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The
vast majority of respondents expect the
expansion of the Panama Canal allowing 12,000
TEU vessels to transit the artery to result
in changing service patterns.
Shippers
are hoping that it will result in an increase
in transits through the Panama Canal and
also that the larger vessels will result
in lower costs. They also hope that it will
help cut delays and congestion at the existing
transshipment ports.
Another
hot topic was mandatory container weight
checks, with the regulation due to enter
force in 2016. It will allow the shipper
the option of either weighing all packages
and cargo items including pallets, dunnage
and the tare of the container, or calculating
the weight.
Just
under 60 per cent of respondents say they
are ready for the regulation.
"This
is essential and more important is that
lines should be strict about container weights
because it affects the ship's stability
especially the smaller feeders," says
one respondent.
"With
our current exports our weights are accurate
and this would not cause us a problem,"
says another.
Eighty
per cent of respondents support the idea
of a blacklist of shippers that mis-declare
cargo. One shipper says: "Especially
from China we need to separate the bad from
the good guys."
Container
derivatives continue to make the headlines
as brokers promote them as a way for shipping
lines that are struggling to make a profit
to hedge against freight rate declines.
Last
year 13 per cent of respondents said they
did use derivatives. This year that percentage
has fallen to 11 per cent.
On
fixed freight rate deals versus those based
on the spot market, a spot market deal may
suit the customer better than a fixed contract
as it would allow rate reductions in line
with spot market trends.
Respondents
largely rejected the idea, with 73 per cent
saying they were against an entirely spot
market basis.
One
respondent says it will create "total
havoc," while another says it would
make "volatility and associated administration
unmanageable."
A
couple of respondents say shipping lines
should offer both fixed and spot rates to
meet the differing demands of customers.
"Consistent,
long-term customers should be given a rate
commensurate with the business they bring.
However, I think that should be in the form
of annual rebates, to stop them changing
every time rates change."
The
final question of the survey looked at whether
shippers would be prepared to accept lower
service levels in exchange for cheaper freight
rates.
Fifty
four per cent of respondents say they would
not be prepared to pay less for a poorer
level of service.
"As
a forwarding agent we would expect lower
freight rates to lead to lower service levels
but our customers do not have the same opinion,
they still expect us to provide the same
high quality service albeit at reduced margins,"
says one forwarder respondent.
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