Increasing demand for equipment seen By Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOTOcean carriers providing roll on-roll off services for vehicles and equipment are feeling cautiously optimistic about their businesses, thanks to encouraging signs which have emerged in the first few months of this year. Government economic stimulus programs around the world are funding construction projects and are increasing demand for equipment while a stronger dollar is fueling higher level of imports into the United States. All this comes after a disastrous 2009 for world trade in general and for the ro-ro business in particular. The 2010 rebound has led some to project that an accelerated recovery—at least in this segment of the economy—is at hand. “In general 2009 was a very difficult year for many ro-ro carriers due to the decline in the U.S. economy,” said Ron Jackson, vice president-commercial at Nordana. “We saw dramatic reductions from previous years when finding space on vessels was a major challenge.” “We are off the bottom,” declared Bob Willman, general manager of ro-ro and special projects at Atlantic Container Lines. ACL operates multi-purpose vessels which include ro-ro capabilities between Europe and North America. In fact, ACL vessels are full in the inbound direction, Willman added. “The vessels are coming in chockablock full of cargo,” he said. “We see that as the biggest trend in 2010.” On the outbound side, ACL “is seeing some signs of life,” said Willman, “but it is not consistent. We’ll have a good four or five weeks in a row and then it sputters. We’re doing better than in 2009 but we can’t seem to get a consistently upward trend on the outbound side.” The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia has also seen increased ro-ro activity over the last three to four months, according Charles Atkinson, the company’s national sales manager. “Activity has increased from North America to the Middle East and the and Indian subcontinent,” he said. “There has been growth of anywhere between 12 to 15 percent. We have also noticed many more inquiries about ro-ro movements. Those inquiries have grown by around 35 to 40 percent.” Nordana’s increases in ro-ro volumes have come largely from increased demand for used equipment, according to Jackson. “There is a heavy trend in the demand for used equipment from the U.S.,” he said. “A lot of it is going to the Mediterranean, North Africa and West Africa. Machinery coming out of auctions seems to be a big part of the inquiries we are receiving. Overall, our volume is up around 15 percent this year.” The Wilh. Wilhelmsen (WW) group, the parent company of a number of ro-ro and automobile carrier components, saw increases during the first quarter of 2010, according to a financial report the company provided the AJOT. “Total cargo volumes for WW’s ship operating companies rose throughout the first quarter” as compared to the first quarter of 2009, the report said, “climbing 24 percent year on year…Both the car and ro-ro (roll-on roll-off cargo, comprising high and heavy machinery and non containerized cargo) cargo categories improved during the quarter, lifting volumes above the same quarter in 2009. With the increase in car volumes exceeding ro-ro cargo, the cargo mix compared with the first quarter in 2009 was somewhat less favorable.” Comparing the first quarter 2010 with the fourth quarter of 2009 showed total WW volumes off by 16 percent “primarily due to seasonality in the car segment…” Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, which is 50 percent owned WW and is the group’s principal automobile and ro-ro carrier, recorded total income for the first quarter roughly in line with the fourth quarter of 2009. “Overall cargo volumes were slightly down due to seasonality within the car segment, however the cargo mix improved as a consequence of higher ro-ro volumes,” the WW report said. “The trend through the quarter was encouraging, with a notable increase in ro-ro volumes in March compared with the same month in 2009. Total car vo