Freight Forwarding in China7419980
Latest figures show that China has now overtaken Japan as the second largest economy in the world following Japan.
This improvement in the relative overall performance of China is encouraging news to the freight forwarding sector in China, that has been battling with the international downturn in trade in recent years. However, even with the global slowdown, there was some growth in China's freight transport infrastructure in 2009, as it anticipated this improvement in performance and planned for growth in demand for freight services. China's response to the international economic downturn has been to seize the initiative and strategy for a better future for China import.
More than recent years, China has experienced a worldwide decline in demand for Chinese imports and this has of course had a huge impact on the freight solutions industry of the export dependent country. Demand for China imports such as toys, furnishings and textiles has been dampened by the most severe financial downturn in decades.
Nowhere has the decline in demand for China imports been felt more keenly that in the box traffic trade. China's two largest container ports are Shanghai and Shenzhen. The throughput figures at each have seen year on year falls and the throughput figures mask an even worse overall performance in terms of laden containers. The Shenzhen port figures for freight forwarding are a direct reflection of manufacturing in the Pearl River Delta.
As imports to China have also declined as a outcome of its own domestic slowdown, the volume declines have been evident in each inbound and outbound containers.Inbound cargo consists of raw supplies and components, which are then processed into completed goods for export at factories in the southern Guangdong, China's economic powerhouse. The high level of import of raw supplies for subsequent processing and export means that the freight solutions sector in China has had a double whammy, as declines in manufacturing due to decreased demand for China import has a direct knock on effect on international freight visitors into China as nicely.
All through this difficult period, domestic demand in China has accounted for some increases in domestic container trade, and this has been welcome news for many a shipping business. Domestic demand has usually been seen in increased trade in cargo from the south of China to the North.In general, the advantages of domestic freight transport have been skilled much more in the Shanghai, northern ports such as Quingdao and Tianjin and the smaller ports, as they handle a bigger proportion of domestic trade by shipping companies.
Nevertheless, spurred on by the influence of the global slowdown on China, Beijing has increased its concentrate on enhancing the international freight transport infrastructure. The China government has spearheaded a raft of initiatives. This consists of each physical upgrades and revisions to the systems that affect international trade and international freight solutions.
Other initiatives have also helped pave the way for the next upturn, such as new direct shipping links in between China and Taiwan. Kaohsiung in Taiwan, which was the world's third busiest container port in the 1990s,saw its ranking slip with China's economic rise, as a lack of direct transportation links with China undermined its position and importance for the freight business.
A deal between the two former political rivals has renewed Chinese interest in the port, driving investment plans. Shipping businesses previously produced pricey detours through third nations to get cargo from one side to the other. So the new direct shipping hyperlinks will make freight transport much more streamlined and cost efficient.
Other initiatives associated to the freight solutions industry have also taken shape during the period of financial slowdown, placing China in a much better position as the recovery arrives.
1 fascinating initiative has been a joint venture in between America's CYBRA Corporation and Key West Technologies which have joined forces with the Chinese Transport Ministry's Water borne Transportation Institute (WTI) to create and manufacture container tracking devices for international freight. A joint venture, Beijing Intelligent Shipping Technologies (SST),has been set up to create intelligent shipping container devices and other smart transport tools to create higher consignment visibility in maritime shipping. CYBRA, which is a developer and distributor of bar code software for IBM, will join its partners in creating the world's only genuine finish-to-end international tracking and monitoring solution for the freight solutions business.
As world leader in exports, regardless of the slowdown, China is therefore taking a leadership function in provide chain tracking, monitoring and management. It is believed that in the future, secure inter modal freight transport will rely on smart technologies. China's function in facilitating the commercialisation of such goods will be of great benefit to shipping businesses and indeed every freight business, permitting them to add value to their service. The smart technologies will enable each piece of cargo to be tracked, monitored and managed anyplace in the world.
