Demand for capacity eases slightly John Blessington … an increase in inbound trade particularly from Asia expected in 2006. ALAN PEAT THE DURBAN based Hamburg Süd shipping line is continually introducing or re-introducing services where the market demand justifies its presence, according to SA GM, John Blessington. One such move has been the launch of a service linking SA with Australia, NZ and the Pacific Isles via Singapore on a weekly basis. “Better connections gave us the opportunity to start a service which offered faster transit times and a schedule which appealed to the market,” Blessington told FTW. Similarly, an upgrade in the available capacity from the East Coast of South America (ECSA) to the US justified Hamburg Süd re-introducing its USA service via Santos in Brazil. “Because we were now guaranteed the necessary slot allocation on the route between South and North America, we were once again able to offer a weekly schedule for the SA-ECSA-US trade,” said Blessington. The line also has a full commitment to the Asia-SA-ECSA, the Asia-West Africa and the ECSA-SA-West Africa trades. “On the Asia-ECSA route,” Blessington said, “we have a split service, with one doing a turnaround in Durban, and the other carrying on to ECSA. “We also double up on our services into West Africa, with one transhipping in Durban, and the other our own service linking Brazil, Cape Town, Durban, Lagos and Tema.” West Africa is a fast growing market, according to Hamburg Süd’s analysis, with the line’s service already well booked until December. But it has its own individual problems, with the main port of Lagos in Nigeria suffering from congestion “that is getting worse rather than better”, and with a 7-day delay quite common, Blessington added. Meantime, he sees the mainstream Asia-SA route still being busy in 2005 for all the lines on the trade – but with an increase in capacity of about 40% this year. “There is not the same pressure of demand exceeding supply as there was last year,” said Blessington. “It is still tight, although not as critical as it was.” Looking at the medium-to long-term, he anticipates a bright future for shipping and freight in SA. “In the more immediate term – 2006,” he added, “things are still quite promising, with an increase in in-bound trade expected, particularly from Asia.”
