It may be challenging this year to highlight just one or two changes impacting the port industry. In reality, this sector has been evolving and responding to change for decades. Nevertheless, both the speed and magnitude of the changes we are witnessing today is consequential.
If you were to look at the storage space in any urban apartment complex, you would see first-hand the growth in e-commerce package delivery. This retail channel has clearly emerged as one of the consumer’s primary methods to purchase goods. The boxes are arriving at least six days per week and in some cases multiple times per day. The retail experience is rapidly evolving to time-definite delivery windows as standard practice. This last mile of service delivery is notable in that it is also becoming a supply chain service differentiator among retailers. Individual shipment lots are becoming smaller, faster, and on-demand. The sheer range of products, including perishables, has expanded significantly. This retail trend is also not unique to urban centers. It is a national and global trend, too.
It is interesting that the container industry is simultaneously morphing to “larger” and “fewer.” This trend is not incompatible with the evolving retail landscape. Nevertheless, it implies a new set of conditions to which ports must increasingly be responsive. The last mile is no longer someone else’s sole responsibility. Ports and the respective industry stakeholders are all going to need to work together to increase the speed, consistency and reliability of cargo flow.
The customer is speaking, and we need to listen and respond.