Letter from the Editor

EDITOR’S LETTER

The past two years have – as we have said so many times already – presented the chemical industry and its logistics partners with a whole slew of unprecedented and rapidly changing challenges. It is, though, another truism that each challenge is also an opportunity.

As the major logistics players report their annual results for 2021, we have seen the extent to which those challenges have altered their operational pattern – in many cases very much for the better, in terms of financial performance. Quite a number have posted record earnings, though these have often been boosted by high transport costs (in all modes, but especially in ocean shipping) or, for chemical distributors in particular, rampant chemical price inflation. Nonetheless, they have often translated into high levels of profitability.

In this issue, for instance, we report on Den Hartogh’s record performance in the intermodal sector last year. Stolt-Nielsen, always ahead of the pack as its financial year runs to endNovember, has reported first-quarter figures that also look very good, with higher earnings from its tanker shipping activities and increased throughput at its terminals.

Stolt Tank Containers has followed Den Hartogh’s example, with the global disruption in supply chains causing higher costs – which operators have been able to pass on – as well as increased levels of demurrage revenue. The old ‘just in time’ approach to supply chain management, with lean inventories and a reliance on regular deliveries, is no longer viable; for tank container operators that means that shippers and consignees are often holding onto tanks for longer, or they are being held at terminals and ports en route in the face of haulage capacity shortages.

Tank container operators have in fact been very much at the sharp end of supply chain disruptions and rising costs, especially in the past year. Their assets are reliant on landside transport by road or rail, open to delays due to driver shortages, port congestion, road congestion and rail repairs. Once at sea, they have again been subject to slow steaming, port delays and surging freight costs. And this has come at a time when tanks have been in great demand.

As ITCO reveals in its annual survey of tank container fleets, our report on which begins on page 8 of this issue, output of new tanks rebounded in 2021 after the Covid-inspired reduction in manufacturing in 2020. Those new tanks have found a willing market, especially among tank operators keen to reap the benefits of the surging demand from shippers of chemicals and other liquids.

How long can these conditions persist? Some analysts are predicting that ocean freight rates are nowhere near where they can be and there is also the threat that the lines will prioritise their own containers at the expense of third-party boxes and, most especially, those pesky tank containers with their heavy weights and potentially hazardous contents.

For those who want more insight, I would point you to page 6 of this issue and our first column from long-time logistics expert Paul Gooch, who after a long career with Dow knows an awful lot more than I do. His analysis does not make comfortable reading although, as he points out, we have been through times like this before. This time, digitisation might just be the saviour – but beware of over-reaction.

CONTENTS

VOLUME 43 • NUMBER 04

UP FRONT Letter from the Editor

30 Years Ago Paul Gooch 01

04

06

TANKS & LOGISTICS We all want tanks ITCO’s annual fleet survey 08

Better every time Sahreej perfects depot services 12

Asset transfusion Den Hartogh’s banner year 14

Quick off the blocks Stolt-Nielsen starts 2022 at pace 16 Investing in youth Fort Vale values apprentices 18 News bulletin – tanks and logistics 20

DIGITISATION Fit for the future Implico plugs TanQuid in Vision of trade Nexxiot eyes Know Your Cargo Backed to the hilt Aeler raises cash for boxes 22

23

24 INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING Infinity and beyond Mauser gets UN approval 27

TANKER SHIPPING Shopping for ships GEFO spends big News bulletin – tanker shipping 28

30

CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION Going to plan Brenntag’s strategy pays off 32

Force the issue Caldic, GTM combine 34 News bulletin – chemical distribution 36

COURSES & CONFERENCES Let’s connect Looking forward to ChemUK 38

Select the best IRU training programmes get the nod 39 Conference diary 40

SAFETY Incident Log 42 Spot the signs USCG warns of battery dangers 44

From bulk to boxes ISU members handle more containers 45 News bulletin – safety 46

REGULATIONS Let’s get busy UN experts make progress 48

Time to get ready Exis offers help with IMDG Code 58 River cleanup ADN 2023 nears completion 60

BACK PAGE Not otherwise specified 64

NEXT MONTH Chemical tanker fleet survey Rail logistics European chemical distribution Middle East focus

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Designer Petya Grozeva

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