Annual Review and Outlook

Ports will be defined by their infrastructure investments, growth potential and customer confidence.

As an industry, we need to accept that advancing carbon reduction initiatives is the cost of doing business.

Ports can avoid being a pain point, but it takes investments, collaboration and a high level of customer service to make all the pieces come together.

Now that we have had a chance to catch our breath and reflect on the past to prepare for the future, we must stay ready for the next unknown event.

Leveraging knowledge of where ships are and when they’re expected at port ... increases efficiency and supports growth in the container business.

Economic uncertainty, waning consumer demand and a record level of new vessel orders make for supply-demand disequilibrium that will drive downward pressure on rates.

Given fragile rates and potential for a price war, it’s challenging to predict full recovery in service and vessel reliability in 2024.

Each transport provider will need to find where the equilibrium between shippers’ demand and service deployment is by changing the strategy from ‘supply push’ to ‘demand pull’ so that capacity stress can be eased.

The industry is coming from such low service reliability caused by the pandemic chaos, it’s almost impossible for it not to improve further in 2024.

Our focus as a port authority has also long been on collaborating with terminals, supply chain partners and governments to both maximize existing land use and use data and digital tools to squeeze everything we can out of infrastructure.

Strategically, they need to carefully assess the magnitude of the changes in the global supply chain and trade patterns and have risk mitigation plans to deal with potential disruptions.

Unfortunately, from a volume perspective, 2024 also has many more questions, local and macro, than we’ve seen in quite some time.

Given the inherent difficulties and perils faced by seafarers, it is of utmost importance that they are reassured they are joining teams that not only offer support but also treat them with respect and dignity.

Next year will be a critical year to watch, as it will mark the first full year of operations for these newly delivered vessels, particularly in major east–west trade routes.

With interest rates now above inflation rates, the economic viability of many large projects is questionable.

While we are all facing some uncertainty, we remain focused on realizing critical infrastructure projects; these efforts cannot be knocked off track by short-term trends.

While salary and hybrid work options are crucial factors in recruitment, the challenge of the job, strong leadership and a positive organizational culture remain pivotal in attracting and retaining outstanding employees.

My call to action is for the key players in our industry to unite and support a national container logistics strategy that develops a demand-driven infrastructure plan with a long term outlook.

We see value creation through strategic partnerships, effective land use planning and innovative supply chain solutions that inform our infrastructure investment decisions as core to our business.

Those companies that participate in expanding markets via emerging gateways stand well positioned for any uncertainty that lies ahead.

ASEAN is the USEC’s fourth-largest trading partner and in 2022, total trade between the USEC and ASEAN was more than $260 billion.

We must keep improving our terminals, rail systems and roadways to make the best and highest use of our resources.

Port authorities are the natural developers of information sharing platforms given our links to virtually every player in the goods movement process.

When it comes to managing container flow, a layered and strategic approach can vastly reduce kinks in the network.

These technological innovations boost efficiency and reduce delays, ultimately benefiting the entire supply chain.

Rightsizing the entire supply chain and ensuring data transparency are key in planning for tomorrow’s capacity needs to avoid past challenges.

With the labor stability provided by the new agreement, we expect to win back even more cargo in the year ahead.

The shipping and logistics industry is taking bold steps toward more sustainable business practices, while still facing an uncertain pathway to the decarbonization of the supply chain.

Being able to have conversations with a longer-term view to develop sustainable relationships among all stakeholders will be key in the coming years.

Barring a resurgence in demand for products anytime soon, 2024 gives the impression to be the new abnormal in shipping.

There has also been meaningful industry investment and substantial growth outside our gates that will grow volumes through our terminals.

The tempest of risks facing shipping and logistics is unlikely to provide predictability as current global disruptions will continue to reveal the fragility of global supply chains.

Rising to the demand for tackling decisive issues through open communication and collaboration is vital to solving challenges in the future.

Digitization, if done properly, can provide a company with a collaborative platform allowing each stakeholder to perform their respective tasks more efficiently and timely.

Now is the time to encourage cargo interests and motor carriers to utilize data initiatives that provide enhanced cargo information designed to facilitate terminal efficiency.

This simply proves that while ports are a vital part of the supply chain, the network itself is a partnership between all parties.

This is what we have started to see with our industry — shifting from globalization to regionalization to manage risk efficiently, aiming to redefine future value chains.

Standards and technology create a foundation for the digital evolution, but the biggest challenge we face concerns people and process.

Carriers will need to adapt their service networks to cater to emerging markets while grappling with the oversupply of container ships commissioned in recent years.

Shipping — and the entire project sector — must adapt to additional costs, which, ultimately, will have to be borne by those ordering transportation from, into or within the EU.