Still hoping for a soft landing
Source: Heavy Lift & Project Forwarding International, Leo Ryan, January/February 2009 – Excerpt: Carrier and forwarder views
Luc Van Heygen, managing director, Americas & Europe, BDP Project Logistics, remarks that, although there has been some slowing of plant construction projects, in part due to tight credit and the recession, the firm has not experienced any major decline in business.
“Our activities,” he says, “are diversified across regions, as well as the public and private secors, and not dependent on any one industry. While certain projects have been impacted, delayed or cancelled, there seems to be ample project work that is moving forward because financing was secured prior to the current crisis. In fact, a number of our clients have indicated that their order books are full through to 2010.”
Headquartered in Philadelphia, BDP has a global network of wholly-owned operations, joint ventures and affiliates in more than 120 countries, including mroe than 25 offices across the USA.
Dennis Devlin, director of global projects and energy, is based in Houston. He notes that, whereas other US ports, especially on the West Coast, are bracing themselves for reduced volumes in today’s economic environment; the Port of Houston, as well as the nearby ports of Galveston and Freeport, are drawing up expansion plans. “Any port expansion will dovetail nicely with the expansion of the Panama Canal,” he says.
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