it wanted, O’Regan says. The company shows a separate BAF to try to minimise the impact on the base rate.


But fuel is “the elephant in the room”, he says. “It’s costing us several hundred thousands euros a month and this is unsustainable in what is already a low-margin business.”


ISSUE 2 2011


Nightline partners with Swiss Post


Irish businesses mailing customers overseas can now access Swiss Post International’s global distribution network for letters and small parcels following the company’s appointment of Nightline as a preferred partner.


Nightline is one of Ireland’s largest parcel companies, and claims to be the only one offering a single delivery service right across the country. It operates seven depots across Ireland and in May 2010 opened a UK office at Accrington, to build a bigger share of the UK-Ireland parcel market. This move has generated significant new business including a contract from Findel, the UK’s largest distributor of education products.


Other Nightline clients include global brands in mobile telecommunications, tobacco, games consoles, fashion, pharmaceuticals and food. The company is Irish agent for FedEx and delivers to areas the integrator does not cover direct. Last December, Nightline set up a dedicated mail division, Eirpost, to exploit the liberalisation of the Irish domestic postal market. With the removal of state-owned An Post’s monopoly, private operators can do upstream sorting for corporate clients and direct mail houses.


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Building on this, Nightline’s partnership with Swiss Post will give Irish companies a new way to access their international clients.


Nightline is giving SMEs new mail and parcel options


Outbound business mail, print media and small parcels that can pass through the postal network will be consolidated at Nightline’s Dublin hub and transferred by air or truck to London, from where they will enter Swiss Post’s worldwide network.


Nightline chief executive John


Tuohy says: “Small and medium- sized companies, including those involved in the direct mail industry, currently find themselves either not using the post or paying full postal tariffs. Those that choose the latter don’t get the bulk discounts larger firms receive because of the volume of post they generate.


“They also have to contend with pre-paying for a bewildering array of tariffs for the different sizes of items which they post and a €2,000 charge for having their mail collected. We believe they will respond favourably to a much simpler and ultimately cheaper system.” Nightline’s Smartship software


Export growth is expected to create up to 150,000 direct jobs within the sector, says Garvan Cerasi, managing director of specialist recruiter, Logiskills Group. “There is a noticeable increase in companies adding headcount as they experience increased volumes and approach maximum productivity from the existing workforce,” he explains. With salaries now around 10- 25% off their peak in a number of roles and tax breaks for new


hires, now is a good time for employers to seek out new talent to assist with their growth plans.


Despite the gloomy stories that have dominated the press over the past couple of years, growth is anticipated in many sectors including software, life science, clean-tech and the food sector. The Irish Independent recently reported in its Exporting Review that Ireland is still home to 15 of the top 20 manufacturers


platform recently claimed the Innovation Award at an annual event organised by the Chartered Institute of Logistics (Ireland) while a bespoke pick-and-pack system it


devised for a tobacco firm,


JTI, picked up the Logistics Best Practice title in the Irish Logistics and Transport Awards (ILTA). Martha O’Connor, manager of Nightline’s Cork depot, was also named Young Manager of the Year at the ILTAs for overseeing efficiency and performance improvements since taking charge there 18 months ago. “To be recognised for the quality of our technology and our people – two things which are at the very heart of our business – is immensely satisfying,”John Tuohy says. Smartship, created in-house, and covers all aspects of Nightline’s collection, storage, dispatch and delivery operations. The pick-and- pack element was researched, written and rolled out in just four months to win the JTI contract.


GFS signs up Ireland’s Nightline


of pharmaceutical products and medical devices in the world and the life science industry now accounts for over 63% of Irish merchandise exports.


Cerasi says: “Exports have


never been so high, there has been a significant improvement in


our competitiveness, FDI


continues to grow, we have an entrepreneurial


society, an


innovation-led economy and an active diaspora who are keen to contribute to our recovery.”


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