4 FBJ FREIGHT BUSINESS JOURNAL CONTACTS 2011


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


RAY GIRVAN Tel: +44 (0)1691 718 045 Mobile: +44 (0)7790 000443 ray.girvan@fbj-online.com


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


MARTIN ROEBUCK Tel: +44 (0)20 8657 0138


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LORRAINE CHRISTIAN Tel: +44 (0)151 427 6800 lorraine.christian@fbj-online.com


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FREIGHT BUSINESS JOURNAL Saunders Associates Ltd Station House Mersey Road Liverpool UK L17 6AG


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Chris Lewis


OPINION FROM THE EDITOR


Just because an idea has been invented by the boys in Brussels, doesn’t automatically mean that it is a bad thing and should be disregarded. Very often, that will indeed be the case, but as Davies Turner boss Philip Stephenson points out elsewhere in this issue of FBJ, the freight industry underestimates the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) concept at its peril.


The UK is currently lagging well behind its key EU competitor countries in AEO take-up. Until now, many people in the industry


dismissed AEO as yet another piece of bureaucratic nonsense. They may well ultimately be proved right, but then again they may not be; it is possible that those forwarders and shippers who embrace AEO will enjoy significant advantages over their non- accredited brethren. It doesn’t help, though, that Brussels has been typically vague and untransparent over what those benefits might actually be. A certain degree of cynicism is inevitable.


Readers can rest assured that their phones are quite safe from being hacked into by the FBJ editorial department. Being technological duffers, we struggle most of the time to pick up our own voicemail messages legitimately, let alone anybody else’s. Nor is there much prospect of us paying policemen for stories – the editorial budget won’t stretch that far. Events in and around the Westminster Village may be occupying most of our media circus’s attention at the moment but the events that matter most to the long-term fate of the UK are happening elsewhere. The fact that the PM was forced to cut short a vital trade mission to Africa to deal with the ‘crisis’ at home speaks volumes.


Meanwhile, those who actively seek out alarm and despondency can find plenty of


it in the financial markets. The jitters


surrounding the Euro have not gone away, with renewed fears that the contagion of government sovereign debt defaults spreading to other Eurozone countries. When the crisis first surfaced in Greece a few months ago, many of us probably hoped that it would somehow ‘blow over’ – a somewhat irrational if understandable human response. But with strikes and demonstrations planned in Greece and other affected countries, these issues always carry the risk of spiralling beyond the control of politicians and economists. It’s hardly a coincidence that shipping services to the eastern Mediterranean have been rationalised.


There is more unfinished business in the Middle East, meanwhile. Still nobody knows the final outcome in Libya or Syria, or indeed whether the situation in Egypt and Tunisia are in fact finally and fully resolved. But international trade has a habit of carrying on, even under the most unpromising circumstances. In fact, one major car manufacturer we spoke to recently complained of a shortage of capacity to the Middle East.


The UK Bribery Act 2010 coming into force on 1 July could have profound effects on the way the freight industry does its business. As with any piece of new legislation, it will take a while before its


ISSUE 4 2011


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.


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 next issue will include features on Ireland & East Coast USA. There will also be our regular IT Section and news pages. For further details contact John Saunders - +44 (0) 151 427 6800 john. saunders@fbj-online.com


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true effects can be digested, but many businesses will no doubt be taking an ultra-cautious approach while it settles down. True, some lawyers do have a tendency to over-state the draconian nature of the new laws – after all, having thoroughly alarmed everyone, they have a great deal to gain by offering their consultancy services to help them ‘solve’ the problem in return for a hefty fee. But the description of the new UK legislation by one legal firm as ‘the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on steroids’ does have some truth in it.


A little common sense should go a long way. I don’t think that anyone buying their freight forwarder a coffee and a biscuit (or vice-versa) need be unduly alarmed, though we have heard reports that one company is indeed telling employees that they must get head office’s approval before reaching for the chocolate digestives. However, it might be worth putting any more elaborate corporate junketing under the legal microscope. And it’s important to note that the new act applies even where the transaction does not place in the UK.


Unless we are directly involved in our day-to-day lives, most of us have a tendency to assume that, just because a problem isn’t getting much media exposure, it has somehow gone away. Many people will have been surprised that there has been a surge in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden in the first six months of the year, with the International Maritime Bureau reporting a total of 166, up from 196 in the same period last year. Moreover, the pirates are getting bolder and seem to be more willing to operate during rough Monsoon weather. That said, while the number of attacks was higher, few ships are being successfully hijacked – only 27, compared with 21 in the first half of 2011. It appears that security measures are paying off.


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