Hartmut Goeritz: Tanger Med's Success Depends on its Competitiveness
11 May 2011
Read by 1704 persons
APM Terminals Tangier, the concessionaire of Tanger Med's first container terminal, exceeded 3 million containers handled in 2010. Its new CEO, appointed on March 15, believes the potential for activity growth is significant, but that 2011 will be affected by a slow economic recovery. Diversification of activities will not come at the expense of profitability.
Today, many Mediterranean countries have launched transshipment ports that will compete with Tanger Med. What, in your opinion, is needed for Tanger Med to secure its place?
Tanger Med is a flagship project representing a major development axis for Morocco and its northern region. Its positioning as a transshipment port stems from the strategic nature of the Strait of Gibraltar at the heart of major maritime routes, coupled with its status as a deep-sea port capable of accommodating the largest ships in the world fleet. Currently, maritime services of interest to APM Terminals Tangier include Europe/Asia and West Africa lines, and maritime services to South America and the Middle East, in addition to feeder vessels covering the Western Mediterranean. These developments represent new opportunities to support forecasts for growth in Morocco's import/export trade. But that's not all. The Tanger Med platform also constitutes a formidable tool for developing the local and national economic fabric through other port activities (roll-on/roll-off, passenger, rail, and oil terminals), but also considering the potential represented by the free logistics, commercial, and industrial zones organized around this platform.
Since the start of our operations in 2007, the development of the Tanger Med complex has followed a logic that meets the requirements of a world-class platform. We have operational resources that meet the highest international standards, allowing us to ensure the swift processing of ship calls. This is a key asset for our shipping line customers. As with all ports in the world, the key to success for Tanger Med remains its competitiveness!
In a global economic climate marked by crisis, is the development of Tanger Med not at risk of being delayed?
Obviously, the importance of the port of Tanger Med will evolve in line with the level of global economic growth and will also go hand in hand with the rapid pace and maturity of the Moroccan economy. This involves consolidating the "trust capital" developed to date through a public/private partnership approach that has been a true benchmark model. It also involves pursuing economic and social reforms to ensure a favorable environment and incentives to continue attracting internationally renowned companies to invest in these various activities.
APM Terminals manages several terminals in different ports around the world. What is the place of this port in its strategy?
APM Terminals Tangier, the result of a partnership established since 2004 between APM Terminals and Akwa Group, has quickly ranked among the most efficient terminals. We are proud to be a part of the Tanger-Med project and aim to expand our presence there.
APM Terminals Tangier naturally benefits from the advantage of belonging to a group that has a large market share serving the largest international shipping lines, and is well-placed to significantly contribute to satisfying Maersk Line's transshipment capacity needs. APM Terminals Tangier is also able, through increased import/export activities, to be part of our group's strategy, which focuses on high-growth potential markets.
Are the first few years conclusive in terms of activity volume?
Certainly. APM Terminals Tangier has already succeeded, thanks to the plan for the redeployment of Maersk Line's activities in the Western Mediterranean region, in achieving a 66% increase in 2010 with a volume of 901,000 movements, or nearly 1.4 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), thus exceeding the three millionth TEU handled since its commissioning last December. APM Terminals Tangier's market share in the Western Mediterranean region has continuously improved to reach nearly 30% in the last quarter of 2010, with a very satisfactory utilization rate of the terminal's total capacity. And our forecasts anticipate a total of 1 million movements for 2011. We are quite confident that the level of activity achieved represents a good indicator of our future prospects at Tanger Med and the potential for full utilization of our handling capacity.
What is your strategy for Tanger Med for the coming years?
Our goal is to diversify and secure our business by seizing immediate opportunities without sacrificing the long-term sustainability and profitability of our activities, and to be able to develop dynamic and proactive responses to any market changes.
To this end, we intend to deploy all efforts to enable us to offer competitive commercial solutions and improve the quality of our services; secure our volumes with our current clients; develop both our transshipment activity and that related to import/export; optimize our processes and rationalize the use of our equipment in order to minimize our costs and increase the capacity made available to the market; train and develop the skills of our teams; and finally, a strong commitment to the areas of hygiene and safety, innovation, limiting the impact of our activity on the environment, and social responsibility.
