The Logistician - Vol 30

Monday, 11 March, 2002

The Official newsletter of the Logistics & Supply Chain Management Society
http://www.lscms.org

- Airfreight market picking up
- PSA reports continued growth in February
- Singapore pitching hard to keep evergreen
- Malaysian Logistics Society
- UPS Targeting Supply Chain for increased revenue

Airfreight market picking up

Many major airlines and carriers are reporting an increase in freight volumes as peace hopefully begins to settle in the region's hotspots. All-cargo carrier Cargolux has inaugurated a weekly B747-400 freighter service connecting Europe and Penang. Cargolux, which enjoys fifth freedom rights out of Penang, said that a second weekly flight was envisaged "in the near future". Singapore Airlines has also recently resumed B777-300 services from Singapore to Lahore and Karachi in February. Flights were suspended because of security concerns in neighbouring Afghanistan.

PSA reports continued growth in February

THE PSA Group, Singapore's port operating authority, continued to record growth in February with a year-to-date increase of 14.9 per cent in container throughput in its Singapore and overseas ports. This follows a 17.6 per cent rebound in throughput volume in January this year. PSA said that the slightly slower growth in February in international cargo reflects the long lunar New Year holiday in many Asian countries.

PSA's Singapore container terminals handled 1.25 million TEU in February this year, a year-to-date growth of 9.7 per cent. PSA's overseas container terminals also showed growth, handling 300,000 TEU, with a year-to-date growth of 42.4 per cent. This included the volumes handled at Guangzhou Container Terminal, which started operations in July last year under a joint-venture company formed between PSA and China's Guangzhou Harbour Bureau.

Singapore Pitching Hard to Keep Evergreen

It was reported in the Journal of Commerce that Singapore's largest terminal operator, PSA, is said to be dangling rate cuts to keep Evergreen lines 1.8M TEUs in the fold. It was reported in many sectors that Evergreen was strongly considering 'defecting' to the Port of Tanjung Pelapas just across the Straits of Johore.

Whilst PSA's terminal operations tonnage grew in 2001, TEU throughput in Singapore suffered negative overall growth. This was in no small way attributable to MAERSK line taking their transshipment cargo with them when they purchased a stake in neighbouring PTP, which only served to aggravate the global slump in trade.

Malaysian Logistics Society

Mdm. Reshma Yousuf, Chairman of Persatuan Logistiks, has highlighted Training and people development as the focus of the society. Seen by many as the first professional Logistics Society in Malaysia and established in 1997 it is the only Society in Malaysia that represents members across the full gamut of the Logistics and Supply Chain spectrum.

The Society hopes to achieve this objective by partnering with the leading Logistics training programme provider in Malaysia - The Australian Logistics Academy and also other leading Institutions and Universities.

UPS Targeting Supply Chain for Increased Revenue

United Parcel Service's CEO says "there is no issue more critical to the future of commerce than managing global supply chains". This statement coincides with UPS's continued forays into the SCM arena as its core express unit continues to suffer. UPS's total average daily volume dropped 0.5 % in the fourth quarter of 2001 despite fairing well in Asia.

UPS is one of the growing number of carriers and integrators who are now eyeing bigger profits by attempting to portray themselves to be more than just experts at moving cargo and are entering the realm of 4PL and Collaborative Logistics to offer Logistics and SCM advice and assistance to shippers. This is a realm that, until 2001, was filled with consultants of all shapes and sizes. In the changing shipper mindset, organisations - be they consultants or service providers - who can offer working solutions are beginning to gain traction.