The Current State of the Maritime Industry: Care To Help With Our Forecast?

Navis World 2008, the annual shipper conference staged in San Francisco this April, features a number of sessions designed to generate dialogue about the future of shipping. LM will be there to provide a mid-year forecast based on what we are hearing from our readers. Here’s what we see so far:

• When first fiscal quarter numbers are in they will confirm what many in the maritime industry had predicted. Vessel capacity is tight, fuel prices are escalating, and the U.S. West Coast’s market dominance is being undermined by a variety of forces.
• Given the currency imbalance, ocean vessel carriers are concentrating on Asia-EU deployments, and serving the U.S. on an increasingly all-water basis. Meanwhile, domestic inland intermodal networks are being reconfigured as manufacturers and retailers determine new shipping and sourcing strategies.
• Logistics management professionals on the Pacific Rim also have questions about pending dockside labor negotiations, and the harbor trucking situation. The "greening" of our ports and the new legal landscape will also be factors in shaping future maritime business strategies.

Shippers wishing to share their own predictions and observations are invited to chime in before the big show….