Shipper poll shows desire to share slow-steaming gains through lower rates

SHIPPERS want a share of cost-savings benefits generated by slow-steaming through reduced ocean freight rates, according to a poll of 290 logistics executives.


Philadelphia-based forwarding logistics company BDP International, its Centrix consulting unit, and St Joseph's University did the poll in April, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce. Half the respondents said slow steaming was worth the inconvenience, but 75 per cent said carriers should use the savings to cut rates.


Shippers also "made it clear that carriers need to invest a portion of the savings into improving the quality of customer service," an executive summary of the survey was cited as saying


Eighty-five per cent of the respondents said they have changed or plan to adapt their operations to reflect increased transit times. They are doing so by improving planning to synchronise delivery and production schedules, choosing multiple carriers in the same trade lanes and increasing inventory levels, the report added.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)