Research Articles Base: Shipping Finance

present and future shipping outlook (bulk cargoes, containers, wet cargoes etc.)

Literature Review Shipping Industry The nature of the shipping industry is also changing, dictated to a large extent by the increased pace in all aspects of manufacturing and supporting logistic services. Having products on a ship traveling months en route may mean the products may become obsolete by the time they arrive at the destination. The need to reduce the time needed in the logistics chain has become an important factor in the competition. The approach to overcoming this increasingly difficult environment has to be a systems approach, with emphasis on greater seamless integration ( 2003). Increasingly, it is recognized that shipping services comprise a system, and to stay ahead, the mechanics of that system must be understood and the correct strategies adopted to ensure that the infrastructures developed can cope with those mechanics. Thus, it is important to understand some of the changes taking place and how they are affecting the mechanics of the system ( 2003).   The sea-based port solves the urban dilemma: it does not use scarce urban land; it does not build on the shore front or in coastal waters; it avoids the need to dredge; and it is purpose-built for maximum efficiency. How different a concept this is from those of previous centuries when ports existed as major urban infrastructures and served the additional purpose of offering promenades to city dwellers in search of open space ( 2003). The type and the nature of mobility change significantly in a globalized economy. The flows of raw materials and of finished products are largely supplanted by the mobility of semi-finished and intermediate products. The phenomenon of globalization has successfully affirmed itself in recent decades because mobility has been freed from geographical and territorial barriers. In the field of transportation there is a need to modify the concept of mobility, which can no longer be suitably conceived in terms of a few isolated port centers or terrestrial nodes, but must be seen as creating a diffuse network of connections directed at making the whole territory accessible at uniform costs ( 2002).   In the same way, globalization also assists in the decentralization of production: large firms concentrated in a few industrialized areas leave space for smaller firms and segments of large multinational organizations that produce semi-finished goods, generally assembled in the proximity of the final consumption markets ( 2002). Shipping is an alternative method for businesses to transfer the different supplies, products and goods they have to other countries. Various companies use shipping as a transformation method because it costs less and it is more accessible to them. The shipping industry makes sure that transfer of products using bodies of water will be successful. The shipping industry provides additional means for business to transport their products when the products cannot be easily transported. There are different concerns for the future of the shipping industry. The industry might or might not live for a longer time depending on the various factors and situations in the environment. One problem is pollution that involves the shipping industry. Ports and the economy Globalization has contributed to the remaking of container shipping networks of many of the largest carriers. The imperative of serving markets in all parts of the world has forced the carriers to extend and reconfigure their services. Yet doing so has meant that the differences between the lines have diminished, and globalization appears to be imprinting a great deal of conformity on the industry. This conformity is being accentuated by the creation of alliances, because of the common alliance services, and because the alliances themselves are serving the same market regions ( &  2004). The scale and scope of changes in port selection by alliance members represent one of the most remarkable developments in container shipping since the mid-1990s. As services have been restructured, the changes have been amplified at the level of the individual ports. All the carriers have used alliance membership as a means of coordinating services, many of which have involved new ports of call. At the same time, companies have been afforded opportunities to expand services outside the alliance structure ( &  2004).   If change has been the overriding feature of container shipping over the past decade, in the immediate future it is likely that the trend will be maintained. Conformity, concentration and competition are likely to be the three C watchwords of the present decade. As much as the changes imply significant structural and organizational causes and effects, many of the most important changes will have spatial dimensions. The geography of container shipping appears set to continue as a vital element in shaping world trade and economic development. A striking feature of the post-crisis period has been the absence of frequent confrontations between expansionist ports and environmental groups, the focus of so much earlier friction ( &  2004). In many developing areas this might be attributed to the priority gap continuation of the long-recognized low priority attached to environmental issues compared with western economies. In the latter, however, quite different forces are arguably responsible. As noted earlier, economic crisis blocked the impetus for large-scale industrial investment that had previously underpinned the development of so many environmentally damaging Maritime Industrial Development Area (MIDAs) ( &  2004).   Ports contribute well to the economy of a country. It helps a country market its product to various countries and it provides additional income sources for a country. Ports provide assistance to countries by being a mode of transportation for a country to introduce their products to other countries. Ports also lessen unemployment in a country. Ports provide alternative sources of employment for people in a country. Those who  have proper education can work for office position or any high ranking position in the port sector while those who lack education can work as laborers or bag carriers. But some people believe that because of ports giving too much focus on the economy it starts to affect the environment. The environment is becoming more and more polluted and it needs to be managed well so that effects of the degradation will be lessened. Pollution and management of it The management of environmental pollution is a key element in achieving sustainable development. Sustainable development is an important concept that is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. The word sustainable is used in many contexts and it is important to note that these do not necessarily refer to sustainable development. Sustainable development does require a sustained economy, but this has to be achieved while sustaining the environment. Pollution managers are key individuals at this interface between economic activity and a sustainable environment ( 1997). The environment is characterized in a number of ways. It is more commonly seen, at least by the public, to include protection of wildlife. The environment includes the protection of the human environment and maintaining the cultural heritage of communities. