What's happening in Mediterranean & Africa

 

Eng

繁體

体简

China freight train pulls into London from half a world away

THE first China-UK freight train, from Yiwu, 100 miles southwest of Ningbo, to London, arrived after 18 days crossing China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Europe to discharge clothes, socks, shoes, bags, suitcases, wallets and household goods at Barking's Eurohub freight terminal.

With what most hope is an atypical low-value experimental cargo, the China and London rail route was thus inaugurated, marking another step in rail connectivity between Asia and Europe. This is said to be the beginning of a freight service that will alter trading patterns for land, air and sea.

The new rail route, which directly connects 16 cities in China with 15 in Europe will traverse Eurasia before entering the UK through the Channel Tunnel.

Mediterranean dreams and schemes - Snatching Europe from northern ports

As consumer demand rises in Europe, the flow of goods from Asia to the EU may well shift in important ways - from air to rail and sea - or more strikingly from northern range ports to those in southern Europe.

Much is already happening though barely perceptible, glacial movement that will likely become massive as time goes on if statistical trends prove to be enduring, At which point it is likely to become a true game changer if oil prices rise to previous high levels.

Of course, much depends on the continued movement to better times. Should current trends endure, an improving global economy would involve greater use of Suez to reach West Africa and the east coast of North America. This trend would also accelerate the use of southern European ports as a widening gateway to the continent.

 

What's cool to Millennials in hot climes is stuff from Europe, US and UK

While the east-west container trade is not what it used to be, there's no doubt about its glorious future according to London's Clarkson Research Services.

The shipbroker and maritime research analysts say that while container trade growth has slowed in recent years, it has still greatly expanded since the turn of the century - a trend that is bound to continue.

And with the growth of brand-driven ecommerce from the Red Sea to the Sea of Japan, as the poorer get richer on the back of urbanisation, European opportunities abound from what can be inferred from the shipping analysis of Clarkson's and that of IHS Global Insight studies as well.

As rates won't differ much, customer service is the game to be won among alliances

It is often assumed by the pseudo-sophisticated that today's shipping alliances that unite ocean carriers into three rival groups are simply new names for the old conferences and consortia of old.

Far from it. The conferences that were banned in Europe in 2008 and survive as a shadow of their former selves in transpacific stabilisation agreements, concerned themselves with rate setting. The EU has banned this activity for more than a decade.

Ironically, while shipping lines can no longer collude on price, despite European Commission raiders twisting themselves into pretzels in vain attempts to prove otherwise, carriers have had to co-operate far more than ever in ways regulators never imagined.


 

Mediterranean & Africa
Trade Specialists

Highroad International Logistics
Professional door to door service
More....
Choice Int'l Forwarding Co Ltd.
Your Best Choice to Africa
More....
Recent Issue

Europe Trade

Feb, 2017

China Trade

Jan, 2017

Europe Trade

Dec, 2016

U.S. Trade

Nov, 2016

Intra Asia Trad

Oct, 2016