How do you assess the economic situation with regard to maritime transport, particularly after two difficult years marked by a decline in demand?
First of all, it is important to note the difference observed between the overall level of evolution of the world economy and that concerning the maritime transport sector, which has its own dynamic characterized by greater market volatility.
The year 2009 saw a historic contraction in world trade, which severely affected the level of activity of maritime transport companies, with a 15% decline in containerized trade worldwide. All companies, including the largest, suffered particularly from this situation and recorded "colossal" losses during this year.
In 2010, however, as the world economy was very slowly emerging from the crisis, the market rebounded sharply, quickly bringing volumes back to their pre-2008 levels. Shipping companies then posted record gross results, at levels never before reached!
In the first quarter of 2011, some companies are once again in the red... The trend is indeed towards a decline in freight rates, accentuated by the excess in overall available capacity. The root causes of the crisis are still there: debt levels, high inflation in oil and other commodity prices, decreased consumption, and reduced imports in world trade...
No recovery in sight, at least not in the immediate future...
What is certain is that this situation will probably continue to weigh on the level of global economic growth, which will evolve at a slower pace, and we do not expect a rapid and irreversible return to the strong growth rates of shipping companies' activities before the crisis in the next few years.
Significant improvements are however expected for North-South trade, imports from emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, and South America, and potentially through the conversion of bulk transport to containerized transport.
APM Terminals has just adopted a new visual identity. Why a new logo?
The Danish A.P. Moller-Maersk group has been managing container terminals for over 25 years. Since 2001, this activity has been carried out by APM Terminals International, which was established as an independent company, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.
As an independent operator, APM Terminals, which operates in more than 50 ports worldwide, employs 22,000 people in 64 countries, and was awarded the "Port Operator of the Year" award by Lloyd's List in 2009. This award serves not only Maersk Line, but also a range of other clients. APM Terminals thus achieved a traffic of 31.5 million TEUs in 2010, serving more than 60 shipping companies.
In the context of a global economy that has made competition even more fierce, it has become clear that APM Terminals needed to strengthen its brand image by presenting greater visibility of its mission, objectives, and achievements, the role it plays in facilitating global trade, and its own identity as an independent company vis-à-vis the other entities of the A.P. Moller-Maersk group.
Mohamed Moujahid.
Published May 9, 2011
Posted online May 11, 2011
Lavieeco.com
Today, many Mediterranean countries have launched transshipment ports that will compete with Tanger Med. What, in your opinion, is needed for Tanger Med to secure its place?
Tanger Med is a flagship project representing a major development axis for Morocco and its northern region. Its positioning as a transshipment port stems from the strategic nature of the Strait of Gibraltar at the heart of major maritime routes, coupled with its status as a deep-sea port capable of accommodating the largest ships in the world fleet. Currently, maritime services of interest to APM Terminals Tangier include Europe/Asia and West Africa lines, and maritime services to South America and the Middle East, in addition to feeder vessels covering the Western Mediterranean. These developments represent new opportunities to support forecasts for growth in Morocco's import/export trade. But that's not all. The Tanger Med platform also constitutes a formidable tool for developing the local and national economic fabric through other port activities (roll-on/roll-off, passenger, rail, and oil terminals), but also considering the potential represented by the free logistics, commercial, and industrial zones organized around this platform.
Since the start of our operations in 2007, the development of the Tanger Med complex has followed a logic that meets the requirements of a world-class platform. We have operational resources that meet the highest international standards, allowing us to ensure the swift processing of ship calls. This is a key asset for our shipping line customers. As with all ports in the world, the key to success for Tanger Med remains its competitiveness!
In a global economic climate marked by crisis, is the development of Tanger Med not at risk of being delayed?
Obviously, the importance of the port of Tanger Med will evolve in line with the level of global economic growth and will also go hand in hand with the rapid pace and maturity of the Moroccan economy. This involves consolidating the "trust capital" developed to date through a public/private partnership approach that has been a true benchmark model. It also involves pursuing economic and social reforms to ensure a favorable environment and incentives to continue attracting internationally renowned companies to invest in these various activities.
APM Terminals manages several terminals in different ports around the world. What is the place of this port in its strategy?
