Project market can expect another volatile year

The global recession has had a variable impact on project cargo, according to Greg Ulicki, Safmarine's director of multipurpose services (MPV). Problems with financing were evident in the postponement and delay of projects, but a number of projects still came on stream. This, according to Ulicki, meant that business conditions were, on the whole, “volatile”. He also suggested that, with the situation changing daily, there was no fixed pattern or trend in terms of growth or contraction of demand. The same pattern can be expected for the year of 2010 – as the market demand varies between ups and downs. “Although the prospects for 2010 are difficult to predict,” Ulicki added, “we do not expect business conditions to significantly worsen in 2010. We also expect demand for breakbulk services to fluctuate, as they did in 2009.” Much of this is linked to the fortunes in the container market. Breakbulk services will continue to be influenced by container freight rates, according to Ulicki. “When freight rates for container services are low,” he said, “there is often a tendency for certain shippers to temporarily shift their business away from MPV to container services. “However, in most cases, these shippers return to MPV because of the distinct advantages of the MPVtype services.”