The next year be a challenging, turbulent and complex year for the ocean transportation industry. The uncertain global financial situation it extremely to accurately assess the shipping market and to plan accordingly.
I admire a Steve Jobs’ quotation and think the spirit may apply to our business: “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they will want something new.”
As a carrier, we have seen growing innovations on capacity planning, chassis operations, and service optimization. It demonstrates carriers’ collective efforts to lead the consumption. We have seen some success, and I am confident the trend of innovation in the shipping industry must remain a theme in the coming years. In addition, there should be room for carriers to act in a more disciplined and rational manner. To shape a healthy shipping industry, all players need to abide by the rule of fair competition.
One of the worst years we have seen as an industry in recent memory was 2009. Because of it, carriers and shippers learned some lessons we all hoped would shape the direction of our industry in a positive direction going forward. Carriers and shippers started an open dialogue regarding the meaning of service contracting and during which it was determined that service should be the main feature of these documents, not just price. These features in contracts seem to be growing. We need to see the value-added services compensated accordingly.
As carriers and shippers work together to innovatively, collectively and constructively develop responses to the new challenges facing us all, we will prevail through these unsettled times.