APM Terminals Tangier, the result of a partnership established since 2004 between APM Terminals and Akwa Group, has quickly ranked among the most efficient terminals. We are proud to be a part of the Tanger-Med project and aim to expand our presence there.
APM Terminals Tangier naturally benefits from the advantage of belonging to a group that has a large market share serving the largest international shipping lines, and is well-placed to significantly contribute to satisfying Maersk Line's transshipment capacity needs. APM Terminals Tangier is also able, through increased import/export activities, to be part of our group's strategy, which focuses on high-growth potential markets.
Are the first few years conclusive in terms of activity volume?
Certainly. APM Terminals Tangier has already succeeded, thanks to the plan for the redeployment of Maersk Line's activities in the Western Mediterranean region, in achieving a 66% increase in 2010 with a volume of 901,000 movements, or nearly 1.4 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), thus exceeding the three millionth TEU handled since its commissioning last December. APM Terminals Tangier's market share in the Western Mediterranean region has continuously improved to reach nearly 30% in the last quarter of 2010, with a very satisfactory utilization rate of the terminal's total capacity. And our forecasts anticipate a total of 1 million movements for 2011. We are quite confident that the level of activity achieved represents a good indicator of our future prospects at Tanger Med and the potential for full utilization of our handling capacity.
What is your strategy for Tanger Med for the coming years?
Our goal is to diversify and secure our business by seizing immediate opportunities without sacrificing the long-term sustainability and profitability of our activities, and to be able to develop dynamic and proactive responses to any market changes.
To this end, we intend to deploy all efforts to enable us to offer competitive commercial solutions and improve the quality of our services; secure our volumes with our current clients; develop both our transshipment activity and that related to import/export; optimize our processes and rationalize the use of our equipment in order to minimize our costs and increase the capacity made available to the market; train and develop the skills of our teams; and finally, a strong commitment to the areas of hygiene and safety, innovation, limiting the impact of our activity on the environment, and social responsibility.
How do you assess the economic situation with regard to maritime transport, particularly after two difficult years marked by a decline in demand?
First of all, it is important to note the difference observed between the overall level of evolution of the world economy and that concerning the maritime transport sector, which has its own dynamic characterized by greater market volatility.
The year 2009 saw a historic contraction in world trade, which severely affected the level of activity of maritime transport companies, with a 15% decline in containerized trade worldwide. All companies, including the largest, suffered particularly from this situation and recorded "colossal" losses during this year.
In 2010, however, as the world economy was very slowly emerging from the crisis, the market rebounded sharply, quickly bringing volumes back to their pre-2008 levels. Shipping companies then posted record gross results, at levels never before reached!
In the first quarter of 2011, some companies are once again in the red... The trend is indeed towards a decline in freight rates, accentuated by the excess in overall available capacity. The root causes of the crisis are still there: debt levels, high inflation in oil and other commodity prices, decreased consumption, and reduced imports in world trade...
No recovery in sight, at least not in the immediate future...
What is certain is that this situation will probably continue to weigh on the level of global economic growth, which will evolve at a slower pace, and we do not expect a rapid and irreversible return to the strong growth rates of shipping companies' activities before the crisis in the next few years.
Significant improvements are however expected for North-South trade, imports from emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, and South America, and potentially through the conversion of bulk transport to containerized transport.
APM Terminals has just adopted a new visual identity. Why a new logo?
The Danish A.P. Moller-Maersk group has been managing container terminals for over 25 years. Since 2001, this activity has been carried out by APM Terminals International, which was established as an independent company, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.
As an independent operator, APM Terminals, which operates in more than 50 ports worldwide, employs 22,000 people in 64 countries, and was awarded the "Port Operator of the Year" award by Lloyd's List in 2009. This award serves not only Maersk Line, but also a range of other clients. APM Terminals thus achieved a traffic of 31.5 million TEUs in 2010, serving more than 60 shipping companies.
In the context of a global economy that has made competition even more fierce, it has become clear that APM Terminals needed to strengthen its brand image by presenting greater visibility of its mission, objectives, and achievements, the role it plays in facilitating global trade, and its own identity as an independent company vis-à-vis the other entities of the A.P. Moller-Maersk group.
Mohamed Moujahid.
Published May 9, 2011
Posted online May 11, 2011
Lavieeco.com
