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NEWS Guarded welcome for EU white paper


The widely-trailled EU ten- year white paper on transport, officially


published by the


European Commission on 28 March, called for 30% of road freight to be transferred to rail or inland waterways by 2030 for distances of more than 300 kilometres, and 50% by 2050. The paper, officially titled: ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’ also called for the elimination of


remaining restrictions on


road cabotage and for a third attempt to made to liberalise port services, following the two failed attempts in 2003 and 2006.


The key objective is to decrease dependence on oil and to cut CO2 emissions for the sector by 60% over 1990 levels by 2050.


Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas described the paper as “a challenging goal”. but the International Road Transport Union (IRU), said alternative modes of transport were “not up to the task”. The UK’s Freight Transport Association was more supportive. It welcomed the overriding ambitions in the paper but questioned the methodology behind some its stated objectives. Chris Yarsley, FTA’s EU affairs manager, said: “The part that Europe must play in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions in the face of a less sophisticated but rapidly growing transport sector in the developing world is of course hugely important. And we agree that to meet our own targets for cutting emissions we need to foster an environment where modal choice can prosper


A brave new world for trade...


The Government published its Trade White Paper setting out its strategy for trade and investment on 9 February. It said this meant rejecting protectionism and ensuring a greater openness to trade and investment.


It pledged to work to finalise the Doha round of trade negotiations which would deliver a £110 billion boost per year to the global economy. This would be the make or break year for Doha, it added.


It would also promote greater market access for Least Developed Countries while ambitious bilateral aid programmes would promote trade and regional integration, particularly in Africa, where


the UK is launching an Africa Free Trade Initiative.


It would also support EU


Free Trade Agreements with key trading partners including India, Canada, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and, possibly, Japan. Trade and Investment Minister Lord Green said: “Our new Trade and Investment plan will change how we work with the wider world: a world that is changing by the day. It will enable us to help the UK move into overseas markets and it will strengthen our relationships with our neighbours. By working together and sharing knowledge we can be stronger and better able to take on the challenges of a modern, global world.”


... but SITPRO sorely missed Clear signs are emerging


that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is struggling to fill the gap since the closure of the SITPRO trade simplification body last year, says ASM chairman Peter MacSwiney.


Mr MacSwiney, who also used to chair SITPRO’s Ports and Borders group before the organisation was wound up said that recent circulars had warned that the Import Licensing Branch would be closed for two weeks between 21 April and 4 May inclusive, due to staff shortages. “Anyone intending to import


during these periods should apply for an import licence as soon as possible,” said BIS. “There seems to be a complete disconnect with the trade,” MacSwiney told FBJ. “They are having purges on illegal trade and giving out warnings, but at the same time they are shutting down the advice service for weeks at a time.” He said that had SITPRO still been in existence to argue the traders’ case, the situation might well have been avoided and would also have been able to field a lot of the enquiries itself.


and the infrastructure that allows this to happen, whether by road, rail, sea or air,


is


harmonised across all member states.” FTA also supported EU ambitions to make greater use of rail and water options for freight where possible, whilst acknowledging that road will continue to play a crucial role, as realistic and appropriate.


l


However, FTA questioned the reasoning behind picking 300km as the magic number above which road freight is no longer viable. “Equally, while lifting cabotage may be a fine idea in a harmonised Europe, UK operators pay by far the highest fuel duty in Europe and doing so would present a massive competitive disadvantage to UK registered operators.”


Seaports whose volume of traffic exceeds 0.1% of Community maritime traffic, based and airports whose annual traffic exceeds 0.2% or 24,456 tonnes per year will be included in the new Trans- European Transport Network (TEN-T), under plans currently being considered by EU transport ministers. The future TEN-T will consists of a ‘comprehensive’ network and a ‘core’ network but most infrastructure funding will be allocated to the latter. The core network will include the TEN-T’s most important nodes. Generally speaking, capitals and major cities (more than half a million inhabitants) will be considered as primary nodes, along with certain ports and airports. A port would only be considered a primary node if it handled 1% or more of the freight volume transshipped in EU ports.


The UK’s freight transport policy “requires urgent attention” to deal with national growth and climate change agendas, says a leading logistics academic. Professor Alan Braithwaite, Chairman of LCP Consulting warned in a paper released on 28 March that, without radical changes, “freight transport and logistics’ heritage as a major driver of economic performance will be at risk and it will fail


UK freight ‘needs more vision’


ISSUE 2 2011


SHIPPING: CONTINUED


Forth Ports has agreed to a £760 million takeover offer by its largest shareholder, Arcus European Infrastructure Fund. Arcus has a 23.5% stake in the company, which owns and operates seven UK ports including Tilbury, Grangemouth and others in Scotland


The Freight Transport Association and Heriot-Watt University are to develop definitive best-practice guidance on reducing cargo emissions in global maritime supply chains. With the sector’s carbon emissions likely to multiply three or four times by 2050, it is important for the shipping industry to agree on and measure its own carbon footprint and set voluntary but realistic carbon reduction targets – rather than wait for mandatory legislation, FTA believes.


