Freight Forwarding in China7764770
Newest figures show that China has now overtaken Japan as the second biggest economy in the globe 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 global downturn in trade in current years. Nevertheless, even with the global slowdown, there was some development in China's freight transport infrastructure in 2009, as it anticipated this improvement in overall performance and planned for development in demand for freight solutions. China's response to the international economic downturn has been to seize the initiative and plan for a better future for China import.
Over 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 business of the export dependent nation. Demand for China imports such as toys, furnishings and textiles has been dampened by the most serious 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 biggest container ports are Shanghai and Shenzhen. The throughput figures at each have noticed year on year falls and the throughput figures mask an even worse 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 result of its own domestic slowdown, the volume declines have been evident in each inbound and outbound containers.Inbound cargo includes raw supplies and components, which are then processed into finished goods for export at factories in the southern Guangdong, China's economic powerhouse. The high level of import of raw materials for subsequent processing and export means that the freight services sector in China has had a double whammy, as declines in manufacturing due to decreased demand for China import has a direct knock on impact on international freight traffic into China as nicely.
All through this tough 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 elevated trade in cargo from the south of China to the North.In common, 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 deal with a larger proportion of domestic trade by shipping companies.
However, spurred on by the impact of the international slowdown on China, Beijing has elevated its focus on improving 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 subsequent upturn, such as new direct shipping links 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 financial rise, as a lack of direct transportation hyperlinks with China undermined its position and significance for the freight company.
A deal in between the two former political rivals has renewed Chinese interest in the port, driving investment plans. Shipping companies previously made costly detours via third countries to get cargo from 1 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 better position as the recovery arrives.
One interesting initiative has been a joint venture between America's CYBRA Corporation and Important West Technologies which have joined forces with the Chinese Transport Ministry's Water borne Transportation Institute (WTI) to develop and manufacture container tracking devices for international freight. A joint venture, Beijing Smart Shipping Technologies (SST),has been set up to develop intelligent shipping container devices and other intelligent 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 developing the world's only real end-to-finish global tracking and monitoring solution for the freight solutions business.
As globe leader in exports, regardless of the slowdown, China is thus 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 role in facilitating the commercialisation of such goods will be of great advantage to shipping companies and certainly every freight company, allowing them to add worth to their service. The smart technologies will allow every piece of cargo to be tracked, monitored and managed anywhere in the globe.
