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Issue 7 2015 - Freight Business Journal From the Editor The Transpacific Trade


Pact (TTP) between the US and 11 other countries in the Americas, Asia and Australasia was signed in early October aſter five years of negotiations – a remarkably short time- scale as these things go. Perhaps it will inspire negotiators


in the


///OPINION


FBJ is 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.


currently bogged-down Transpacific Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and European Union to redouble their efforts – but then again, it may not. There are sufficient anti-TTIP interests to derail or seriously delay the process. Not everyone sees freer flowing and cheaper international trade as necessarily a good thing. The EU is in danger of ending up with the worst of both worlds – either a seriously watered-down TTIP, or even no deal at all, but arrived at only aſter years or even decades of negotiations. Whether you agree with the result or not, the TTP negotiators can be congratulated at the speed with which they have reached their deal.


By Chris Lewis


Editorial writers and chief executives are fond of expressions such as ‘game changer’. I’m not sure that DSV’s acquisition of US-based forwarder and logistics company quite comes into that category; it will make the Danish company into a sizeable player in logistics, air and sea-freight forwarding, though not one that can rival the mighty DHL, or at least, not yet. It is though a significant deal for DSV itself. Perceived perhaps somewhat unfairly in the UK as mainly a European trailer operator, the acquisition of the currently unprofitable US global operator will greatly boost its credentials as a global forwarder and third party logistician. Less comforting for shipping and airlines, perhaps, it also means another big player with the clout to demand sizeable rate reductions. It may not quite change the game, but it certainly livens things up a bit.


Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but there were many of us in the cargo industry who thought that the Davies Commission’s apparent favouring of a third Heathrow runway marked the beginning of the end of the excruciating process of increasing airport capacity in the South-East. Now though, political developments, including the new Labour leader’s stance, appear to have thrown the whole debate open again. Whatever the ultimate decision, there are clearly no quick fixes to what has now become an urgent problem. Heathrow is now only ever a small computer glitch away from complete chaos; airlines wishing to come to the UK cannot do so, at least not unless they are willing to consider some of the alternatives. What’s the answer? It’s hard to answer that question. A bit more capacity could be eked out of Stansted and Gatwick, though a multiple hub solution would be at the cost of putting more trucks and cars onto the already crowded M25. More long haul flights to Birmingham, Manchester and the like? But would there be enough of a market – and having to send goods and people northwards on our crowded roads and railways to a provincial gateway doesn’t seem a bright idea, either. Maybe we should just invest in a high speed rail link to Schiphol or Paris Charles de Gaulle?


You would hardly know it from our national media, obsessed as it is with the latest celebrity or politician’s gaffe, but the UK has a momentous decision to make within the next year or so. As promised by the PM, the country will go to the polls to decide whether or not we should remain a member of the European Union. It’s not just the public who seem underwhelmed by the debate, though. The voice of business, which arguably has more to gain or lose from the public’s decision, has been strangely silent in what debate there has been. Strange, really, for a decision that will affect not just own lives, but those of our great-great-grandchildren.


Africa will be the next big thing in business, we are told, but a recent editorial visit to Nigeria suggests that the continent has a long way to go. Roads cratered and potholed, and in many places on the point of collapse. Ancient trucks, sometimes lacking headlights, that would have been towed to the scrapyard years ago in most other parts of the world. It’s also unusual for an artic to have operative brakes on the trailer as well as the tractor unit – so when the driver hits the brakes hard, anything and everything can happen, and the outcome is rarely a good one. It’s hardly surprising that wrecked and overturned vehicles litter the highways. Container trailers, made by resourceful local blacksmiths by welding two shorter ones together, frequently snap in half under the weight of fully-laden boxes, many of which of course bear the names of global blue-chip container lines. And it’s also a rare day that mains electricity is constantly available. So Africa has a lot of work to do to make its infrastructure worthy of a global economic force. It’s not for lack of money – Nigeria, at least, has had plenty of it from its oil revenues, though God knows where it has gone. Actually, we do know where at least a portion of it is – around $700 million in cash was reportedly discovered in the house of former oil minister Alison Madueke, who is now helping the police in London with


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


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Our next issue will include features on Scandinavia and France.


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their enquiries, not only with regards to the cash, but the even larger amount in Swiss bank accounts or London properties. She is not the only one, however, not by a long way. Meanwhile, Nigerians have to battle on as best they can with whatever means have been leſt to them by their political class. Port operators and logistics companies have to perform near miracles every day to ensure that the population has enough to eat and wear. The bulging market stalls of Africa are a tribute to the ingenuity of supply chain operators, even if the prices are not always affordable for the locals.


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