b'4American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comDescartes Chris Jones explainsNot boxed-outwhats behind the numbers Developments and opportunities in the con-tainer terminal business, from automation Chris Jones is EVP of industry and services at Descartes-Data- to Altasia to more Asianmyne, a company that produces high quality trade intelligence, particularlyoninternationaloceancontainershipping.InanBy Ton van den Bosch, Special to the AJOTinterview with the AJOT, Jones lends his interpretation to the dataEditors note: Ton van dendue to a worsening economic concerning some notable shipping trends. BoschisapartnerinSinga- andgeopoliticalsituation, pores global law firm Clydewithlessportcongestion By George Lauriat, AJOT &Co.TheSingaporeofficecutting into the new revenue ofClydeoperatesasahub,thatterminaloperatorshave AJOTWith the fallingtermsofgeo-politics?Willdisruption will be or when itsupportingcli- reapedfrom demandintheUSin2023tensionsintheAsia-Pacificwilloccur.Thedatashowsents with diverseexcessdemur-(aftertherobust21-22boxRimrisefurther?Forportwe are gradually returning tobusinessinter- rageanddeten-surge),whatimporttrendsauthorities,shippers,carri- normal,buttheworldsitu- ests,includingtion charges. This are US ports posting?ers,andlogisticsproviders,ation could not be more dif- inkeysectorsyear sees a diffi-Chris JonesThe high- havingtheproverbialPlanferentthanfouryearsago.suchastrans- cult combination levelU.S.containerimportBtostrengthentheresil- Itmightbethatwellneedportation,ter- of lower demand trend in the first two monthsiency of their supply chains isfurthercontingencies,likeaminals,ports,andhighercosts ofthisyearshowsvolumesas important as ever. But it is(NUMBERScontinued onlogistics,com- forequipment, matching pre-pandemic 2019.difficult to say what the nextpage 6) modities, insur- fuel,electricity, High inflation and an uncer- ance,energyandlabour.To tain economic outlook com- and infrastructure in emergingtopitalloff,thecontainer bined to significantly dampenand frontier markets in Africa,shippingindustryisbracing the COVID consumer buyingtheGulfandin Asia.Clydeitselfforanunprecedented spree. The question on many& Co. has the worlds largestflood of new container ships peoples minds is whether wemaritime team and has doneabout to enter service and the areslipstreamingbackintoport related work in more thancurrentorderbookcontinues the trendline of 2019, the last60 countries around the world.to grow.yearwheneverythingwasThecontainershippingDespite these headwinds, thesameold,sameold.Onsectorenjoyedanunprece- ourfirmisbullishonthe the face of it, the answer is:dented boom during the pan- prospectsforthecontainer Itdepends.Willinflationdemic, but tariffs have cometerminalsbusiness.Inthis bebroughtundercontrol?down again and seem to havearticle, we will discuss three Willeconomicsentimentsreachedpre-COVIDrates.reasonswhywebelievethe improve?WillthewarinShippingvolumesandportcontainerterminalbusiness Europewiden,notjustinutilisation rates will probably(BOXEDcontinued on thebattlefieldsense,butincontinue to decline this yearpage 10)READY,INNOVATIVE &RESOLUTION FOCUSEDReliable access between U.S. Markets and the Pacific RimOptimal supply chain readinessSuperior, Actionable, Operational Data VisibilityRecognized industry leadershipInnovative Port Optimizer supply chain solution Leader in Environmental Stewardship53 ft channel and berth depth@PortofLA'