Port development market is turning, say suppliers
The development momentum in ports has changed according to two major suppliers: the Bromma Group says customers are once again looking at larger projects, and both it and Cargotec are reporting “positive signs” in the business environment.
Further, says Bromma, there’s a trend toward standardisation, with a continuing interest in all-electric solutions.
Bromma has reported seeing a positive uptake in order interest since March 2010, with many big projects that were put on hold now re-opening. Cargotec’s order intake meanwhile is 31% up year-on-year with 2009, and is showing a 29% quarter-on-quarter rise for the first section of 2010.
While overall commercial activity is increasing, say both firms, the Middle East and Asian markets are of special interest – China’s largest ports posted an overall volume increase of 26.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010, while looking forward, Bromma sees privatisation as spurring on additional port investment in India.
There is also increased activity in Vietnam, an area which saw a recent big win for both companies, Bromma gaining an order for 20 all-electric yard spreaders and six twin-lift ship to shore spreaders while Kalmar had an order for four E-One2 Zero Emission RTGs, both destined for Saigon.
Further, Bromma says many Greenfield projects are emerging in Brazil, while Iran, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the London Gateway project are all areas where significant investments are likely in the near future.
The standardisation push comes from a demand to reduce the need for a vast array of spare parts, and reduced technician training. Bromma adds that key to the interest in the all-electric solutions are, besides a need to control emissions, a lowering of costs (half the price of a ship-to-shore spreader can be recouped by lower fuel and service needs), less downtime and a quieter operation.
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