On the afternoon of April 29, 2020, the conference of "Global Port Development Report (2019)" (hereinafter referred to as "Report") and keynote speech on port development of the series activities of Shanghai International Shipping Research Center (SISI) was held for the first time by live video conference.
Zhenhong, Secretary General of Shanghai International Shipping Research Center and Professor of Shanghai Maritime University, led the report compilation team and delivered a lecture. Zhao Nan, Assistant Secretary General of SISI and director of Port Development Research Institute, presided over the meeting and released the Report.
When interpreting the report, Xie Wenqing, assistant director of SISI Port Development Institute, The report is analyzed in detail from eight aspects, including global port development environment, production status, development status of global terminal operators in 2019, terminal investment and construction, influence of Indian shipping policies on port development, port supply chain and cross-border e-commerce cooperation mode, anti-risk ability and investment of global terminal operators, and development trend analysis of global cruise ports.
When talking about the development trend of global ports in 2020, Xie Wenqing believed that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in shipping costs due to low sulfur oil, the growth rate of global economy and trade will slow down significantly in 2020, and the growth rate of global port throughput may decline. Specifically, Asian ports may face negative growth, American and European ports continue to decline, and Australian ports are stagnating.
At the same time, the port investment market is in a short-term downturn, which is reflected in the following aspects: the port construction in Asia is relatively stable, the new round of port construction in the eastern United States will be put on hold, the pace of port construction in China will gradually slow down, and the demand for automated terminal construction may be strengthened.
In terms of global terminal operators, the report sees another wave of consolidation, mainly due to terminal operators selling assets to promote consolidation. According to the production capacity changes and operation conditions of major global terminal operators, such as Cosco Shipping Port, China Merchants Port, Dubai Global Port Group, Maersk Terminal, Singapore International Port Group, and Hutchison Port, the growth rate of global terminal operators is generally good.
When forecasting the development trend of port supply chain, Xie Wenqing said that in the future, more attention will be paid to customers' comprehensive customized services. For customers, the biggest benefit from the integration of related services is the "seamless" logistics experience.
For service providers, the wider the coverage of the service, the higher the service fee they can earn. The extension of supply chain services up and down also means more customized service solutions and a wider customer base.
At the same time, the port supply chain also presents the trend of online development. This not only provides convenience for collaborative development, but also puts forward higher requirements for the response speed of logistics supply chain itself.
How does the port supply chain develop together with cross-border e-commerce?
Xie Wenqing concluded that the essence of the coordinated development of port logistics supply chain and cross-border e-commerce is the deep integration of port industry facing the global logistics supply chain market.
Specifically, in the face of the inevitable trends of decentralization, order fragmentation and supply chain flattening, port supply chain must seize the opportunity of the "Internet of everything" era. In the future, cross-border trade can be provided with "end-to-end" integrated logistics services through third-party cross-border e-commerce platforms.
By taking advantage of the agglomeration effect of e-commerce platform, port supply chain service providers need to extend insurance, bank and other service providers on the basis of joint ports, shipping companies, docks, freight forwarding, warehousing, customs clearance and fleet, and develop a cross-border supply chain ecology. At the conference, Professor Zhenhong also exchanged and shared hot topics with online guests.
First, the development of port enterprises shows the trend of network layout towards the sea and land. The global terminal operators strengthen the control of network towards the sea, and the layout of inland waterless ports extends the port service function inland.
Second, build a "process to process" connection, build a logistics supply chain with ports as the core, and provide a "flexible service" port that is more responsive to changes in market demand.
Third, we will strengthen the interconnected development of the port and city. For example, at present, the harbor area has become an important support for port development, and the development mode of "port area + logistics park + harbor industrial park" can be built.
Fourth, the sustainable development mode of the port can be developed in the direction of "resource-saving + environment-friendly".
Fifth, a smart port with full coverage of information and data collection capabilities and advanced digital technology application capabilities will be the only way for future port development.
It is learnt that this series of reports won the second prize of science and Technology Progress Award of the China Port Association. In the 2019 Global Shipping Report recently released by UNCTAD, relevant data from the 2018 Global Port Development Report was also cited.