2006
Wednesday 8th November 2006
Exporters welcome Dublin Port Developments but warn that Capacity Constraints remain
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The Irish Exporters Association, warned today (Wednesday 8th November) at the launch of their Trade & Transport 2005/2006 Study that Irish seaports and airports will reach the capacity crunch point sooner than expected if, as predicted, global trade more than doubles in the next decade.
The IEA went on to warn:
“Ports companies, Terminal Operators, Ocean Carriers, Airfreight Carriers and Government need to work together with exporters to avoid a major black hole developing in our international infrastructure.”
Speaking at the launch of the IEA’s Trade & Transport Analysis 2005/2006 John Whelan, Chief Executive of the Irish Exporters Association stated:
“Irish Exporters are faced with mounting shortages in seaport capacity not just in Ireland but internationally. Most European countries are responding rapidly to the increased demands on ports by expanding their infrastructure spend. We must put a great deal more urgency into the process of building Irish seaport capacity to handle the rapid volume growth in international trade, if we are to avoid being listed as a’’ black hole’’ in the international supply chain .”
The IEA point to the recent study by Drewry Shipping Consultants (a well know consultancy internationally), which states:
“Global port capacity was set to grow by 165 million t e u by 2011, but throughput is estimated to rise by over 80% of that to 273 million t e u ‘s, leaving a shortfall of 108 million t e u.”
The IEA went on to welcome the additional capacity for Lift on Lift off container traffic agreement between Irish Continental Group and Dublin Port to jointly develop the Dublin Ferryport Terminal which would provide added capacity for t70,000 teu throughput p.a.
John Whelan commented further on this by saying:
“The proposed development is certainly good news for exporters. However, this is not the solution to the capacity constraints which are affecting Ireland’s largest port. This additional capacity is for Lo/Lo cargo and will meet some serious short term requirements. However, the 21 Hectare foreshore reclamation site in Dublin Port will still be required to deliver additional capacity of 600,000 teu by 2014.”
And there is the more imminent RO/RO capacity issue which is forecast to hit unmanageable levels in mid 2008.”
He went on to state:
“Government intervention will be required immediately to encourage the construction of additional Ro-Ro terminals. Failure to initiate this work will lead to the grid-locking of freight trucks.This will in turn lead to even more competitive pressures being put on Irish exporters who must meet the door to door delivery services requirements of customers in the UK and Europe. It will also significantly hinder accessibility to the European Air Hubs upon which Irish exporters are so dependent , but can only reach with airtrucks , because of airfreght capacity issues .”
The IEA Trade and Transport Analysis 2005/2006 identifies the following key trends:
§ Total volume of Irish trade, exports and imports, in tonnage terms increased by just under 16% in 2005 ,compared to the prior year, and by 27% over 2003. This is approximately twice the increase in the value of exports and imports.
§ Imbalance of trade continues to increase as outsourcing accelerates and supply chains extend further. Import volumes are now as a consequence three times higher than the export volumes through our sea and air ports.
§ These figures go a long way in explaining the transport infrastructure problems facing the country.
§ The Trade & Transport 2005/2006 Analysis highlights the importance of airfreight, which in volume terms has increased to 137,883 tonnes in 2005. This represents over 70% increase in volume of airfreight over the past 8 years, and approximate 8% growth p.a. Doubling of airfreight volumes over the next decade through Irish airports is forecast. This will require considerably more capacity than allowed for in the Dublin Airport Authority ‘s recently released plans for airfreight handling.
§ The single largest airfreight destination is the USA taking 46% of export tonnage and 67% of export value, and on the import side providing 49% of tonnage and 46% of value. These figures highlight the critical nature of the airfreight connection to the USA; which must be safeguarded by Government policy. In this context revision of the focus on Shannon as a freight hub for transatlantic trade must be taken much more seriously at Government level.
Dr. Constantin Gurdgiev, Editor of Business & Finance magazine conducted the analysis of Trade statistics on behalf of the IEA.
Commenting on the publication Dr. Gurdgiev stated:
“This is a unique study in that is looks at all modes of transport, sea, air , road, and post , in the one publication. All exporters, importers and service providers in the international scene, should find valuable contributions to the body of statistics affecting their sector over the past few years. I am delighted to have been able to contribute to the production of this publication.”
For copies of the Trade & Transport Analysis 2005/2006 please click here to download or contact Chris O’Shea at the Irish Exporters Association.
For further information on this Press Release please contact:
Mr. John Whelan, Chief Executive, IEA
Tel: 01-661 2182, Mobile: 087 927 1243
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