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without economic growth. While some may question how economic growth needs to proceed in developed countries, the extensive poverty in the developing world cannot be eradicated without economic improvement ( 1997).   This must be achieved following the principles of sustainable development; otherwise the implications for the environments of developing countries and the rest of the world are bleak. The issue of environmental pollution is a key element in assessing the impacts of development on the environment, and managing this problem is a necessary prerequisite for making development more sustainable. A key tool for the pollution manager is the use of environmental standards. These can be used to judge the status of a component of the environment following receipt of monitoring information, or to assess more readily the consequences of proposed or existing pollutant discharges ( 1997). Many standards, for example, are set to protect only a subset of the environment. Most commonly this would be human health, but there are also a range of other standards for the natural environment, etc. It is important that a pollution manager, in both regulatory action and communication with business, government and the public, assesses whether meeting a standard adequately protects the environment as a whole. For example, many air-quality standards under debate at present are set only for protection of human health or a freshwater standard may be set to protect a particular type of fishery and not the complete river ecosystem ( 1997).   . To examine the threshold effects of a pollutant on all species in an ecosystem one might, for example, produce a normal distribution of threshold concentration against the number of species for which that concentration is appropriate. If this model is correct, and if sufficient species responses are understood, it is possible to predict the responses of all species by assuming that the known data are distributed within the normal distribution ( 1997).  Pollution is being managed by different institutions and different entities because they believe that pollution can hamper the development of a country. The effect of pollution stays in the environment and the people for long years even after clean up is done. Air Pollution Air pollution is ubiquitous. Smoke, haze, dust, mist, foul-smelling and corrosive gases, and toxic compounds are present nearly everywhere, even in the most remote, pristine wilderness. Human activities have caused air pollution ever since the ancestors began building fires. But it became a serious problem only during the last 200 years when growing population and industrialization produced vast quantities of contaminants. As a general rule, air quality tends to be worst where most air pollutants are emitted, that is, in highly industrial and traffic-congested urban areas ( 1999).  So, local and urban air pollution including the indoor air pollution constitutes a major problem. Certain pollutants, such as tropospheric ozone, photochemical oxidants, and sulfur and nitrogen compounds, are easily transported by winds and spread over large regions. Consequently, the regional air pollution problems of ozone and acid precipitation have attracted increasing attention because these affect people, animals, vegetation, and materials over much larger areas ( 1999).   There are also air pollution problems of global concern which are primarily caused by increasing concentrations of the so-called greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, tropospheric ozone, nitrous oxide, and particulate matter. The problem of stratospheric ozone depletion due to reactions with man-made chemicals also appears to be global, but with largest effects over polar and high-latitude regions. Thus, we have significant air pollution problems on local/urban, regional, and global scales. These have to be addressed accordingly on local/urban, regional and global bases as well. The corresponding time scales may vary from minutes and hours to decades. Estimating or measuring the emissions of pollutant species of interest from a variety of sources requires knowledge of the chemistry of combustion and engineering aspects of the equipment design and air pollution control technology. Understanding the characteristics of the various air pollutants requires knowledge of atmospheric chemistry, aerosol physics, and atmospheric radiation ( 1999).     Understanding atmospheric transport and diffusion of pollutants requires knowledge of meteorology, environmental fluid mechanics, and turbulent exchange and mixing processes. A comprehensive understanding of chemical transformations and removal processes and their response to air pollutants requires background in air quality monitoring, physiology, medicine, plant pathology, and materials science. Thus, air pollution is an interdisciplinary problem whose study and solution require interdisciplinary efforts by scientists, engineers, environmental protection agencies, legislators, and the public at large ( 1999). Air Pollution is a concern among all kinds of governments and all countries because of the effects it has on the environment, the economy of the country and the health of the people. Governments are finding solutions for this problem.  One of the blamed culprits for air pollution is shipping and the shipping industry. Governments are creating regulations that may affect the conduct of shipping business. They are finding means to regulate the constant travel by the sea and thus gases and other air pollutants will not come out of ships. References Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