The Wilh. Wilhelmsen group launched what it claimed was the largest and most sophisticated ro ro vessel of its kind on 23 March. The Mitsubishi-built Mark V class MV Tønsberg offers high ramp capacity, deck strength and height and low fuel consumption. Four similar vessels will be delivered to Wilh. Wilhelmsen and its partner Wallenius Lines, the second being due to arrive in August and two more in 2012. Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics has added direct calls in Santander (Spain), Veracruz (Mexico) and Cartagena (Colombia) to its Europe to US Gulf service. Southampton is the UK port of call for the route.


Maersk Line has ordered ten 18,000teu containerships from Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding with options for up to 20 more. The ‘Triple E’ ships are scheduled for delivery between 2013 and 2015, offering capacity 16% greater or 2,500 containers more than the current largest container vessel, Emma Mærsk.


to meet national goals for the environment.”


In the Consulting Paper, ‘UK Freight Transport: setting a coherent strategy and direction for 2020 and beyond’, he argues that developing a new vision for Britain’s industrial and logistics landscape is a huge challenge. The data and modelling on which it should be constructed is fragmented, inconsistent and incomplete.


British Waterways to go


British Waterways will cease to exist in April 2012 and will be replaced by a new waterways charity, said the organisation’s head of regeneration, Andrew Stumpf. He told the Freight by Water conference in Bristol on 16 March – the first since the organisation came under


the umbrella of the Freight Transport Association – that a new council was being set up to represent different waterways interests and trustees were being appointed. However, it was unclear what role if any freight would play in the new organisation.


Budget moves welcomed


The Government said it had decided not to replace air passenger duty with a tax per plane in the Budget on 23 March, to the relief of the Freight Transport Association. The FTA was concerned that such a move could have increased costs to airfreight


users and operators


of cargo aircraft, adding that it would in any case have been illegal under international law. It would also have jeopardised the UK’s competitiveness and made UK airport less attractive compared with Continental rivals. The British International Freight


Association (BIFA) meanwhile gave a cautious welcome to the decision to abandon the next increase in fuel duty planned for 1 April and put in place a fuel ‘stabiliser’ to remove some of the uncertainty over fuel prices. BIFA director-general Peter Quantrill, BIFA director general said: “Our lobbying appears to have paid off to a certain extent, and we welcome the news that fuel duty on petrol and diesel is to be cut by one pence per litre, but note that the planned increase has not been cancelled, just postponed until 2012.“


The port of Lagos handled a 4,000teu, Maersk Line vessel of 11.5 metres draught in mid-February, following the removal of wrecks from the Lagos Channel, according to local press reports. The vessel, which arrived from Asia, called first in Dakar, Senegal, where discharge of some boxes reduced draught from 11.5 to 10.5 metres. However, the port expects to handle bulk vessels drawing about 12 metres and Maersk may also increase its vessel size in future.


Ramsey, Isle of Man-based Mezeron has terminated its daily container service between Liverpool and Douglas. It said that volume growth on the route, introduced in October 2010, had been disappointing. The company will continue its general cargo and container service from Glasson Dock (near Lancaster) and Belfast to the Isle of Man.


ROUND-UP: AIRFREIGHT


Lufthansa has ordered five new Boeing 777 freighters, due to join the fleet from 2013. They will be used “to seize growth opportunities fuelled by rising demand”, said the carrier. It has also ordered 25 A320neo and five A321neo passenger aircraft for its continental European traffic.


The new Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG) said its priorities would be air cargo security and e-commerce, after its four founding member associations signed basic principles at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Istanbul.FIATA, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) also agreed to address customs and trade facilitation issues, along with the sustainability of the global air cargo industry.


The US government said it would lift the ban on air cargo from Yemen following a meeting between US ambassador Gerald Feierstein and Yemen’s minister of transport, Khalid al-Wazir on 12 February. It follows a visit to Yemen by a US technical team to view security and safety measures at Sana’a International Airport.


Dangerous goods regulations are now available online, thanks to ‘DG Online’, a joint venture by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and Official Airline Guide Cargo. It combines the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations Manual, the ICAO Technical Instructions and the ICAO Emergency Response Guidance manual in an online format. A free 30-day trial is available at www.dgonline.aero


Phil Couchman has been named as the new managing director of DHL Express UK & Ireland. Currently MD of DHL Express Sub- Saharan Africa, he replaces Ken McCall, who left the company in October. Deutsche Post has appointed Roger Crook to the DHL Global Forwarding board. He was previously in charge of DHL Express Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa and replaces Hermann Ude who has agreed to terminate his membership early.


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