Newsweek #40: Whole Lotta Deception

The rush of big revenues and high rates are making the heads of shipping lines go right round to the point when they start playing a trick on customers with surcharges, and the market chaos plays in their favor. The latest forecasts predict that they can enjoy this turmoil until 2022, a new deadline until when the awaited recovery might be achieved. The waiting game is already taking too long, so companies start focusing on the present and value immediate steps more than strategies for the long run. Thus, more ports’ are undergoing expansions, the authorities call for round-the-clock operating hours, significant investments in infrastructure are expected, and acquisitions take place not only in Europe and the US, but in the Middle East as well.  However, none of the additional financial expansions will do any good, if the most fundamental problems are not solved. Issues such as drivers’ shortage. The initial plan to wait until the new visa policy is implemented are long forgotten, and companies are going to focus on bringing back the drivers who left the industry for more attractive jobs.  Retailers are acting rapidly too, revolutionizing their delivery policies in accordance with what is really needed on the market – quality and speed.