Volume surge and an early peak season? 'Don't celebrate too soon,' warning
While this week’s announcement of a new 90-day window/reprieve on US-China reciprocal tariffs had carriers ...
© Daniël Leppens
Shippers say they feel powerless over the barge congestion crisis in northern Europe – one believing there may be no early solution.
Stanley Black & Decker’s senior transportation manager for EMEA-ANZ, David Lenaers, told The Loadstar congestion at Antwerp had been a problem since last year.
“Although things may have seen a slight improvement over ...
Comment on this article
Gunther Ginckels
July 29, 2017 at 7:08 amShippers are rightfully complaining over the Inland Navigation operation in the Ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam. On the other hand, Mr David Lenaers is not right stating “shippers being left out of the discussion and nobody willing to talk to, or represent, us.” At the creation of the Antwerp Actionplan earlier this month, shippers where represented by Mr Lennart Heip of their organisation O.T.M. On the other hand and at the same occasion, O.T.M. admitted that shippers are no party to the Barge Operators and that O.T.M. was awaiting reactions and feedback from their members. Mr Lenaers is right that all parties continue to blame eachother however shippers are also a party and one can wonder why O.T.M. lacks the feedback from its members to make their point and defend their common interest. Lennart Heip’s observation that a consolidation of volumes is one of the solutions and right as long as this is done from the Ocean Terminal’s operational viewpoint. The one inland terminal operator who told The Loadstar congestion in Antwerp had turned into a “real disaster” can only blame himself as exactly these inland terminal operators managing both the barge services and inland facilities are through the fragmented volume flows the main cause of the “disaster”. Why can Container Carriers (2M+, THE Alliance, Ocean Alliance) controlling over 70% of Global Container shipping enter into VSA’s on the seven seas yet fail to extend same on the land side? Why are the ARA Ocean Terminal Operators (DP World, PSA, MPET, APM Terminals, RWG) handling 60% of the container volumes not taking control by consolidating volumes of their customers – the shipping lines – creating extended inland yards and gates? Why do Container Carriers and Ocean Terminals continue to ignore the opportunity to consolidate their volumes by offering an efficient and sustainable inland navigation operation on the market to serve their customers – the shippers?