The sky-high freight rates, and the hot availability of space and empty containers, are forcing freight forwarding logistics companies to charter ships and open shipping routes.
Last week, it was reported on Souhang.com that freight forwarding giant DSV Panalpina bypassed the shipping company and leased three ships and a batch of empty containers to open a new China-Denmark route. The latest news is that another freight logistics company giant DHL Global Forwarding also Is considering stepping in.
Dominique von Orelli, executive vice president of DHL Global Forwarding, confirmed to the media that the company is evaluating charter plans.
A large freight forwarding company considered direct control of ship assets, but actually entered an industry that is different from its core business in terms of operation and culture. On the other hand, it also shows how popular it is to ship containers from Asia to Europe and North America. And freight forwarders desperately provide customers with adequate services.
"There may be more freight forwarders to follow suit ." Anil Vitarana, former president of United Arab Shipping, said in a post on LinkedIn.
"If there is a continuing shortage of ship capacity and containers, and major logistics providers and 3PL find it feasible to use internal resources to integrate the economic benefits of the entire supply chain, shipping companies may regret the beginning of this trend." Vitarana wrote.
He added that the logistics provider/third-party logistics provider (3PL) team includes former executives of the shipping company and can help his current employer provide the services provided by the shipping company.
Vitarana also stated that shipping companies can also cooperate with 3PL to improve service capabilities. He pointed out that CMA CGM acquired CEVA Logistics in 2019 and Maersk included DAMCO in its integrator strategy, which has further promoted the supply chain solutions of shipping companies. Program.
But not all freight forwarders consider it necessary to provide shipping services to customers.
Two other large freight forwarders, Kuehne + Nagel and DB Schenker, said that although the container market is extremely tight, they do not think such a move is necessary.
Freight forwarding giant Kuehne + Nagel expressed confidence in products based on digital solutions and cooperative relationships with shipping companies, able to provide services to customers, and will continue to provide leasing services for project cargo, rather than container customers.
DB Schenker does not believe that chartering is one of the solutions for capacity. The current shortage of ships and chartering costs have also increased. Alphaliner, a maritime analysis agency, pointed out in mid-November that most ship charters are tight. The daily charter price of 3,000-3,500 TEU ships is US$18,000, an increase of US$2,000 from the end of October.
Thorsten Meincke, DB Schenker's board member responsible for air and ocean freight, said that the resources needed to charter and manage ships are often underestimated, which will distract attention from the reliable and robust services provided by freight forwarders.
"Once you have ship assets, you have to fill them up. This will become your focus, rather than providing customers with the best solutions," Meincke said. "The current challenge facing the maritime market is largely the shortage of containers, not just the space of ships."
Indeed, other sources also believe that despite Maersk’s efforts to redefine its business model by integrating traditional shipping and freight functions, there are still huge differences in operations and culture between freight forwarders and shipping companies.
Ship asset owners must keep their ships full and require functions and costs such as ship planning and container repositioning, and freight forwarders usually rarely consider these daily affairs.
In addition, the source said that the shipping capacity chartered by DSV is small, and its cost is far from competitive with ships of 20,000 TEU or more that travel between Asia and Europe. This is why freight forwarding and shipping are almost always in different organizations, even in larger shipping companies.
