Freight Forwarding in China9907369
Latest figures show that China has now overtaken Japan as the second largest economy in the world after 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 recent years. Nevertheless, even with the international slowdown, there was some growth 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 global economic downturn has been to seize the initiative and strategy for a better future for China import.
More than current years, China has skilled a worldwide decline in demand for Chinese imports and this has of course had a huge impact on the freight services industry of the export dependent country. Demand for China imports such as toys, furniture 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 visitors trade. China's two largest container ports are Shanghai and Shenzhen. The throughput figures at both have noticed 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 result 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 materials for subsequent processing and export indicates 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 impact on international freight visitors into China as nicely.
Throughout 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 company. Domestic demand has usually been noticed in increased trade in cargo from the south of China to the North.In common, the advantages of domestic freight transport have been experienced much more in the Shanghai, northern ports such as Quingdao and Tianjin and the smaller ports, as they handle a larger proportion of domestic trade by shipping companies.
Nevertheless, spurred on by the impact of the global slowdown on China, Beijing has increased its focus on enhancing the international freight transport infrastructure. The China government has spearheaded a raft of initiatives. This includes each physical upgrades and revisions to the systems that impact 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 economic 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 produced pricey detours through third nations to get cargo from 1 side to the other. So the new direct shipping hyperlinks will make freight transport more streamlined and price effective.
Other initiatives associated to the freight services business have also taken shape during the period of economic slowdown, placing China in a much better position as the recovery arrives.
One fascinating initiative has been a joint venture 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 Smart Shipping Technologies (SST),has been set up to develop smart shipping container devices and other intelligent transport tools to create greater consignment visibility in maritime shipping. CYBRA, which is a developer and distributor of bar code software program for IBM, will join its partners in creating the world's only genuine end-to-end international tracking and monitoring solution for the freight solutions industry.
As globe leader in exports, regardless of the slowdown, China is thus taking a leadership role in provide chain tracking, monitoring and management. It is believed that in the future, safe inter modal freight transport will depend on intelligent technologies. China's function in facilitating the commercialisation of such goods will be of great advantage to shipping companies and indeed every freight company, allowing them to add value to their service. The intelligent technologies will enable every piece of cargo to be tracked, monitored and managed anyplace in the globe.
