Volumes steady with signs of an upturn

Despite the harsh economic climate which has seen volumes from the Far East on a steady downward slope, independent consolidator CFR Freight has a different story to tell. “For us volumes have remained steady over the past year and we’re beginning to see a slight upturn,” director Peter Schmidt-Löffler told FTW. In times of recession shippers generally opt for smaller volumes more often to keep inventory at a minimum, which is why consolidators tend to be less affected than forwarders in an economic squeeze. CFR has consistently built up its direct service portfolio from the Far East and specifically from China, with Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Tianjin on offer. “Part of our business is to continually look at opening new direct services and Xiamen is one of the new routes we’re looking into.” Schmidt-Löffler is optimistic about the outlook and expects to see a 5% increase in volumes over next few months. But with shipping lines introducing a general rate increase (GRI) and a peak season surcharge effective since September 15, shippers will need to dig deeper. “There’s always a tendency in a tight market for service providers to under-cut each other when it comes to rates. We’ve always been flexible in our pricing to assist our clients to remain competitive, but rates also need to be sustainable.” One of the challenges in trading successfully in the Far East is the cultural barrier, says Schmidt-Loffler. “By operating through the offices of our partners in the World Wide Alliance we are able to avoid any communication obstacles.”