Bangkok: Today Maritime CEO is in the Thai capital talking with a veteran project shipper to find out what are the hot spots in project logistics and heavylift these days. After a number of years working for a multinational around the globe Patrick Dick ended up in Bangkok. There, in 1996, he founded his own project firm, The Freight Co, which now has offices in Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Dick did not stop there, however, as he explains.
“Having been all my life in project logistics I had lots of friends to network with but soon realized that my network should be larger,” he recounts.
In 2004 he launched the Global Project Logistics Network (GPLN).
“The idea behind the creation of GPLN was to set up a platform for SMEs to compete against the multinationals,” Dick says. Since then GPLN has grown and now boasts around 250 member offices around the world.
When asked about particular hotspots for work Dick is quick to talk up Myanmar, a country that is opening up but is still tricky to get transport solutions concluded.
“Lots of people were going there with the expectation that roads there are paved in gold. The first that these people found out is that the roads were paved by the British more than 60 years ago and that they have never been maintained since then,” Dick recalls.
“The country offers huge potential but not for all,” he says. Business with the best potential in Myanmar is oil and gas as well as mining, he reckons because they hardly depend on an existing infrastructure.
“Oil offshore drilling in particular and mining companies are used to setting up their own independent infrastructure,” he explains. “Other typical manufacturing businesses will take time as they absolutely need a guaranteed power supply, a decent working logistics infrastructure, etc.”
The biggest problem is the power supply. Only the part from Yangon to Mandalay and the central area in between are connected to the power grid.
“While there is huge potential to invest in the power grid and abundant resources, the real interest of power developers is to sell the power production to the neighbouring countries,” the freight forwarder explains.
Nevertheless, despite the difficulties involved Dick is adamant that for the heavy transport industry this country has plenty to offer in the years to come. The Freight Co has been invited to bid for four logistics deals in Myanmar at the moment.
With GPLN members dotted right around the world Dick is comfortably able to comment on global trends in the project forwarding sector.
“China is going slow,” he warns, adding: “Many expect this to stay this way as investments in projects in China are slowing down. On the export side many are expecting also that some fabricating may move away from China to other parts of the world.”
Still, GPLN’s African members are experiencing good times due to substantial Chinese investments there.
Southeast Asia is an area of “mixed fortunes”, Dick says. “While Indonesia has been and is still booming, Vietnam on the other hand is going rather slow. Our members in Indonesia are confident that the boom will last whereas the outlook for a quick change in fortunes for Vietnam does not look too good. The Philippines has also been doing quite well since the new government took office,” Dick says.
Thailand, which in part lacked investor confidence due to political infighting and the large flooding, has slowly rebounded. Major investments were made particularly in the energy sector. The outlook for more is good, Dick maintains.
Elsewhere, GLPN’s Middle East-based members are upbeat about the project sector there. Areas where they see tremendous growth are obviously in the oil and gas sector but they also see huge potential in the continued build-up of the infrastructure.
GLPN already has a solid global coverage having member offices in virtually all major trade hubs and ports. The focus now, Dick says, is to find new qualified companies in “uncharted territories”, principally in Africa, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union as well as Latin America. [10/07/13]
