Terminal operators: shoulders to the wheel…

For sure it must seem like Xmas every day to the majority of shipping lines who are enjoying an unprecedented fi nancial upside resulting from the Covid related events that have added radical new dimensions to key supply chains.

The lines themselves have, of course, learnt some new tricks when it comes to turning on and off the capacity tap as well as being astute not just with core pricing but all the many add-ons that can be deployed nowadays – congestion charge, peak season surcharge etc.

The issue of supply is considered in-depth in the article Supply the Critical Issue on p17. Empty repositioning, container congestion in terminals, ships waiting at anchor, full warehouses, port workers with Covid and, as a result of one or more of these factors, extended container journey/cycle times are all seen as contributory causes to prevailing supply-based issues.

It is calculated that on average delays caused by one or more of the above factors are increasing normal journey times by as much as 10 per cent. Furthermore, it is estimated that a week’s delay in container trips results in 10 to 20 per cent more containers being required, something that cannot be achieved in short order. All this means, of course, that along key trade routes supply side problems will persist for some time yet, possibly beyond a year!

As the p17 article underlines given these difficult circumstances, ports and terminals have, as a rule, done rather well but at a price. Indeed, this is reflected in the article Winners and Losers (p18) which considers the recent and potential forward performance of the major North European containerports. The end of 2020 delivered an overall result for north European containerport throughput – a decline of just 4.1 per cent – that many had anticipated would be much worse.

To achieve such a performance under difficult operational circumstances can be seen as a significant achievement. One that should perhaps be better rewarded by lines a major point raised in Supply: the Critical Issue. The larger power blocs manifest in container shipping nowadays have to a significant extent suppressed increases in terminal pricing but the merit of achieving fair deals with terminal operators is amplified when they are called upon to deliver in a high-pressure environment.

Also of relevance looking to the future, is a higher level of innovation in the terminal sector – building in more flexibility is one facet of this at an operational level, highly necessary with disrupted supply lines. Technically, added impetus is discernible in the adoption of digitalisation and semi or fully automated operations.

Terminal operators clearly have their shoulders to the wheel in seeking to keep supply chains moving. Port and terminal labour can be included in this commendation but of course there are always exceptions to the rule and in this respect it is notable that the Maritime Union of Australia has come in for significant criticism. It has attempted to say that it is behaving responsibly while triggering yet another round of industrial action in Melbourne but the consensus appears to be that this is more PR spiel than fact (p46).