DREWRY Maritime Research and CargoSmart Limited have entered into a cooperation agreement that will introduce a wider range of container key performance indicators (KPIs) to help importers and exporters benchmark their carriers' service levels.
Drewry will incorporate the additional KPIs into a new quarterly report, the details of which will be announced later this month, the company said.
"The new container KPIs will add value as they will measure performance at the box-level, which is more important for shippers than at the ship-level," said Drewry director Philip Damas.
Drewry has chosen CargoSmart for its comprehensive, high quality data, which is necessary for KPIs to be effective for decision making.
"Measuring KPIs is critical for shippers to optimise their business operations," said Kim Le, director of CargoSmart North America. "Drewry's and CargoSmart's complementary data and analysis provide a unique perspective and in-depth analysis for shippers to make informed decisions about their carriers, ports, and routes."
The new KPIs will monitor not only the performance of the physical port-to-port shipping operation, but also the performance of commercial processes, as well as regional inland transport performance and port dwell times.
"Drewry's reporting over recent years has indicated that only 60 per cent to 70 per cent of containership sailings arrived on time, with carriers only recently deciding to provide a guaranteed standard of service with compensations for delays," Mr Damas commented.
"In a service industry, we believe that it is important that buyers know what standards of service and performance they can expect from the carrier industry - whether good or bad - and what it means in terms of value-for-money and the cost of failed performance," he added.
The company explained that many large importers and exporters already measure various performance metrics for the carriers they use. But, the new industry KPIs provided by Drewry and supported by CargoSmart will provide a comparative, standard assessment of the performance of the carrier industry as a whole and of carriers unknown to shippers, which is not otherwise available even to large shippers.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
INDUSTRY consolidation and schedule reliability were big talking points at the Containerisation International's 14th Annual Global Liner Shipping Conference in London this week.
"There is more and more consolidation within the industry, both in capacity and at the relationship level. Ships get bigger and bigger, and no one can operate these monsters alone," said CMA CGM vice president (North America) Jean-Philippe Thenoz.
"Now the big question is volume: there are worries about where it will come from and where it will go," he said, adding that there was a need for global order to face rising overcapacity.
Said Ceva Logistics operations chief Bruno Sidler: "These major drivers won't go away: globalisation and consolidation. There will always be businesses being gobbled up by others."
Said Elkem traffic manager Marc Lembrecht: "If you look at what has been happening in the last couple of months, GDP has been going down. Carriers a few years ago took a bet and assumed growth would keep going."
Another issue was schedule reliability. While it has improved, it needs to be built into contracts between carriers and shippers to ensure long-term integrity, said Simon Heaney, research manager and London's Drewry Shipping Consultants.
"Historically, it was poor, in the range of 50 per cent, but more recently signs have been good. In Q4 last year the average was 69 per cent, and it's been in the low to mid 70s for the first two months of this year," he said.
Said Lars Jensen, CEO of Seaintel Maritime Analysis: "You need to put in a buffer time [in the contract] that is acceptable to both carrier and shipper."
Said Mr Lembrechts: "This is an important issue. The estimated time of arrival is built into customers' production plans; if this is not met, then they can really get into trouble."
Mr Jensen said reliability times needed to be measured by trade lane and not globally, and that it was the reliability of the delivery time of the container that needed to be measured, not the ship.
"Reliability has improved on the backhaul trades, such as Los Angeles to Shanghai, but the shippers on this trade lane, such as the waste paper shippers, don't care; it's the reefer shippers carrying cargo the other way for to whom this is important," he said.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
DP WORLD's London Gateway project has been awarded the coveted Global Deal of the Year for 2011 at the Infrastructure Journal Awards, the company announced.
The award recognises the delivery of outstanding infrastructure projects and is in recognition of the deep-sea container port's successful project financing, which was fully secured in December last year.
Said DP World European chief Sarmad Qureshi: "This sends a clear message to our customers that this is a globally significant development which has secured world class financial backing. Securing this deal has allowed construction to forge ahead and I am delighted that we were able to close on what has been recognised as the best infrastructure project deal in all sectors.
"We are confident that London Gateway will be able to deliver substantial supply chain cost savings to global shippers. Thanks to our closer location to key UK markets we will also be able to help customers move their goods in a greener, more efficient way, reducing carbon dioxide and other transport emissions," said Mr Qureshi.
The successful London Gateway team was accompanied by representatives from Allen & Overy, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Societe Generale, who played roles in advising and financing the project.
Said RBS infrastructure chief Kevin Maddick: "Working with our partners on the team, we were all impressed by the vision of the project and this award vindicates our confidence in financing its development."
