The financial crisis will undoubtedly have a significant impact in 2009. We should see a slowdown in the rapid pace of growth our industry has witnessed over the past years. As a result, a more challenging business environment should drive operators to seek ways to optimize their activities, resulting in strategic and operational shifts, mergers and alliances.
Shippers and carriers will take the opportunity to re-evaluate their options, seeking the most effective ways to move cargo given the changing variables of time, cost and availability. Factors such as quality of service and proximity to markets become differentiators in a slower market. Major shifts, such as the growth of transshipment traffic from the Mediterranean and Latin America, may accelerate if they provide an opportunity to increase efficiency, reduce costs or improve flexibility in a volatile environment.
In the meantime, ports will need to maintain a long-term horizon. Container traffic growth should return to healthier levels once the downturn subsides. New infrastructure projects require six to eight years from planning to construction, taking us well beyond the duration of any recession. Therefore, ports must position themselves for the recovery.