'Cyclical' project business in buoyant mode

ALAN PEAT THE FORTUNES in the project cargo business are very cyclical, according to Gavin Forsyth, projects manager for Safcor Panalpina – busy for a time, a lull while everyone consolidates, then back to busy times. This is certainly one of the upward cycles, he added. “We’re very busy with a lot of projects at the moment,” said Forsyth. “Both actually moving the projects, and doing feasibility studies for others – a task that could be started up to three years before the project actually starts to move.” At the moment, there are lots of projects in Africa, and SA is proving to be a good source for the materials as the currency exchange rates on the continent make this country a viable supplier. This is a different tune from about 10 years ago, according to Forsyth, when many of the project cargoes were incoming as SA started to modernise and expand its capital plant to meet a growing market demand. “But in the last three to four years,” he said, “a lot of the projects are being exported into a rapidly growing market in the African continent. “We are, however, also hearing a lot of talk of a new import phase, as local industry again looks to upgrade its local operations.” This is evidenced, for example, in a number of municipalities looking to upgrade their electrical power supply equipment. “This,” said Forsyth, “could lead to a lot of project cargoes coming into the country.” For a forwarding operation to be able to handle this growing market, it must have a project team which has a very broad knowledge of just what the project cargo shipping needs are. According to Forsyth, they need to be alert to everything from bulk and break-bulk shipping, chartering, vessel stowage and capacities, cost-effectiveness of a particular mode, en-route storage and consolidation of cargoes and port facilities. “It all needs a lot of planning,” said Forsyth. “You even have to take airfreight into account, and ask yourself if it is an option – for example, for the back-up consignments of spares and consumer goods. “So this also has to be part of your breadth of knowledge.”