Is containerized transportation of coal a model innovation or a flash in the pan?

(This article was edited and published by China Ship InspectionNo. 1 1 and No.20 12, entitled "The Fate of Coal Container Shipping". ) Recently, Xu Jianhua noticed such a news report that coal containers are paid more and more attention by coal transportation enterprises. As the first person to eat crabs, Wanzhou Port Group used containers to transport bulk coal from the beginning. Recently, Deloitte Group, the largest shipping company in Zhoushan, is preparing to put its own capacity into the field of coal container transportation, and plans to open a route from Tianjin to Zhenhai, Ningbo, and has reached preliminary cooperation intentions with many enterprises. Known as "container coal transportation has opened up a new mode of transportation." So, what impact will this mode of transportation bring to the future market? Is there an advantage in coal container transportation? Is this mode of transportation sustainable in terms of income and return? Let's take a look at the course of waste paper container transportation first. For many years, the east-west cargo flow on the trans-Pacific route has been unbalanced. Especially since 200 1 China joined the World Trade Organization, China has become the world's factory, and the freight volume from the Far East (mainly China) to North America (mainly the United States) far exceeds the freight volume in the opposite direction. As a result, a large number of imported containers scattered all over the United States can only return to China and the Far East empty. As we all know, empty container transportation does not generate freight income, and its cost is borne by the container shipping company itself. To this end, container shipping companies have increased their efforts to attract goods in the United States, resulting in waste paper, waste cotton, waste copper and even bottled mineral water entering the shipping company's field of vision, which is worth a hundred times at a time, entering the "box" and crossing the ocean to the Far East. However, at 20 10, this situation came to an abrupt end. The whole North American continent has changed from "looking for goods everywhere" for many years to "looking for boxes everywhere". The author thinks that the main reasons of container shortage in North America since 20 10 include but are not limited to the following points. The Obama administration's policy of promoting domestic manufacturing and stimulating exports has greatly increased American exports; American economic recovery is weak, residents reduce household expenses, consumption is sluggish, and imports are declining; ü China's labor costs and land prices are rising, and the competitive advantage of manufacturing industry is declining. Many multinational companies "fled China", and some of them even fled the Far East and moved back to the United States, Mexico and Latin America, resulting in a decrease in the supply of goods from the Far East to North America; ü The middle class in China and Asia is growing, and the demand for consumer goods and luxury goods in developed countries in Europe and America is rising, which leads to the strong growth of North American exports to the Far East; The rising exchange rate of RMB against the US dollar has enhanced the export competitiveness of American goods. The serious shortage of empty containers makes shipping companies more and more picky about the value of goods. The waste mentioned above can no longer be found in usable containers, and a large part can only be recycled on the spot. These low-priced goods simply can't bear the normal freight rate of container transportation, and the "containerization of waste products" mode of transportation is flourishing and declining. From the change of containerized transportation mode of waste and other low-value goods, it can be found that container shipping companies are only interested in transporting these low-value goods when there is a serious shortage of return goods. Earning some fuel from the freight of these goods is a helpless move that is better than nothing. Once the market changes and the supply of returned goods is sufficient, the carrier will not hesitate to abandon these low-priced goods first. For the coal container route from Tianjin to Zhenhai, Ningbo, which Deloitte Group plans to open, the following questions are worth discussing. First of all, is the coal voyage from Tianjin to Ningbo smooth or reverse? Is the container from Ningbo to Tianjin empty or real? If it is a real container, is the freight enough to make up for the shortage of coal freight? If the container is empty, is the freight of one-way coal enough to compensate for the cost of the round trip, and is there any profit? Perhaps, when Deloitte Group planned this route, these problems had already gone through detailed investigation and precise calculation. I hope the author is just worried about it. Secondly, if the voyage from Ningbo to Tianjin is loaded with real boxes, what goods are loaded? In my humble opinion, let alone exquisite goods such as computers and clothes. No matter what goods are loaded, the cleanliness of the inner wall of this box is the minimum requirement. This involves the cost of washing boxes caused by coal loading. If the cost is borne by the owner, it will eventually push up the coal price and pass it on to consumers. If Deloitte is responsible, can it be digested? Thirdly, one advantage of coal container transportation compared with traditional transportation mode is that container transportation has no environmental pressure, because the container adopts fully enclosed coal transportation mode, which will not cause dust pollution to the environment. But in fact, the waste of water resources and sewage treatment caused by washing containers every voyage are obvious, and the damage to the environment is also obvious. If the return journey is empty, then the wasted energy and exhaust emissions are also very considerable. Finally, unlike computers, clothing and other goods entering containers in the form of cartons, coal entering containers in bulk will definitely accelerate the physical wear and depreciation of container equipment itself, increase maintenance costs, and scrap and update in advance. The same problem is that if the cost is borne by the owner, it will eventually push up the coal price and pass it on to consumers. If Deloitte is responsible, can it be digested? In my humble opinion, similar to the background of waste paper entering containers in North America, Deloitte's coal containerization route is only a special case under certain conditions, such as the current global economic downturn, China's economic difficulties, insufficient supply, low freight rates, sealed ships, and idle containers, so it is unnecessary to over-interpret it. Or in layman's terms, it is "idle and idle. It is better to make some money for meals and oil, and it is better to lay off employees and seal ships." Once these conditions are slightly changed, coal containerization will lose the soil for survival. As far as things are concerned, not only the praise of "the first crab eater" is groundless, but also the "innovative model" is out of the question. Judging from the current situation of the world container shipping industry, the containerization rate of mature markets (mainly Europe, North America and Japan) is close to the critical point. The typical cargo that is moving from dry bulk to containerization is wheat, but at present it is mainly limited to domestic trade transportation and internal feeder transportation in the Mississippi River basin of the United States. Typical commodities that change from the form of groceries to container transportation are some chemical products and building materials, such as marble and tiles for home decoration. In emerging markets, because of imperfect infrastructure and low management level, many high-value goods cannot be transported in containers, so there is still much room for improvement in containerization rate. Judging from the situation of these two markets, it is simply not the turn of coal containerization. Therefore, the author thinks that the so-called "containerization of coal transportation" is nothing more than a worthless stone on the road to burn down the bridge, no matter from the development process of the world container transportation market or the specific background of some parts of China, so it is better to lose your hand before it is too late. Just tasteless insects, not hairy crabs. It may be a flash in the pan, but it is by no means an innovative model. Remarks: I think the title "The Destiny of Coal Container Transportation" is ambiguous. The "collection and distribution" commonly used in port and shipping industry refers to "collection and distribution" and "transportation". "Container transportation" refers to the mode and process of transportation of containers that need to be exported to designated ports by waterway, highway or railway. "Sparse transportation" refers to the transportation mode and process of transporting containers unloaded from ships in ports to the final destination of goods by waterway, highway or railway. Usually, "container transportation" is not the abbreviation of "container transportation".