World Trade - March 2009 - (Page 12) TRADEWINDS THE LATEST TRENDS IN THE WORLD OF TRADE Global Scan: Europe’s Inland Shipping Makes a Splash INVESTMENT POURING IN AS CONGESTION MOUNTS ON ROADS, RAIL Inland shipping companies throughout Europe are getting a boost from new investment as logistics players look for an alternative to congested road and rail links. Each year, inland shipping companies handle approximately 2 million shipping containers from the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp alone. And, inland river terminals in Germany, Switzerland, and France handled about 6 million TEUs in 2007. Consolidation has been occurring in the inland shipping sector as more mom-andpop operations give way to larger companies such as Germany’s Eurogate—Europe’s largest ocean container terminal operator—which is preparing to expand their business inland. Recently, Eurogate purchased Bremen-based Acos as part of the company’s expansion plans. At the same time, ocean carriers are also getting in on the game. Maersk is building a $26 million 200,000-TEU facility at Neuss, a river terminal near Dusseldorf. Last year, Japan’s NYK and France’s CMA CGM opened a 75,000-TEU terminal in Duisburg, the world’s largest inland port. The Port of Rotterdam is particularly interested in the prospects for inland shipping, given the port’s new Maasvlakte 2 terminal will add 8.5 million TEUs to Europe’s transportation network once it opens in 2013. The Rotterdam port authority has plans for a shipping container “Transferium” east of the port where trucks can transload containers onto barges or rail cars, which should take 550,000 TEUs of the roads each year. Beermaker Heineken will begin shipping cargo from an inland barge terminal located 50 miles from the Port of Rotterdam in a move that’s expected to take 600,000 truck trips off the already congested roads leading to the port, while Nissan uses barges to ship cars from its European distribution hub in Amsterdam to Germany and Switzerland. Americans Would Pay More for Infrastructure SURVEY SHOWS 68 PERCENT WOULD FAVOR TAX HIKE A new survey shows that Americans realize that the nation’s infrastructure is in bad shape and 68 percent would pay more taxes to help fund highway and bridge maintenance and new construction, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times. About 1,000 Americans were polled recently for the survey commissioned by HNTB Corporation. The survey also found that more than four in five (81 percent) respondents say making sacrifices to pay for infrastructure improvements now will make the difference between a more prosperous or a more difficult future for the next generation. In addition, 66 percent polled think that freight and passenger traffic should be separated on the roads and rails. Transportation Services Index (TSI) July 112.9 August 110.8 October September 109.1 November 108.0 107.6 January February 111.5 111.5 March 109.4 April 109.4 May 111.4 June 111.5 December 105.1 China, South Africa to Bolster Weak Industries LOGISTICS, AUTO, AND TEXTILES AMONG THOSE TARGETED The Chinese government will add logistics to its industry support plan to help ports, warehouse operators and shipping firms. China had earlier said that its support program would cover just 10 industries. JANUARY 2008 – DECEMBER 2008 The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 2.3 percent in December to a level of 105.1 (2000=100), falling for the second straight month, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) office. TSI is a single seasonally adjusted index of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries, including railroad, air, truck, inland waterways, pipeline, and local transit. 12 WORLD TRADE MARCH 2009
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