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VietnamShipper |
Date: (01-08-2011)
Seafreight
Fuel of the future?
At first glance a fuel switch from heavy bunker oil to natural gas for containerships has many attractions.
The bunker oil burned by most containerships in their large, slow speed two-stroke engines is the very dregs of the crude oil refinement process after everything else useful has been removed. It is viscous and sticky, needing to be heated before it can even be pumped along a pipe, and contains all the accumulated impurities like sulfur and sludge, after all the other lighter “fractions” of the original crude have been distilled and removed. The sulfur content averages about 4.5 percent.
Natural gas, on the other hand, consists mainly of methane. When it is liquefied for storage and transportation, impurities like sulfur are removed. Its chemical properties offer a 30 percent reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide “greenhouse gas” resulting from combustion. …(Read more on Vietnam Shipper Issue No. 82)
Dry bulk shipping market is still weak
The BDI remains at a low level and could not break through the level of 1585 points being considered as the peak of the year up to date (see Figure 1 and Table 1). The BDI on 22/07/2011 stood at 1323 points. According to Clarkson, volume of dry bulk seaborne trade increased last year, and continues to grow at about 4% for this year (see Table 2), but oversupply of tonnage is making an imbalance (see Table 3). As a result, the market could not firm up, and there is no upturn sign. …(Read more on Vietnam Shipper Issue No. 82)
Logistics
Tapping Latin Potential
Ports and shipping companies operating in the Caribbean and Central America may benefit from the Panama Canal expansion, new U.S. trade agreements with Panama and Colombia, increased production of some commodities and crops, and continued growth in tourism.
With the opening of a third set of larger locks at the canal, scheduled for 2014, “there definitely is going to be a change in the whole region,” said Carlos Urriola, senior vice president at Carrix, which operates Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. …(Read more on Vietnam Shipper Issue No. 82)
Trading
Beyond expats: Better managers for emerging markets
Expat managers are notoriously bad at adapting to local culture. What’s more, the presence of these foreigners often fuels a belief among local employees that there is a ceiling on their own potential in the company.
These perennial challenges are becoming more and more acute: as companies in emerging markets grow in number and in strength, they become tougher competitors for multinational companies, for which a dearth of intimate local knowledge is increasingly costly.…(Read more on Vietnam Shipper Issue No. 82)
Airfreight
Middle East airfreight market poised for success
For decades, the Middle East has been marked by political unrest and wars. With much of the region currently entrenched in conflict, the Gulf has certainly received its fair share of negative publicity.
Even with the current instability, regional carriers remain confident that the market is poised for exponential growth in the coming years. In fact, Peter Scholten, Saudi Airlines Cargo’s vice president, commercial, projects that the Middle Eastern airfreight market will continue to grow at a rate of 5 percent to 10 percent per year..…(Read more on Vietnam Shipper Issue No. 82)
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