Said Pallen & Overy partner Conrad Andersen: "This award is testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in making the project a success and ensuring the financing was put in place quickly and efficiently was an important part of that."
Said Societe Generale infrastructure chief Charles Greenfield: "Securing top quality funding has been a challenge in recent times. I am pleased DP World London Gateway was able to demonstrate a strong mix of vision and benefits to end users, which went a long way to help secure the financing."
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
TOLL Global Logistics, part of the Toll Group of Australia, has been awarded three Johnson & Johnson (J&J) third party logistics (3PL) service excellence awards for best warehouse management, best customer service, and best group contribution across its regional distribution centres in China.
The company's regional distribution centres in China were recognised by J&J's customers (including Watson's) as the best supplier, consistently offering a first-class delivery service with zero complaints. Toll's Shanghai distribution centre made enormous contributions by switching 3PL projects in the eastern region, working with J&J in developing improved transport services.
"Managing supply chain for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) can be a complex practice today. We are happy to have Toll's know-how and its positive efforts and dedication in understanding our business requirements in China, which has helped optimise our J&J warehousing and transportation processes and enhanced delivery service for our customers at our end," said Felix Zhang, Johnson & Johnson's Consumer China Supply Chain director.
Said Toll Global Logistics CEO Wayne Hunt: "Toll is proud to be recognised by such awards from its customer J&J, a 125 years old global brand, and we will continue to work with J&J to support its commitment to its customers in China."
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
RUSSIA's National Container Company (NCC) has announced new appointments to its First Container Terminal's (FCT) management team in a bid to enhance sales.
Galina Galtsova, a graduate of Samara State University and previously the terminal's deputy commercial director, has been appointed commercial director. In his new job, he will be responsible for facility's commercial function, organisation and the supervision of contractual work, relations with government agencies and transport companies.
Sergey Ivanov, who graduated from St Petersburg University of Finance and Economics, was previously head of the terminal' s marketing department. He has now been appointed FCT's sales and marketing director and will be responsible for the facility' s current and strategic sales planning, marketing policies, relations with terminal's clients and business partners.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
AUSTRALIA's biggest logistics and transportation provider, Toll Group, has appointed 30-year industry veteran Damain Bishop to the new role of group director business development.
Mr Bishop, who joined the company in 2002 and has worked in various sales roles including national sales manager, Toll Fast and general manager, group business development Australia, will work closely with the group's managing director, Brian Kruger, the divisional directors and functional heads to develop long term strategic partnerships with significant global, regional and domestic customers whose logistics requirements span more than one division and/or business unit.
Mr Kruger said the new group director will be responsible for driving industry sector solution selling as well as creating and capturing opportunities for long term global growth and performance. He will also be responsible for leading major, complex tenders in Australia and New Zealand.
"Damain will be responsible for coordinating the account management for the top 50 Toll Group customers, working in conjunction with the divisional directors and in partnership with Paul Coutts, group products, marketing and sales director, TGF and Dominic Rego, director business development, TGL."
Mr Kruger added that Mr Bishop will play a critical role in Toll's ongoing goal to drive organic growth and build the One Toll imperative to offer customers a complete logistics solution and leverage our synergies.
"I look forward to leading a renewed focus on developing our sales and business development capabilities to drive cross-business growth in our key markets. My new role strengthens our commitment to developing a One Toll approach to business development, leveraging our expertise across the Group," Mr Bishop said.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
LOGISTICS provider Agility has received the Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2008), Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2004) and Occupational Health & Safety (OHSAS 18001:2007) certifications for its Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Danang and Bac Ninh locations in Vietnam.
The certifications were presented to Agility by SGS in recognition of its quality management standards and efforts to implement, maintain and improve its environmental management system in accordance with global best practices. SGS is one of the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification companies.
"It is a priority for us to implement the Quality, Environmental Health and Safety (QEHS) Management Systems throughout our offices as they reflect our commitment to exemplary corporate citizenship and sustainability," said Hans Hickler, CEO Asia Pacific, in a company statement.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
LOGISTICS and supply chain management company, Barloworld Logistics Far East, has won top awards at the 31st worldwide conference of FETA Freight Systems International (FFSI) held last month at Sun City, South Africa.
Barloworld Logistics Far East received the award in the categories of best in sales, best in account settlement, best in operations and services and the company was also chosen as the winner in the overall ranking.
Deon Heyns, managing director and head of the Far East operations for Barloworld Logistics, who attended, expressed gratitude to his colleagues in Hong Kong and China.
"We set ourselves the objective of being the best agent at last year's conference. We will strive to be the best and better our services on an on-going basis. These awards mean a lot to the team back in Hong Kong and China," said Mr Heyns.
