Maersk looks into NZ ‘cargo bumping’ claim

Exporters said to be struggling to get their products on ships because of the seasonal bulge and reduced cargo space have the solution in their own hands, said the New Zealand head of shipping giant Maersk, according to the Timaru Herald.

"You can reduce the risk and increase the certainty by making commitments to your service providers," managing director Julian Bevis said.

He was responding to a claim by Export NZ that exporters are having difficulty securing container space because of a reduction in global shipping capacity and seasonal production pressure.

Export NZ executive director Catherine Beard said some were having problems despite having firm bookings.

"They are getting bumped at the last minute and their goods are not going a day or two later but they are experiencing delays of a month to six weeks to get their products away."

She said the firms being bumped had non-perishable products and were not regular exporters with higher-value product. She would not identify the exporters.

Bevis said he had seen no evidence of such a problem but would look into the claim. Such long delays were unlikely given there were weekly shipping services, he said.

He suggested some exporters may be experiencing a tougher line by shipping companies after securing some "very good deals" last year when shippers were facing huge losses in the global recession.

"There are grounds to believe things are improving a bit worldwide, it varies from sector to sector, but a combination of increased demand plus the fact lines laid up ships and a great deal more slow steaming has brought the imbalance between supply and demand to a more equitable balance. That has meant things have tightened a bit and this may be a symptom."

Beard said exporters should make a shipping strategy part of their total business strategy. "Occasional exporters should investigate teaming up with regular exporters or higher-value exporters, so as to get the benefit of stronger contractual relationships."

Bevis said a price was attached to securing space ahead. Some exporters accepted this, and were "thoughtful" about making commitments to their service providers, but others were less so, which surprised him in a country so remote from all its markets.

"It's a long way from anywhere with all sorts of complexities and imbalances of trade which make it expensive and a precarious place for shipping lines.

"Transport must be an integral part of any business plan whether national or international. People take transport for granted, and at a time of such frightful economic uncertainty and such frightful losses, not just for shipping lines but airlines, it must be prudent to ask, "Have I secured my supply lines?"
Even some of the biggest exporters took a very transactional, short-term view, Bevis said.

"The main message is there is a solution to this. We are seeing the effects of a market. People can change markets by making choices about pricing."

Consolidating the number of ports would not ease the seasonal bulge problem.

"It's there if you have one port or 400. [Agriculture] goes on, and on a seasonal basis. One way or the other, we have to serve the various markets in New Zealand, if there isn't a port, cargo has to move some other way.

"There's also the competition aspect. If ports are rationalised you have to ask would there be an effective market? I would speculate the answer might be no. There is talk of South Island rationalisation with the ports of Lyttelton and Otago, I would suggest that would constitute a significant dominant position."

Port of Lyttelton chief executive Peter Davie said there had been anecdotal reports of bumping which the port had spoken to shipping companies about. But the relationship was between shipping lines and exporters.

(Source: Cargo News Asia)