Freight Forwarding in China3949869
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 plan for a much better future for China import.
More than recent years, China has skilled a worldwide decline in demand for Chinese imports and this has of course had a huge influence on the freight solutions industry of the export dependent nation. Demand for China imports such as toys, furniture and textiles has been dampened by the most serious economic downturn in decades.
Nowhere has the decline in demand for China imports been felt much more keenly that in the box visitors 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 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 both inbound and outbound containers.Inbound cargo consists of raw supplies and elements, which are then processed into finished goods for export at factories in the southern Guangdong, China's financial powerhouse. The high level of import of raw materials 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 impact on international freight traffic into China as well.
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 company. Domestic demand has usually been seen in increased trade in cargo from the south of China to the North.In general, the benefits 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 bigger proportion of domestic trade by shipping companies.
However, spurred on by the impact of the international slowdown on China, Beijing has increased 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 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 significance 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 made pricey detours through third countries to get cargo from 1 side to the other. So the new direct shipping links 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.
1 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 develop and manufacture container tracking devices for international freight. A joint venture, Beijing Intelligent Shipping Technologies (SST),has been set up to develop smart shipping container devices and other smart transport tools to produce greater 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 finish-to-end international tracking and monitoring answer for the freight services business.
As world leader in exports, regardless of the slowdown, China is thus taking a leadership role in supply chain tracking, monitoring and management. It is believed that in the future, safe inter modal freight transport will rely on smart technologies. China's function in facilitating the commercialisation of such products will be of fantastic benefit to shipping companies and indeed every freight company, allowing them to add value to their service. The intelligent technology will allow every piece of cargo to be tracked, monitored and managed anywhere in the globe.
