Since the recession, the container shipping industry has faced extreme market pressures. Although embracing new initiatives and technologies have provided some tangible benefits, the carrier community may finally be coming to grips with the need for significant industry change. With global trade not only reliant on continued efficient transportation routes but also demanding ‘smarter’ transport options, the keynote conference sessions at Intermodal Europe 2016 aim to address and provide an in-depth overview of the current and future perspectives on strategy, finance, demand and supply within the container shipping industry.
Keynote speaker Tim Power, Head of Maritime Advisors at Drewry, will open the conference, discussing the ‘World Outlook for the Container Shipping Market’, followed by Mike Garratt, Managing Director at MDS Transmodal, who will provide an analysis of the European container shipping market. With 2016 expected to be a pivotal year in the future of the market, both sessions are designed to give an overview of key trends and challenges for the next 12 months.
In the same forum, Michel Looten, Director of Maritime at Seabury Cargo Advisory will present a session focusing on ‘Alliances and Consolidation in Container Shipping’. With oceanside alliances now an industry fact of life, Looten will explore how container lines have used alliances to increase scope and reduce cost on the ocean. With Industry pressures now making landside cooperation’s the next step for capturing economies of scale and alliances particularly crucial for carriers competing in the Asia-Europe trade, the session will examine how carriers will develop their operations to effectively continue shipping-line synergy.
Renzo Hoefnagels, Executive Director & Head of Intermodal at ABN AMRO – one of the official sponsor at Intermodal Europe 2016 – will provide an in-depth overview of the ‘Financial Perspectives on Next 5 Years in Container Shipping’. In addition, Professor Hercules Haralambides of Erasmus University Rotterdam will lead a session looking at ‘China’s Maritime Silk Road and European Ports Geopolitics’. “China’s $1 trillion infrastructure investment ambitions have significant ramifications on the European port and intermodal sectors”, explains Haralambides. “I’m going to examine what Europe’s response should be, in particular that of the European Investment Bank, and which are the European ports that are considered for inclusion in China’s global transport network and why?”.
With over 30 hours of free conference sessions and 70+ global expert speakers provided at the Intermodal Europe 2016 conference, the event will deliver the latest intelligence on key trends in international trade, container shipping strategy and transport logistics.
The program also includes sessions on Big Data in Tracking and the ‘Internet of Things’, ‘Perspectives on strategy, alliances, new challenges and new opportunities’, ‘Container Weighing’, ‘Shipping Container Design and Manufacture’, ‘Container Repositioning’, ‘Cold Chain Solutions’ and ‘Container modification & innovation’, as well as dedicated forums on Rail Freight Logistics and a geo focus on Rotterdam Logistics.
“With a dramatically changing business landscape, our three-day conference programme will provide executives with the practical tools they need to stay ahead” explains Sophie Ahmed, Event Director. “They’ll be discussing the hottest topics in the industry which I’m sure will spark insightful debate and provide attendees with knowledge that can be applied to future business strategies.”
As well as a full three-day interactive conference programme, Intermodal Europe brings together over 140 leading exhibiting companies, 5,000 professional visitors and numerous exhibition features, including an outdoor container park.
For more information about the event, please visit: www.intermodal-events.com
