GLOBAL LOGISTICS
by Amy Roach Partridge
Global Congestion in the Spotlight
W ill inadequate transportation infrastructure and congestion negatively impact worldwide economic growth in the years ahead? One trans- portation leader believes so. “If our transport infrastructure can’t keep pace with the rate of growth, then big question marks hang over the con- tinuation of the kind of economic prosperity that has been delivered this decade,” warned Ron Widdows, CEO of Singapore-based container ship-
ping line APL, during the European Conference of Ministers of Transport in June. This was the latest in a series of high-level alarms sounded by APL and Widdows to warn against overcrowd- ing at seaports, and on highways and railways worldwide. Widdows told his audience of government leaders that transportation infrastructure can’t keep pace with the global growth in trade. By 2010, he explained, global
container volumes will reach dou- ble their 2000 level, but in many of the world’s key markets, the transpor- tation infrastructure won’t be able to handle the load without negative impact to the flow of goods. Widdows put forth a call to action for “massive investments to modernize and expand the transport system,” urging governments–including the European transportation ministers–shippers, and transportation industry executives to collaborate on solutions. Otherwise, congestion will slow future economic growth rates, add costs to global sup- ply chains, and could lead companies to reconsider their sourcing strategies, he noted. To illustrate the problem, Widdows pointed to cargo arrival data: in the first quarter of 2007, only 46 percent of container vessels globally arrived at ports on time–the lowest level on record. At European ports, less than 30 percent of vessels arrived on time. “Because of the highly intercon- nected and integrated nature of the systems that today service international trade, we need a consistent worldwide approach to implement solutions,” said Widdows. “Congestion in any major part of the world’s supply chain has global reverberations.”
The world’s highly connected, but inadequate transportation infrastructure may threaten today’s global economic prosperity, cautions Ron Widdows, CEO of container shipping line APL. He advises “massive investments to modernize and expand our transport systems.”
July 2007 • Inbound Logistics 45
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