a relationship of the International Transport Forum evidences the effect negative that the mega one portacontainer they will have on the supply chain



If there is a segment of the world-wide industry that gives years often moves in opposite direction regarding that indicated by analysts, from the experts of the field and the societies of advising who elaborate complexes and documented studies and formulate founded forecasts, it is that of the marine transport of line.

From many years, by now, all the previsori put on the warning the shipowning companies that manage the fleets of portacontainer about the risk of an excess of hold regarding the question. Ciononostante at all has not attenuated the race under orders in confronts of the ship yards in order to increase the ability to the full hand fleets container.

The warnings of the experts have become alarm when recently the number of the orders is increased not single, but above all - and in exponential way - cargo the commissioned ability to the portacontainer. Shortly it has been passed from ships in a position to transporting to maximum 10,000 teu to units that can some load more with the double quantity.

To tell the truth, if the ability excess were and is still a risk previewed almost from the totality of the experts, it is instead still dubbia the effectiveness from the economic point of view and operating of the introduction in the fleets of ships in a position to embarking huge quantitative of containers, perplexities provoked from effects negatives who could derive from the direct management of these portacontainer but also from the their limited employment, subject as will be to the necessity to use them single on the routes on which important volumes of traffic journey and still more to least world-wide resorts must them employ in order to connect those up to now in which they are you anticipate ports in a position to receiving them.

Perplexities on the economic benefits deriving from the employment of these mega ships are expressed also by many experts of the marine-harbour field consulted in order to write up the relationship "The Impact of Mega" that it is the last publication of the analysis series on specific topics of the economy of the transport produced from the International Transport Forum (ITF), the intergovernmental organization that takes part of the Organisation for Economic Co and Development (OECD). The study is realized with the scope to estimate the impact on the entire chain of transport of these great ships ordered from the shipowners within a continuous search of economies of scale.

The analysis evidences that if in the past the breaking in the fleets of portacontainer of greater ability has contributed to the decrease of the costs and to the improvement of the total performances of the marine transport, the ulterior one the increase of the dimensions of this type of ships and the speed with which this it happens has consequences on the remainder of the transport chain, demanding adaptations of infrastructures and of the levels of productivity that determine an increase of the costs at the expense of the harbour operators, of the Harbour Authorities and the others you leave of the supply chain.

The analysis observes in future that if is true that the increase of the dimensions of the portacontenitori ships determines a saving on the costs, this effect but is being attenuated and could vanish. In particular, the doubling of the happened maximum dimension of the portacontainer in the past decade has reduced the costs totals of the ships for container transported of about a third party. However these savings are diminishing with the ulterior increase of the dimensions of the ships and the savings on the costs offered from the new generation of portacontainer are from four to six inferior times regarding those obtained with the ships greater employees before this new phase of naval gigantism happened. Moreover about 60% of the savings on the costs produced from most recent portacontainer it is generated by more efficient engines rather than from the dimension of the ships. In more, new naval gigantism and the increase of the ability to the fleet of portacontainer have taken place although a slow down of the increase of the total containerized marine traffic has happened. The massive new orders mega ships - the analysis explains - have carried to an excess of offer of container vessels and this most likely will have an effect negative on the cost reduction determined from the use of larger ships, with a decrease of the smaller question that will consequently have a saving for transported container.

The study states moreover that the mega one portacontainer determines peaks of traffic in the ports and puts to hard test also the transport activities inland. In fact these ships demand the widening of infrastructures necessary in order to receive them and in order to satisfy the produced peaks of traffic from their employment, with the consequent necessity to raise the ability are of the docks that of the areas of storage of the container.

The analysis guesstimate in 0,4 billion dollars per year these additional costs, of which about a third party it could be determined from the necessity to upgrade the harbour equipments, a third party from the necessity to dredge to the backdrops of the ports and another third party from the work in order to adapt harbour and retroportuali infrastructures, with the two last voices of cost, that is dredgings and infrastructures - the relationship specifies - than in many nations is for the great part at the expense of the public sector.

"If the potential one of saving on the costs at the expense of the companies - the analysis clarifies - seems to be rather marginal, vice versa the increase of the costs for infrastructure could be exponential. The introduction of a hundred of ships from 24.000 teu in 2020 to demand remarkable investments in those sites in which for first these ships will be introduced (Far East, Europe North, the Mediterranean), but - through the effects to cascade - will have also the effect to determine the introduction of ships from 19.000 teu in the America North and of ships from 14.000 teu in South America and Africa. This will imply the necessity of ulterior investments also in these regions".

According to the study, the public institutions would have to take into consideration this and to act consequently. Instead many ports and nations, incidently or of purpose, they have encouraged the development of the dimension of the ships, while an approach more a balanced and greater attention to the interests would be favorable publics.

The study observes in particular that they are in increase also the determined risks for the supply chain from the employment of large portacontainer, relatively to the assicurabilità of these ships and the costs determined from eventual incidents. Moreover these mega ships determine a concentration of services and volumes of goods, a reduction of the offer and the flexibility of the supply chain, so much more - the document emphasizes - than introduction in the fleets of larger ships are coincided with a greater cooperation tightened from the main companies of navigation of the field, that they have constituted four alliances.