FBJ 4 FREIGHT BUSINESS JOURNAL


CONTACTS 2014 SALES


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EDITORIAL


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chris.lewis@fj-online.com MARTIN ROEBUCK PHIL HASTINGS JAMES GRAHAM


CIRCULATION


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Issue 1 2014 Freight Business Journal FROM THE EDITOR


The formal proceedings announced by the European Commissioner against a number of shipping lines late last year is the latest stage in a long- running investigation for cartel-type practices in the industry. Readers may recall the so-called ‘dawn raids’ by Commission officials on a number of shipping line offices


around three


years ago that triggered the process – not the first such occurrence in the industry. Since the abolition of shipping line conferences in Europe, collusion between lines over rates and many other matters is of course illegal and no doubt Brussels’ investigators are acting from the highest of motives to try and ensure that it doesn’t happen. But perhaps to expect liner shipping people to totally eschew such discussions is to misunderstand the nature of the industry. Shipping line conferences existed for decades – nay, centuries – before their abolition in the early 2000s, and old habits die hard. However much officialdom, and in fairness, shipping line top management may wish it otherwise, it is impossible to change a whole industry’s culture overnight. Moreover, container liner shipping is a highly specialised, closely-knit industry. It tends to congregate in specific districts of certain port cities and staff regularly flit from one company to another in search of that no doubt elusive ‘dream job’. It’s a gregarious industry, and people socialise with each other. To totally eliminate ‘collusion’, you would also have to abolish pubs, restaurants and cafes.


By Chris Lewis


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The death of Nelson Mandela is a timely reminder of the monumental changes there have been in the world in barely a quarter of a century. It’s also easy to forget that despite everything, all the wars and bloodshed, even 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria, much of it has been for the better. Back in the dark days of the late 1980s, it was impossible to imagine that the monolithic aparatus of the South African apartheid state would ever even be relaxed, let alone completely dismantled. Over in Russia, the dictators in the Kremlin seemed as firmly entrenched as ever; it seemed unthinkable that anything us apparently insubstantial as people power would, in the space of a few years, bring it all crashing down, leading to the break-up of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw pact. And the idea of Poland or Romania being not only free of the grip of the Soviet Union but firmly established members of the European Union would have been dismissed as the ravings of a madman. Latterly, it’s become very fashionable to castigate globalisation as the root of most of the world’s evils – but international trade can be a very powerful force for good. Trade sanctions played a very large part in taming the hard men of Apartheid. And isolation from the West’s technology and consumer goods was instrumental in the eventual collapse of the Soviet Empire. Today, the theme is repeated. Iran’s sudden apparent willingness to play ball over its nuclear programme is mainly the result of a comprehensive sanctions programme. And the change of heart has come about in a remarkably short time.


Not everyone is happy at the recent trade deal signed in Bali, of course. Many from the international aid sector are deeply suspicious that the trade pact hammered out will primarily be of interest to ‘big business’ and that the poor will, as always, come off worst. But many of the countries that finally, aſter decades of wrangling, felt that they could sign up to the World Trade Organisation’s multilateral deal were themselves considered among the poorest of the poor when the process was started in the 1990s. The


so-called Developing World is no longer a


single entity – poverty is not necessarily its defining characteristic and it is now home to some very big global businesses indeed. Moreover, if the Bali pact can achieve one of its stated aims and cut the amount of red tape involved in importing and exporting goods from Africa and Asia, the poor of those countries probably have more to gain than most. Luxuries are unaffordable to people in those parts of the world mainly because of the involvement of middlemen and the sheer amount of time goods spend sitting on docksides or stranded at land borders.


///OPINION


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@fj-online.com


next issue >> circulation >>


Our next issue will include features on Ireland, Far East, UK North West, Heavy Liſt and Dangerous Goods.


There will also be our regular IT Section and news pages. For further details contact: John Saunders - +44 (0) 151 427 6800 john.saunders@fj-online.com


To guarantee your personal copy of FBJ please register by emailing


your details to circulation@fj-online.com or fax back the address cover sheet included with this issue.


It’s been a while since the BRICs acronym was first coined. The term – which stands for the high-growth economies of Brazil, Russia, Indian and China – first appeared in about 2001, apparently. Since then, these countries’ growth spurt has run its course, as these things always will, and while none of them are exactly in recession, their economies are expanding at a more reasonable 2-5% a year or so. So it is about time that we were due another set of initials. MINT is the latest coinage from the pundits, and it means Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey, all seen as a good bet for future prosperity and growth. Mind, some people in the freight industry I’ve talked to have raised their eyebrows at this list of unstable, unpredictable countries so perhaps one or more of these countries will end up being dropped. A MINT with a hole, maybe?


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