ISSUE 4 2011


COASTLINK CONFERENCE REPORT UK logistics map poised for a revolution


Logistics in the UK is on the cusp of a major change, says a north- west ports chief. Mersey Ports managing director Gary Hodgson told the Coastlink Conference in Liverpool on 15 June that if Government carbon targets for 2050 were to be met, the country’s total road freight transport would have to remain the same, but at the same time container volumes were predicted to grow by 50-60%. The logistics industry would be forced to explore the possibilities of regional ports like Liverpool in order to reduce


their road mileage, he said. “It’s an opportunity to transform the logistics of the country,” he said. Later in the same conference, Mersey Ports’ head of business development, Stephen Carr said that traditional distribution strategies had been to minimise transport costs from distribution centres to retail stores (so- called


outbound distribution),


which is why there had been so much DC development in the Midlands. However, this paid no attention to the cost of inbound distribution into the DCs, much of


which was from ports. Businesses were increasingly realising that supply chains varied and that one size fits all approach was no longer appropriate.


Ports could also help businesses by ‘flexing’ warehousing and storage, helping to ease out seasonal peaks – different types of goods had peak seasons at different times of year – or act as a buffer. They could also work to eliminate empty running, by trying to match different types of traffic flow. For example, the Mersey Ports had recently opened a facility


to tranship Irish Sea and deepsea traffic from curtain-sided trailers to containers and vice versa. He added, though: “There is a lot we can do but why doesn’t it happen? At the moment we don’t have an integrated supply chain in the UK, despite the fact that we have a Minster whose title includes shipping and logistics.” There is still a lot of inertia in supply chain thinking, but the doubling in the cost of fuel over the past few years would lead to a radical rethink, Carr predicted.


Giant box-ships will shift global trade patterns


Fleets of giant new containerships will radically alter shipping patterns,


predicts a Drewry


Shipping expert. Martin Dixon, business development manager at the London-based analysts told the Coastlink conference that with Maersk Line, CMA CGM and, now NOL placing orders for 15- 18,000teu megaships, “there will be a big uptick in average vessel sizes.”


This would in turn lead to a smaller number of hub ports, with fewer deepsea services calling in the UK, although he did not foresee that the country would


not lose all its direct mainline calls. However, the current trend was already downwards, with only 20 out of 31 Asia -Europe services calling in the UK, and only five of those with this country as first port of call. However, this could lead to more opportunities for shortsea operators and could open the door for regional ports such as Teesside or Liverpool, he said. There may also be opportunities for regional ports to develop services from niche markets such as South America or Africa. Other trends already in


.....HAZARDOUS.....


evidence was a diminution in China’s labour cost advantage, he added. In 2005, China’s costs were 20% of the UK’s but were now 40% and the trend was upwards. Following


the natural months, shippers and


political upheavals of the past few


were


also multi-sourcing as a hedge against


future disruptions, in


contrast to previous trends towards minimising the number of vendors in order to gain economies of scale.


There was also a tendency towards more ‘near sourcing’ rather than relying exclusively


on long trade lanes from Asia. Mike Garratt, managing director of


consultancy MDS


Transmodal told the same conference that the Liverpool area actually had more inbound loaded container traffic than many Mediterranean ports that already have a wide range of deepsea services, from Asia and elsewhere. “Liverpool has 2m loaded teu imports within a 300km radius, compared with only 1m for Genoa,” he explained. “So it has more ‘critical mass’ than many ports in Europe.”


Scapa Flow in the Orkneys has the potential to become a deepsea transhipment hub for the UK and northern Europe, says Alf Baird, professor of maritime business as Napier University. Ships heading for north west-European ports mostly pass through the Pentland Firth at the top of mainland Scotland, and the port is arguably one of the most strategically sited of any potential port, he told the Coastlink conference in Liverpool on 16 June. Professor Baird, who has been studying the concept as part of the EU-funded STRATMOS project says that deviation time for continent- bound ships from the US is virtually nil. Moreover, as more European regions introduce emission control areas, forcing ship operators to use expensive low-sulphur diesel fuel, a location away from populated areas


could actually be an


advantage. Interestingly, many of the other potential sites identified by the study are, like Scapa Flow, former naval bases. These were usually strategically sited astride main shipping lanes.


The potential for local cargo in northern Scotland is somewhat limited, but Professor Baird argues that other regions of Europe,


particularly the


31


Could it be better to go with the Flow?


Mediterranean,


have developed ports that are mainly or even exclusively transhipment hubs. Malta Freeport, for instance, handles around 90% transhipment traffic. The incidence of transhipment is also increasing. One specific problem in Scapa


Flow is that the existing port infrastructure is mainly taken up with serving the burgeoning windfarm industry, but this could be solved by another idea suggested by the Professor. Old container ships could be moored at strategic locations, fitted with cranes and turned into floating transhipment platforms. Crane maker Gottwald was taking a serious interest in the concept, he said. Days lost to weather could be an issue, Professor Baird admitted, though he also suggested that winds in the Pentland Firth were not particularly severe. As to potential problems in finding people


willing to work on a


decommissioned hulk somewhere off the north coast of Scotland, Professor Baird said that Orcadians were well used to working in tough maritime environments. Conditions would be no worse than on a North Sea oil rig, he suggested.


..TEMP CONTROLLED... ..EUROPEAN EXPRESS..


.....RECRUITMENT.....RECRUITMENT..... Would you like to be part of a winning team?


Primeline express have several management opportunities in all areas of the businesss. Please send your cv to career@primeline.ie


The Multi-award Winning Specialist Recruiter for Freight, Logistics & Supply Chain Personnel


www.logiskills.com


promote your specialist service for as little as £250 per issue contact Lawrence Saunders on 0151 427 6800 or email lawrence@fbj-online.com


.....HEAVYLIFT.....


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32