|
|
|
Home
|
Benefits
|
FAQs
|
Help
|
Full Search
|
Contact Us
|
TRADE UPDATE - SA-EUROPE CONTAINER SERVICE (SAECS)
UK/NORTH WEST CONTINENT FEATURE
Squeezed auto industry will impact export volumes
Article by Joy Orlek - Freight Trading Weekly - in an interview with Safmarine's Africa trades executive- Alex De Bruyn - 30 January 2009.
The downturn in volumes on the UK/North West Continent routes is already evident - but the extent to which this is recession-related rather than seasonal will become clear in the months ahead.
"The southbound market is heavily dependent on the automotive sector both in terms of CKDs, parts and sub suppliers," says Safmarine's Africa trades executive Alex de Bruyn. "This segment in the South African market has been markedly affected by current economic events in terms of local sales and production for local demand as well as exports.
"Both are down and if a substantial proportion of your imports from Europe are aligned with that segment you would expect overall that there would be a reduction."
Catalytic converters and seat covers are among the major industries that have sprung up around MIDP for export on Safmarine vessels.
However for Safmarine, auto exports are not a major focus. "A substantial portion of our total exports are reefer and that looks to be a good season after good rains last year. But volumes will of course depend on how the recession affects the European consumer."
The route is however far less volatile than the east-west trades and is unlikely to see significant schedule changes, particularly from an SA-Europe Container Service point of view, says De Bruyn.
"The Saecs deployment is no different from last year - we're running a weekly core service or main string with seven vessels and an intermediate service which will be weekly during the reefer season with seven vessels, reverting to fortnightly in the off-peak season between September and January."
Late last year Saecs cut back the number of vessels on its intermediate service - "and this was really in response to demand," said De Bruyn.
He doesn't expect the downturn to be sufficiently significant to force a review of capacity deployed - but that hasn't been ruled out completely.
"All lines will be looking at supply versus demand and will be adjusting capacity if and where necessary, says De Bruyn.
The volume decrease could have positive benefits for congested ports both here and in Europe, but is unlikely to enable Saecs to reduce its vessel deployment.
Looking ahead, it's likely to be a fairly rough ride. The demise of independent SA Independent Liner Services late last year has already changed the landscape in terms of capacity.
Conventional logic for South Africa, in De Bruyn's view, should see the start of an upturn in the last quarter of this year, or the first quarter of 2010 - the industry will no doubt be watching global developments with a keen eye.
|
|
|
NEW INFORMATION ITEMS
CSR request - A call for computers
23 May 2013
Shipping line Safmarine's latest Containers-in-the-Community project, a...
More Info
Feature - Safmarine aims to increase auto volumes in 2013
Safmarine increased its automotive import and export volumes in 2012 and hopes to continue the...
More Info
Feature - Africa -Thailand Trade
Feature material on Africa-Thailand Trade - Carrier Perspective - Q&A
Answers provided by...
More Info
News: Award for Safmarine’s 21 year Containers-in-the-Community initiative
22 April 2013
Shipping line Safmarine has been recognised for its 21 year commitment to...
More Info
Opinion piece - A sea of same ... Safmarine's Russell Gillespie April 2013
Safmarine's Russell Gillespie Global Head of Customer Experience and Brand looks at the all...
More Info
Profile - Safmarine 2013 - Boilerplate text
The below Safmarine profile is used for press release purposes.
ABOUT...
More Info
News: Safmarine and Capespan provide a safe space for nurturing young minds
Safmarine and Capespan provide a safe space for nurturing young minds
A partnership...
More Info
Navigator Issue 51 - April 2013
In this issue, we've put the spotlight on:
The Safmarine's cultureThe importance of delivering...
More Info
Clippings - The Times - Best-kept success story (22 March 2013)
Eighteen years ago, Safmarine partnered with the South African Department of Education and the...
More Info
Clippings - Skills on site (March 2013)
Safmarine's Containers-in-the-Community project - 'Sport in a box' - has been nominated...
More Info
More Info Items
|
NEW IMAGES
New images added this week...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
.JPG)
