Among the more compelling sessions scheduled for next week’s National Industrial Transportation League’s (NITL) annual meeting will be one examining what global shippers will demand from carriers in 2012.
“What Do Shippers Want?- Global and National Perspectives” may sound Freudian, but it is certainly not rhetorical. The answer, said the League’s executive vice president Peter Gatti, is likely to be heightened service and dependability.
“The carriers in all modes have been softening their rate and pricing structures,” said Gatti. “But shippers know that’s going to change. In return, however, they are going to expect better efficiency.”
Addressing those concerns at the League’s 104th Annual Meeting and TransComp Exhibition in Atlanta will be The Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF), which is staging its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, November 16. At the meeting copies of the GSF’s Annual Report will be available along with a special GSF briefing paper on “ship”/“vessel” emissions.
According to NITL spokemen, this is the first meeting of the GSF since its formal incorporation in May of this year:
“This new structure will permit the GSF to engage on topical issues as they present themselves rather than the traditional once-a-year meeting format. It facilitates an international shipper network by which suppliers have an established way to communicate as businesses partners on products and services that they believe are important to the shipper community.”
The GSF traces its origins to 1994 when it was known as the Tripartite Shippers’ Group. Since that time the GSF has met annually to discuss and voice views on policy matters important to shippers and the freight transportation industry. It is comprised today of shippers working through their representative national organizations from Africa, Asia, North and South America, the South Pacific and the United Kingdom.