Heavy Lift Markets

This article is of particular interest to us here at Dixie Cullen, as we're seeing a greater number of Project Cargo coming through our warehouse facility and are seeing more customers choose the direction of Break Bulk.

Project, heavy-lift markets on solid ground, Drewry’s Page says
October 16, 2008 – 3:28 pm-->By Peter Leach -- Journal of Commerce - Break Bulk

NEW ORLEANS — The project and heavy-lift sectors of the breakbulk shipping industry will fare much better during the current global economic crisis than either the bulk or the container sectors.

Even if breakbulk shipments of such commodities as steel and forest products suffer during the global economic slowdown, demand for vessel space for the components of heavy industrial projects in the developing world will remain strong, Mark Page, director of liner shipping for Drewry Shipping Consultants in London, told The Journal of Commerce’s 19th Annual Breakbulk Transportation Conference here on Thursday.

“It’s a tough time for shipping, but the breakbulk and project cargo sectors should hold up well,” Page said.

Demand will hold up particularly well for the new modern multipurpose vessels that are specially designed to carry project cargo. Demand for the older, less-specialized vessels will probably slow.

What is rescuing project cargo from the global downturn is the continuing growth of markets for projects with long lead times in China, India, the Middle East and Russia, which will continue to grow in 2008 and 23009, Page said.

Although project cargo carriers have been ordering new multipurpose vessels in record numbers in the last few years, there is no danger of overcapacity in this sector. That’s because there has been no scrapping of older vessels in the last few years, and the ratio of new orders to the existing fleet is far lower than the container fleet, for example.

In 2008, the multipurpose vessel fleet is expected to increase by 4 percent, while demand for capacity is expected to increase by 5 percent, Page said.