Join BDP Project Logistics and BDP International at our booth at this year’s show at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre!

“Any slowdown, planned or otherwise, in the Chinese economy will be a short-term influence compared with the longer term influence of growing middle classes around the globe — and the big mining companies will be looking at longer term market prospects when deciding new projects.”

Excerpt: Assessing prospects in South America, Arndt Droegemueller, director, business development, South America, for BDP Project Logistics, was even more bullish. “Prospects for mining in this region look amazing. I have lived in South America for 16 years and I have not seen this level of mining industry activity here before. There are projects on every corner and investment is rocketing. Over the next ten years we could easily see USD 50 billion of mining industry investment just in Peru and Chile.”

Mining industry activity associated project forwarding business is also picking up in less publicized parts of the world such as Indochina. Claus Dittmer, BDP Project Logistics’ regional director for that area, explained there is two-way business available — imported equipment for mining operations in Laos (copper, gold and coal) and Cambodia (coal) and exports of fabricated mining industry units out of Thailand, notably to Australia.

“In terms of mining industry projects in the Indochina region, Laos is by far the most interesting country as there are a lot of different commodities there. But we are not talking about anything on the scale of South America or Africa. We are only looking at a handful of mines over the next couple of years,” commented Dittmer.

Excerpt: Other sources suggested there are in fact already capacity issues on some trade routes. BDP’s Droegemueller said this is certainly the case when it comes to breakbulk and heavy lift space out of Asia, especially China and Japan, to key mining locations in South America. “The situation in relation to Brazil is a little better than it was, but for the west coast of South America capacity is still limited — and when some of the huge mining sector investment planned in those countries really starts to increase inbound equipment shipments, then in my opinion, there will definitely be a shortage of shipping capacity,” he said.

Excerpt: “Points of origination for the mining equipment we are handling have definitely changed,” confirmed BDP’s Chen. “Equipment which might once been ordered from Korea or Japan can now be ordered from China. There are also big fabrication businesses in places like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand that are closer to the mining industry end-users in Asia Pacific region countries like Australia.”

To read the full article, click here.

Will these dual goals affect you as an importer and/or exporter? You bet your life they will! Or rather, you bet your company’s reputation and ability to keep your product moving smoothly they will.

Knowledge is Power

Take a single day out of your busy schedule to attend BDP’s 22nd annual Import/Export Trade Compliance Seminar.

The surging tide of security rules and regulations mean that companies must fully understand and manage the many risks within their supply chains. During our seminar you will learn the core elements of how to ensure your company’s business processes meet import and export laws and regulatory requirements.

We will discuss and examine current and pending CBP and other government agency programs that very well may impact your company’s flow of trade.

So be prepared. We promise an interesting and informative day-to help you keep your goods flowing smoothly throughout your supply and delivery chain.

Join us in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – May 3, 2011.

For more information or to register, please click here or contact Jackie Elko at elkoj@bdpnet.com; 215.629.4552

After 10 years’ development, cippe provides an international face to face business trade for all the exhibitors and professional visitors in the petroleum & petrochemical section. The 11th China International Petroleum & Petrochemical Technology and Equipment Exhibition (cippe Zhenwei International Petroleum Exhibition, which is expected to cover 80,000 square meters’ exhibit space and attract 1500 exhibitors, will open on March 22-24, 2011 in Beijing.  Please join us!

The WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition is produced by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) to provide a venue for the wind industry to network, do business, and solve problems. Recognized as one of the fastest-growing trade shows in the U.S, WINDPOWER includes Nearly 1,400 exhibiting companies, thousands of qualified wind energy professionals, engaging educational information and unmatched networking opportunities and special events.

Source: Breakbulk Magazine, January/February 2011 Issue – Excerpt: BDP/Project Logistics, Aaron Randolph Chen, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, www.bdpprojects.com

Throughout this region, the winds of change are blowing. Virtually every country has announced at least one wind energy project. Even Indonesia, which can rely on its massive coal reserves, has embraced “greener” power generation with its project in Aceh, Sumatra.

China is no doubt the leader as authorities hold tenders for massive wind power concessions throughout the vast country. Besides well-known players such as Siemens, GE, Vestas and Suzlon, China boasts more than 90 companies manufacturing wind energy equipment. We will see an increase in tower and blades of more than 40 meters in length being transported across the Asia-Pacific region during 2011.

In addition, smaller hydro and coal-fired power plates are slated to break ground in 2011 across the region, including in Indochina and Indonesia. There is also strong demand for enhanced power transmission and distribution; hence, transformer manufacturers such as ABB (with plants in China, Thailand and Vietnam) are working hard to satisfy this seemingly insatiable demand.

At the other end of the scale, Korean giants such as Samsung and Hyundai will be moving material from the Far East to the Middle East for four massive nuclear power plant projects, in addition to several new petrochemical complexes.

In addition, China’s rising costs along with its coastline are driving manufacturers to relocate their plants westward, promising an increase in domestic project cargo movement.

To read the full article, please click here.

“Over the last two or three years we have seen growing demand for new non-renewable sector power plants in Russia, mainly gas-fired, and have been involved with the movement of transformers,” reported Luc Van Heygen, the company’s managing director, Americas and Europe. “Just in the last couple of months, we have become involved with some new power plant projects in that country.”

