Breakbulk China 2012
Breakbulk conferences are one of our diary highlights, so we were particularly looking forward to the first Breakbulk Asia conference to be held in Shanghai and the opportunity to see so many of our Asian customers.
It kicked off on 29 February with more than 4,500 registered attendees and over 100 exhibitors discussing a wide range of topics from China’s breakbulk and project cargo market to transporting goods on the Yangtze River and trade in Mongolia.
One of the keynote speeches was given by Mui-Fong Goh, a partner in the A. T. Kearney’s Asia Pacific transportation practice. She talked about trends and developments in the Chinese market for breakbulk cargo logistics. She estimated that China’s breakbulk market grew by 11% in 2010 with export volumes reaching US$10 billion in 2010. By 2015, she expected this to reach US$26 billion.
The growth in Chinese export volumes is helped by the strong relationship between China and the US, and we know there is a huge opportunity for companies like Siem Car Carriers to assist both US and Asian companies by moving their cars, trucks, high heavy and break bulk cargo around the Pacific.
We were delighted to hear the conclusion to Goh’s keynote speech, which noted that “transport decisions are not based simply on price alone, but on a combination of factors. Quality is becoming more and more important; there’s more integration into supply chain and demand for value-added services.”
This is great news, as our fast, direct, reliable liner service is a great example of a high quality, value-added service.
With more than 75 percent of attendees from mainland China, the conference is a great way for us to keep in touch with existing customers and showcase our NAPA break bulk and project cargo services to new ones. For those in the Asian community that had yet to hear of us, they were very pleased to learn that there was finally a reliable and direct Ro-Ro company between the US West Coast and North Asia, especially one that has such a huge emphasis on customer service and reliability.
All-in-all, it was another great Breakbulk conference. We are already looking forward to Breakbulk North America, 8 – 11 October 2012 in Houston Texas.