Barloworld Logistics specialises in "smart" supply chain solutions. It also offers traditional logistics services, which include transport, warehousing and forwarding from offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
FFSI is a global network of joint venture branch offices and independent freight forwarding companies rendering the full spectrum of transport services including multimodal logistics and other specialised cargo handling related activities.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THREE cargo charter brokers - Pacific Airlift of Singapore, The Charter Store of the USA, and recently-formed NEO Air Charter of Germany - have launched the Global Charter Alliance (GCA) as the world's first consortium of independent air charter brokers.
Membership expansion will be carefully planned in order to maintain high standards, said Pacific Airlift director Andrew Sim, adding that "quality is GCA's first priority, and expansion comes second".
The aim of GCA is to exploit operational efficiencies, share contacts, market intelligence and other information, leverage collective buying power and benefit from economies of scale, said a company statement.
The benefits of GCA include its regional coverage and scale and its success working together previously, say joint managing partner of recently launched Frankfurt-based NEO Stefan Kohlmann.
Charter Store co-founder Harry Steiner agrees that GCA advantages lay in the team of experienced individuals known to one another in working partnerships which are now combined to make a larger team: "Success in charter broking is all about people, their knowledge and their contacts."
Its hopes to work with freight forwarders rather than directly compete offering an alternative model to larger brokers with an emphasis on customer focus, fair deals and competitive pricing. "We take a different view: freight agents play a vital role in the supply chain, which we absolutely respect," said Mr Steiner.
GCA membership provides coverage of US, Asia Pacific and Europe, supplemented by service partners in other parts of the world that enables it to conduct charters to or from any location.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE airport of UAE' Fujairah emirate, the second smallest and the only one facing the Gulf of Oman, has suffered a drastic decline in traffic over the last six years as interest in Abu Dhabi and Dubai eclipses its prospects and siphons off its passengers and cargo.
Despite the Fujairah airport's benefits in transporting cargo via road and cheaper aircraft parking fees it has found it difficult to remain competitive since the opening of Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport, reports Abu Dhabi's newspaper, The National.
Fujairah's volumes have plummeted against Dubai International Airport's cargo volume increases, in the month of February it was up 6.5 per cent to 157,492 tonnes compared to same period 2011.
"We have seen the cargo market decline because of Al Maktoum Airport and we recognise that we will not be a major player in this market," said airport business development manager Charles Hajdu.
The airport plans to promote itself as strategic energy and shipping hub supported by the oil, gas and shipping industries in a new overland pipeline to open later this year. A pipeline will allow crude oil to go from Abu Dhabi through Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman and away from the Strait of Hormuz, where there has been much sabre rattling of late between Iran and western powers recently.
The airport has become an aircraft park, though some have been abandoned by Soviets and have been a focus for salvage companies looking for engine parts, aluminium and other metals, even seatbelts and buckles.
The addition of berths for handling extra capacity and larger vessels at Port of Fujairah is supported by intermodal improvements in a new motorway cutting journey time from the city to Dubai.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan issued a decree on conduct of 16-th International exhibition "Oil and Gas of Uzbekistan" (OGU-2012) by "Uzbekneftegaz" together with the company "ITE Exhibitions & Conferences LTD" (United Kingdom) on May 15-17 in Tashkent.
International conference "Modernization and technological re-equipment of oil and gas industry of Uzbekistan" will held on May 16-17 within the framework of the exhibition.
These events are traditionally held to introduce modern technologies and to attract additional foreign investment in oil and gas industry of Uzbekistan.
"Uzbekneftegaz" will participate in OGU-2012 with united stand under the banner of the 20th anniversary of the company, said the company.
Central Asian News Service, en.ca-news.org
Kongsberg Maritime is the owner of the ‘Windsense’ project, which aims to develop a new and flexible instrumentation system for wind turbines. The system will help to make wind power more economically competitive. The project, which amounts to 22 million NOK, has been initiated through collaboration within the instrumentation cluster NCEI (Norwegian Centres of Expertise Instrumentation).
Windsense will develop a system that will make wind turbines more effective by reducing unplanned shutdowns, thus achieving higher reliability of the power plant. The system also makes it possible to temporarily run the turbines at a lower capacity in anticipation of required maintenance, which further reduces expensive downtime.
“We hope that this project will help to make offshore wind power more competitive and thus help to facilitate a green Norwegian economy in the future,” says project manager, Oddbjørn Malmo from Kongsberg Maritime, Lade.
The project has been awarded a total of 10 million NOK from The Norwegian Research Council’s RENERGI program.
