Shippers look for change in a post-conference era

The European Shippers’ Council has been at the forefront of the 20 year campaign to end shipping price and surcharge setting among liner shipping companies. The block exemption for liner shipping conferences has finally expired. ESC’s Chairman, Dick van den Broek Humphreij, opened the conference with the words, “they will not be missed”. Echoing the words of her Chairman, Nicolette van der Jagt, Secretary General of the ESC commented, “At last the day has come when these organisations have closed – at least for trades to and from Europe. But there will be no party held by us or our members, because there are some big challenges ahead for everyone, and not least because the ending of the liner shipping conferences has coincided with what looks to be the biggest economic crisis the world has faced for many decades.” A number of speakers also referred to the economic crisis ahead but there was an optimistic note in spite of it. “Crisis is often the catalyst for change,” according to Mr van den Broek Humphreij, a sentiment which was echoed by a number of other speakers throughout the Shipper Forum. Bjorn Vang Jensen, VP, Global Freight and Logistics Services, Electrolux, said that if people realised shippers and carriers would never be ‘partners’ then “change can start happening”. Jensen went on to explain that he anticipated some “creative thinking” and “collaboration between those people that are given a mandate for change by their companies”. In relation to questions raised about further reforms to European liner shipping by the European Commission putting forward new proposals on liner shipping consortia, Ms van der Jagt commented “we understand the concerns of the liner shipping industry when they say they are worried that new market threshold limits on consortia and on agreements between consortia could threaten some existing and future slot swap, vessel sharing and similar agreements. Shippers like consortia and the flexibility and range of services they can offer; however, there has to be a trade off between this and competition. The proposals from the Commission do not outlaw consortia, just their size and scope in order to prevent unfair distortion to the market. We do not wish to see competition reduced in the liner shipping markets.” Bjorn Jensen of Electrolux made the comment that he was not looking for any further increases in the range of services from the lines, but wanted instead to see more operational collaboration between his company and the lines he used. Addressing the Forum, ESC’s Chairman summed the matter up: “we have to inject greater visibility into the freight transport industry and through all supply chains: visibility of costs to understand what drives them and by what degree; visibility of processes and procedures to identify and measure which could be improved, which removed and which might be introduced; visibility that will help our members and their service providers remove costs, increase efficiency and optimise productivity. “We must encourage transparency of charges so people know what they are paying for, and re-establish the link between what you pay and the service you get. This is the future. Less public wrangling about cartels or the threat of them, and far more campaigns and joint-initiatives to create the right environment, legally and politically, where operational collaboration and co-operation, development and sharing of best practices will take centre stage, and will increase competition, not restrict it.”

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