Top trade trends revealed for 2019

The company, part of Cargotec Corporation, highlights collaboration and data standardisation, smart containers, trade wars, increased IT spend, automation gains and capacity management as being key over the coming 12 months.

Collaboration and data standardisation

According to Navis’s ‘Working as One’ report more than half of respondents said their operational performance would improve by at least 50 per cent if they could share their real-time operational information.

Seventy per cent expect real-time collaboration between shipping lines and terminals to occur within the next five years.

Younus Aftab, Navis’s chief technology officer predicts that more industry leadership will be required on issues such as data standards stating that shared understanding and knowhow will improve performance.

Smart containers

Navis believes that the use of smart containers will take off in 2019 as shipping begins to run trials of the technology. The industry is already seeing progress with Maersk announcing investments in disposable tracking devices and sensors whilst Traxens plans to deploy 100,000 smart containers by the end of 2019.

Trade wars

According to Navis, the rise in trade protectionism tops the list of concerns with one third of executives reporting being extremely concerned about trade tensions and a further 36 per cent saying they were concerned.

Despite these fears, the industry is cautiously optimistic about the global business environment for world trade and 82 per cent anticipate either improved profitability over the next 12 months or continued stabilisation and reduced losses.

IT spend

According to Navis’s Business Bellwether survey, 90 per cent of respondents believe their organisations will increase technology spending with much of this spend targeted at the adoption of new technologies.

Automation gains

Pressure from customers, rising labour costs, competition and maturing technology have amplified the demand for terminals to invest and automate. A recent DS Research report reveals that 60 automation projects are planned for the next five years, which will create a combined capacity of 90 million TEU.

Capacity management

Implementation of the latest lashing rules will see owners and ocean carriers seeing opportunities to increase cargo intake.

International Maritime Organisation rules to at least halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will motivate shipping lines to gain advantages by continuing operational cargo and vessel tracking and analysis.