ViewPoint – Page 8
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NewsPrivate concerns
Much is written about the ''pioneering'' nature of the UK port model. Indeed, a fully privatised model was a thing of envy in the late 1990s when ports around the world were getting to grips with the benefits privatisation could bring.
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NewsFly by night
More and more, moving a container from A to B is becoming like flying with a low cost budget airline. You book your ticket, you pay the fare only to find that it doesn''t really cover everything you expected it to.
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A fine mess
The news that France and Germany are ''officially'' out of recession should be music to the ears of box terminal operators. A growth in gross domestic product - albeit a subdued 0.3% one - in both countries in the second quarter should herald the start of the uptick, bringing with ...
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What's in your basket?
As the latest set of quarterly container throughput figures hits the wire, there''s no disguising the continued trade slump on the key east-west trade routes. So, perhaps it''s time to remind ourselves that seabourne trade is not all about boxes - although it''s been hard to think of anything else ...
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Work smarter
It''s easy in this economic trough in which we find ourselves to be fooled into thinking that nips and tucks in your business structure will be enough to see you through the lean times. But if your "vision" is that narrow, you will be missing many tricks that could put ...
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Fully charged
It amazes me in this day and age - and this economic climate - that the UK government is still persisting in its drive to drag backdated rates from the nation''s port businesses.
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The half-full glass
I am, one of those rare breeds: an optimist at heart. And it gladdens me to read that the Port Strategy columnists feel the same way.
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Lateral thinking
It''s a common misconception that being green costs money. In fact, there are plenty of ways you can ''green'' your port or terminals without spending a penny. And you could even save money - something not to be sniffed at times of economic meltdown.
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Bright spots
In these harsh - and getting harsher - times, it''s refreshing to hear that not everyone has been dragged down by the doom and gloom brigade.
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Perfect storm
With credit running dry and real costs spiralling, the UK''s revision of business rates for port operators could not have come at a worse time. And when that revision slaps bills running into millions of pounds on the desks of large and small operators alike, the nation''s port sector can ...
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Star performer
No one wants to contribute to talking ourselves into a recession, least of all this column, but given that we are now genuinely experiencing a rough ride in financial and economic terms it does seem appropriate to highlight the importance of achieving a consistently good performance in the port industry, ...
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Viewpoint
There has been a flurry of activity recently on the part of shipping lines either individually or collectively rationalising service networks or announcing their withdrawal from them. Underpinning this is the slump in world trade, a steadily increasing gap between available liner capacity and demand, and freight rates which on ...
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Crossing the lines
The message coming out of the liner shipping markets is one we have heard before - "it is time to tighten your belts in anticipation of lean times ahead". This action involves cutting back on available capacity in key services, implementing slow steaming where possible and cutting back on expansion ...
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Africa is coming
There is always a new frontier in the international port business. And as at the time of writing the G8 group is convened, it is most relevant to focus on Africa, an area where there is major scope to refine port systems and particularly along the east and west coasts ...
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VIEWPOINT
It is interesting to hear that the major container terminal operators in the Port of Genoa, Italy - the PSA operated Voltri Terminal Europe and Southern European Container Hub Terminal (SECH) - are moving towards an exchange of shares in each others facilities. Clearly, this represents an interesting rationalisation of ...
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Viewpoint
Nothing has changed, however, with respect to our other criticisms of the process which cover other aspects of the bid submission arrangements, the qualifying criteria and the proposed structure of the concession agreements. In our opinion, there is significant room for improvement in all these areas and we fail to ...
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Full house
After much deliberation and no doubt plenty of sleepless nights, PD Ports has joined the chosen few in the circle of UK deepsea containerport development granted planning permission.
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Whiplash, what next? (Viewpoint)
With "Wall Street whiplash" another phrase is coined to sum up the recent snakes and ladders effect taking place on Wall Street and mirrored on other stock exchanges around the world, not least the FTSE.
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Back and forward
Another year draws to a close leaving in its wake some memorable positives and negatives. The big positive has to be the business climate - we may currently be beginning to feel a slightly tougher environment but for the most part, this year has been another one of significant growth ...