present and future shipping outlook (bulk cargoes, containers, wet cargoes etc.)

Literature Review Shipping Industry The nature of the shipping industry is also changing, dictated to a large extent by the increased pa...

Transportation problem with volume discount on shipping cost

Transportation problem with volume discount on shipping cost   1.0 Introduction When considering transportation, various considerations are apparent. This consideration includes port selection, inland movement, port to port carrier selection and delivery movement. In addition to these transportation concerns, distribution-related considerations must be also given attention to such as packing/packaging, transit insurance, terms of sale, import duties, handling/loading and method of financing. Nevertheless, even freight companies projecting large volume movements can encounter serious transportation problem in organizing for distribution. Understanding these transportation problems especially that affects shipping costs is critical. Volume discount, more specifically, targets shipping costs and in minimizing the latter, volume discount must be acquired. In this study, the transportation problems encountered by freight companies will be explored especially those that affect the shipping cost.    2.0 Problem Statement The problem that will be addressed in this study centers the transportation problems experienced by freight companies. Volumes of goods to be shipped incur costs hence acquiring volume discounts could effectively lead to reduced shipping costs. However, there are transportation problems that hinder the materialization of improved total output through reduced costs of shipping. The key question to be answer is: How freight companies could improve their total output through effectively reducing shipping costs through volume discounts? Other research questions to be given answer to are: 1)     What are the transportation problems that freight companies experience at the present? How these transportation problems could be addressed? 2)     What are the prevailing mathematical programmes being implemented? How effective are these programmes?   3.0 Study Objectives The main aim of this study is to design mathematical programme that would improve the total output of freight companies especially since they deal with shipping of goods by volume. Whether maximum profit will be realised with discounts on large volumes means to determine what might hinder the effective transportation of these goods. In lieu with this, other study objectives are as follows: ·       Determine how freight companies could improve total output through addressing the transportation problems encountered ·       Distinguish how volume discount could advent the operation of freight companies ·       Evaluate how freight companies could maximize their total output through limiting shipping cost   4.0 Methodology The research strategy that the study will utilize is the descriptive method. A descriptive research intends to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study (, 1994). It is also concerned with relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, effects that are being felt, or trends that are developing (, 1970). In addition, such approach tries to describe present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research (, 1994). In this study, primary and secondary research will be both incorporated. The reason for this is to be able to provide adequate discussion for the readers that will help them understand more about the issue and the different variables that involve with it. The primary data for the study will be represented by the survey results that will be acquired from the respondents. On the other hand, the literature reviews to be presented in the second chapter of the study will represent the secondary data of the study. The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from books, journals and theses and related studies.           5.0 Timeframe         TASK Weeks 1st 2nd 3rd 4th  5th 6th 7th   8th 9th 10th 11th  12th Read literature                         Finalize objectives                         Draft literature review                           Devise research approach                         Review secondary data                         Organize survey                         Develop survey questions                         Conduct survey                         Analyze secondary and primary data                         Evaluate data                         Draft findings chapter                         Complete remaining chapters                         Submit to tutor and await feedback                         Revise draft and format for submission                         Print, bind and submit                                                       References   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Transportation problem with volume discount on shipping cost

Transportation problem with volume discount on shipping cost 1.0 Introduction When considering transportation, various considerati...

Transportation problem with volume discount on shipping cost

Transportation problem with volume discount on shipping cost

Transportation problem with volume discount on shipping cost 1.0 Introduction When considering transportation, various considerati...