Opportunities

On the plant refurbishment front, he suggested that central/eastern Europe looked set to become a significant market for future project logistics business. “Two years ago there was a lot of talk about the need to refurbish non-renewable resource fuelled power plants in that region, but the actual execution of those plans seems to have been put on a low burn, probably because of the global economic crisis. The plans are still on the books, though, and those developments are going to happen over the next few years.”

Virendra Sehgal, BDP Project Logistics’ regional director, Middle East, singled out Iraq as another particularly strong market for non-renewable sector power plant refurbishment projects. “A lot of plants in that country are being refurbished with new transformers and transmission lines,” he pointed out.

To read the full article, please click here.

After China, the U.S. is the second-fastest growing wind market, and despite the recession it continued to expand in 2009. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), although Germany is the world leader in terms of installed wind power with over 22,000 MW, it has only a fraction of the wind energy potential of North Dakota. AWEA reports that the top states for wind energy potential—as measured by annual energy potential in the billions of kWhs and factoring in environmental and land use exclusions for wind class of 3 and higher—are: North Dakota (1,210); Texas (1,190); Kansas (1,070); South Dakota (1,030); and Montana (1,020). Nebraska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Iowa round out the top 10.

As the U.S. wind power market prepares for increased production, it is also the time for developers to adjust to evolving market requirements. Meeting even a fraction of the potential wind power goals will not only require increased turbine volume production, but also a deep pool of transportation and logistics equipment, and the expertise to match.

In particular, there are a number of hurdles to consider as you coordinate delivery of those components to wind farm installations in the United States. Regardless of whether rail or barges are used, at some point trucks are going to become a key factor.

While equipment shortages for 2010 have not occurred at the levels predicted earlier this year, it is just a postponement of the inevitable. The recession dampened project investment and increased postponements. Now wind farm projects are coming back. Thanks to demand, trucking companies are looking at large increases in project opportunities; perhaps as much as double or triple pre-recession volume. But the numbers of trucks and experienced drivers required are not available. Many trucking companies, especially smaller firms, were unable to weather the recession—over 4,000 went out of business, in fact—and larger companies needed fewer drivers. A number of those drivers looked for alternative employment, resulting in a smaller pool, which is now creating a shortage. Plus, compliance with the new Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 will undoubtedly force a number of trucks and even more drivers off the roads. Less capacity usually means higher freight rates.

One of the major challenges for the intermodal transportation of larger wind equipment components is the wind itself. Components are bigger, heavier, and therefore more challenging for the truck industry. Wind pressure on heavy loads requires experienced drivers who are specially trained to transport wind power components. As the average age of truck drivers increases, younger recruits must be found to fill the gap. Will they have sufficient experience?

Equipment supply is also outstripping demand. Trucking companies that survived the recession and want to buy trailers to meet the increasing demand often cannot because many trucks and trailers that were used in transporting wind equipment are not available since they are still tied up in bankruptcy proceedings. Access to equipment that fits your specific needs is important. The right trailers, especially for blades, must be available. Some companies have designed self-load and self-unload trailers that help cut costs associated with crane rentals.

Then there is the whole logistics process required for road transportation. “Uncomplicating” a complicated process of moving oversize heavy wind components is another challenge. Two of the primary issues that came out of a recent survey by AWEA’s Transportation & Logistics Working Group for road transportation of wind components were planning and permits.

There is no substitute for detailed advance planning as early in the transportation development process as possible. This is especially important when you consider the range of issues to manage: route and access surveys; coordination with other transportation modes; ancillary equipment; traffic conditions; height and weight limits; permits; and constant communications with local government staff, not to mention weather. Planning also means working around physical obstacles such as access roads to be constructed and bridges to be built, etc. Each state often has its own regulations that govern weight, maximum load, and superload permits. It is important to know the details of every state’s requirements at the outset of your transportation plans. Last but by no means least, as with any successful project picking the right partner resources is not only critical but probably the most important decision of all.

About the author: Hüseyin Kizilagac is director of business development for BDP Project Logistics. Call + 49 911 965223-19, e-mail hueseyin.kizilagac@bdpprojects.com.

To read the article in the magazine, click here.

Transportation

• You are what you see: Upstream visibility means new power to retail/consumer goods procurement managers
• Consolidation in shipping to rise in 2011

Air

• New BDP gateways from Asia to Europe provide enhanced service, competitive rates for shippers

• Air cargo security – how safe is safe? A look at recent comments in the press
• World airfreight traffic to see nearly 6% annual growth for next 20 years

Sea

• Retail container traffic in US expected to be up 9% in November
• New vessel orders

Supply Chains and Logistics

• Don’t let your offshore projects’ logistics leave you all at sea
• BDPSmart Tower controls global tank movements, increases productivity, reduces costs

Global Trade Management

• Incoterms changes: What to expect in January 2011
• US Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010
• BDP Project Logistics receives ISO certifications

Business Factors

• What is next as global economy shifts?
• Britain’s economy grew more than expected during third quarter

Sectors

• Chemicals
• Retail/Consumer Goods

Region Watch / Country Profiles

• China
• India
• Brazil

Green

Events