A key challenge is the adaptation of equipment and methods for maintenance from the maritime and oil and gas industry, for use on offshore wind turbines. Cost-effective operation of offshore wind turbines will require new technology that enables a greater degree of remote control and remote monitoring of the turbines. It also requires durable and reliable instruments to monitor the operation and components in harsh environments at sea.
“This system will primarily be an instrument for monitoring the technical condition of the wind turbine and the life cycle of the components used. It will make it possible to more accurately predict when the equipment must be replaced. Today, such assessments are usually done by operators using handheld inspection equipment,” says Malmo.
Windsense is a collaboration project between some of the strongest wind power and instrumentation companies within Wind Cluster Mid-Norway, mainly located in the Trøndelag region of Norway. The project has been awarded 40% funding from The Research Council of Norway for a 3 year project period starting in February 2012. Kongsberg Maritime is project owner with Oddbjørn Malmo, Kongsberg Maritime, Lade as project manager. Other participants are Statoil, NTE, Light Structures, Trollhetta, NTNU, HiST, SINTEF Energy Research and MARINTEK.
The project is one of many projects that have been initiated by the Norwegian Centres of Expertise Instrumentation (NCEI www.neci.no). The general manager of the cluster Torbjørn Akersveen is very pleased with the project.
“We are very pleased that the cluster again delivers an exciting project with a large commercial potential. Our goal is to be a spearhead in Norwegian instrumentation, and together with Norwegian industry develop solutions to the challenges the industry considers to be relevant,” comments Akersveen.
Source Kongsberg Maritime
The construction of Chui-Fergana raliway is possibility to enter the Common Economic Space as an equitable partner, Kubatbek Rahimov, expert on Central Asian infrastructure projects, told a press conference in AKIpress news agency today while talking about this route of the railway as an alternative to construction of China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.
“Construction of China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is currently discussed in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan should shape its strategy at first. The railway should link densely populated areas of Chui and Fergana regions, that is the north and the south of the country. Construction of Chui-Fergana railway would allow to do this. It would become the critical element of the continental mega-project – construction of India-Siberia railway, which would link Russia's Urals, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan with Pakistan and India,” the expert said.
Construction of this railway would enable Kyrgyzstan to hold talks with Russia concerning its debt transformation and would produce multiplicative effect in the agrarian sector, according to Kubatbek Rahimov.
The alternative project does not envisage the resources in exchange for investments scheme and as such deserves more attention, Rahimov added.
“Opening of the Chui-Fergana route will bring the country out of transport blockade. This railway construction will be more expensive over its length of 500 km. But the railway is built for development of the territories, not in exchange for or rent of resources. Presence of infrastructure will automatically increase costs of deposits. Investors not only from China, but also other countries will be able to reach new markets of raw materials and to build processing plants,” he said.
This would provide an equitable access for investors to the railway construction project, he added. “This railway will run alongside power transmission lines. We are imposed not electrified railway from China. We need to build the electrified railway to avoid unnecessary costs,” Rahimov concluded.
Central Asian News Service, en.ca-news.org
After 20 months of assessment, the North-East Arctic cod and haddock fishery becomes today the 5th French fishery to be certified to the MSC standard for sustainable fishing.
A joint commitment to sustainability
Already certified independently for their catches of saithe in the North Sea [1 & 2], the Boulogne fleet EURONOR and the Compagnie des Pêches Saint-Malo embarked on a joint endeavour to obtain MSC certification for cod and haddock, supported by their producers’ organisation, the FROM Nord [3].
Holding the entire French quota for cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) in the North-East Arctic Ocean, the FROM Nord shares it each year between these two companies that have now been certified. A long-standing coordinated management model that Thierry Missonnier, Chairman of the FROM Nord, wanted to enhance: “We work in close collaboration with the subscriber fleets to ensure a sustainable management of halieutic resources. Obtaining MSC certification today is recognition of the coherency of the management measures that we have implemented around an eco-responsible fishery.”
Three of EURONOR’s freezing trawlers (Cap Nord, Klondyke and Nordic II) as well as the trawler Grande Hermine of Compagnie des Pêches Saint-Malo, operate in this fishery. The independent certification body MacAlister Elliott and Partners Ltd and the expert team in charge of assessment found that cod and haddock stocks in the North-East Arctic Ocean were in excellent condition, and reported a controlled impact of fishing gear on marine ecosystems. Going further, an action plan will be implemented to improve the detection and protection of sensitive habitats.
An answer to consumers’ expectations
For Martine Edouard Leborgne, Communication Manager at Compagnie des Pêches Saint-Malo, “The MSC certification is a way to show our good fishing practices to the general public using an independent certification recognised all over the world. We think that MSC certification will consolidate and develop our products on the French market and expand their export marketing.”
