Title: Vietnam Shipper No. 54
Date: (01-04-2009)

Seafreight

Vietnamese Container Ports in the Asian Container Hub Port Arrangement

 

The concept of hub port is quite new in Vietnam. Theoretically, a hub port is a transshipment centre. In other words, the feeder is taking containers from small ports (cargo origin) in the region and feeding/delivering to the hub port for transshipment. Such container is later on will be loaded on to the bigger/connecting vessels (or so-called “mother” vessel) to move to another hub port (for second transshipment before being moved to its destination) or to move directly to its destination.

 

As a matter of fact, feeder is operating within a region such as Intra-Asia or Intra-Europe to consolidate containers from many small regional ports where a big or “mother” vessel can not access because of the limitation of physical conditions (limitations of draught, approaching channel, berth, handling equipment etc) or commercial conditions (cargo volume limit, feeder network). In contrast, the “mother” vessel is operating on a longer haul such as in the Trans-Pacific trade, Asia – Europe trade or Trans-Atlantic trade.

 

Physically speaking, a port can only serve as a hub when it satisfies some conditions such as the minimum deviation from the main trade lanes, big capacity, high productivity, fast turn-around time, adequate equipment and berth space to afford/cater the existing vessel generation and next generation of vessel (PTP, 2008, p.12). Moreover, in term of commercial requirement, it also needs to satisfy the conditions of enough cargo volume for shipping company to deploy big container vessels and feeder network as well. How can the Vietnamese container ports have an impact on forming the Asian container hub port? …(Read more on Vietnam Shipper Issue No. 54)

 

Logistics

Transportation Factor in Logistics Management

 

Transportation plays the most key position and has a great impact on the efficiency of logistics system.

Together with inventory, facilities and information, transportation is a main key driver in logistics strategy which controls the balance between responsiveness and efficiency of a company. Transportation is responsible for inventory movement between different stages in a supply chain. It helps overcome geographical difference between facilities in a supply chain (warehouse, retail store, factory, distribution centre…) and creates new added value in terms of time and place utilities. …(Read more on Vietnam Shipper Issue No. 54)

 

Shipper in focus

Transpacific Strategies in the \'New World\'

 

There seem to be so many new economic developments daily that rise and fall of 400 or 500 points on the Dow Jones Index seems normal. Each week, we find new companies as victims of the economic disaster that is being euphemistically termed as a “downturn.”

 

Factories across China have been shuttering their loading docks and machinery for lack of demand. U.S. retailers are suffering as consumers tighten their belts.

 

But whereas the economic downturn is a reality of today, shippers and logistics service providers (LSPs) must take advantage of this situation to regroup and re-evaluate their strategies. The playbooks that companies have used during the last decade can be thrown away, as they will not be used again for quite a while. We need to take a new approach to how to operate during the next three to five years in the current marketplace.…(Read more on Vietnam Shipper Issue No. 54)