Mike Garratt News

Tomorrow 23rd June international law firm Hill Dickinson LLP will be holding  its UK Ports Conference focusing on ‘The Future of UK Ports: changing regulation, shipping trend updates and new opportunities in the supply chain’. The 7th Annual UK Ports Conference will allow senior representatives from across the ports, shipping and maritime sector to network and discuss policy updates, shipping trends and the latest logistics and supply chain guidance. The day will also look at how to approach port development and funding and hear from UK ports on how ports can support the economic development of the local area and the wider UK. Another discussion point will be on EU state aid and the key risk factors are for UK ports.

Growing consumer demand within China coupled with a worldwide decline in the West’s ability to consume Chinese-made goods, may herald long-term changes in the pattern of world trade. This is the prediction from MDS Transmodal, a specialist transport and trade consultancy, after analyzing for The Shippers’ Voice, the Chinese trade data for the second quarter 2009 as one of the inputs to its World Cargo Database. “The impact on the import/export balance of container traffic is dramatic,” said Mike Garratt of MDS Transmodal. “In Q2 2008 there were only 56 tonnes of Chinese imports for every 100 tonnes exported. One year later, that figure has grown to 80 tonnes. He said that Chinese exports drive the overall demand for global shipping capacity. “Here the picture is bleak.