Euronor CEO Xavier Leduc confirms these expectations: “With this MSC certification, we are opting to position ourselves on a market that is strategic today. Whereas our first certification (for saithe) was first of all a bet on the future with the aim of enhancing the image of our fishery and attracting new sailors, this second certification responds to a market reality in which we want to have a part.”
An increasingly diversified MSC-labelled product offer
Nicolas Guichoux, MSC Regional Director - Europe, says: “I would like to congratulate and thank all the stakeholders who were involved in the certification process. The demand of sustainable seafood is increasing in Europe, North-America and even Asia. Cod and haddock are white fish species that are very appreciated by French consumers. The MSC ecolabel displayed on these fishery products is very important because it gives the information to the consumer that these species were fished in a sustainable way.”
Edouard Le Bart, MSC Country Manager France, adds: “My congratulations to the EURONOR shipping company, Compagnie des Pêches Saint-Malo, and the FROM Nord producers’ organisation, of which the coordinated approach and good fishing practices have borne fruit and made it possible to obtain MSC certification for cod and haddock. This certification also enlarges the offer of MSC-labelled seafood caught by French shipping companies. Cod and haddock therefore now join the North Sea saithe, Brittany sardines, and Normandy and Jersey lobster that are already MSC-labelled, and show the growing importance that French fisheries attach to obtaining recognition for their good practices.”
Source MSC
Proposed dividend of €2.30 per share follows positive business performance
Dr. Georg Pachta-Reyhofen, Chief Executive Officer of MAN SE, has confirmed the MAN Group's long-term objectives at the Annual General Meeting: "We want to continue growing profitably and to be the world's most successful commercial vehicle manufacturer," said Pachta-Reyhofen. He added that technologically leading products were a key to this in addition to systematically focusing the Company strategically.
He went on to explain that MAN was well positioned: Fiscal year 2011 was one of the most successful in the Company's history. In this context, Pachta-Reyhofen referred to the record revenue in the amount of €16.5 billion, which was an increase of 12 percent on 2010's revenue. The excellent operating profit of around €1.5 billion and the earnings before tax of €1.1 billion also reflected last year's positive business developments. By contrast, net income was impacted by exceptional factors and amounted to €247 million. Order intake rose by 14 percent and at €17.1 billion drew nearer to the record level of 2007 again.
Looking to the provisional figures for the first quarter of 2012, Pachta-Reyhofen made it clear in his speech that the demand for MAN's commercial vehicles and its machinery also remained at a high level in the first few months of 2012.
At €4.4 billion, the order intake of the MAN Group as a whole in the first quarter remained around the sound prior-year level in line with this. A slight increase to €3.8 billion was even recorded in revenue. As in the previous year, 35,000 commercial vehicles were sold. Revenue in the Power Engineering business area climbed by around five percent compared with the first quarter of 2011.
In the first quarter of 2012, the MAN Group generated an operating profit of around €250 million. This decrease of around 20 percent year-on-year is due to the strong competition in several markets. "We will counter this with measures to boost profitability and efficiency," stated Pachta-Reyhofen.
Despite existing uncertainties on the financial markets triggered by the European debt crisis, MAN's success continued in fiscal year 2011 thanks to its international position. The Company's systematic focus on the fields of transportation and energy plays a key role in this success. The Chief Executive Officer of the MAN Group is convinced that there are still major development opportunities here: "We still see an increasing demand for transportation and energy, especially in the emerging economies. Because unless they resolve key transportation and energy issues, these economies cannot grow any further. This is precisely what we are counting on with our BRIC strategy and have secured ourselves market access to the key markets of the future in good time."
The joint projects within the Volkswagen Group will also have a beneficial impact: "The opportunities to cooperate with Volkswagen and Scania that are now available will give us fresh impetus." Cooperating in purchasing, development, and production will enable us to leverage the necessary synergies to tackle the competition head on," announced Pachta-Reyhofen.
While MAN expects solid growth on the transportation and energy markets worldwide in the long term, the Executive Board still expects global economic growth to slow in 2012. Against this backdrop, Pachta-Reyhofen reaffirmed the business forecasts that MAN had issued at the beginning of the year at the Annual General Meeting. The Company expects revenue in the Commercial Vehicles business area to decrease slightly by up to five percent while revenue in the Power Engineering business area is likely to increase by five percent. "Due to the predominance of the commercial vehicle arm, we expect a slight decline in revenue for the MAN Group as a whole, which will lead to a drop in operating profit. Return on sales is likely to remain at the average long-term target of 8.5 percent," said Pachta-Reyhofen.
Source MAN SE
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