DP World calls for shipping and ports sector to seek new frontiers for growth

02 Feb 2012 - Port Planning

• Senior VP and Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region was speaking at the Middle East Liner Shipping Conference

• Middle East continues to see opportunities, says Mohammed Al Muallem

The shipping and port industry must watch out for new frontiers of growth and emerging new patterns in global trade amid mounting global uncertainties, said Mohammed Al Muallem, senior VP and managing director, DP World, UAE Region.

Al Muallem was delivering his keynote speech to the second Middle East Liner Shipping Conference (MELSC) 2012 in Dubai.

The two-day annual conference, sponsored by DP World and supported by the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), is being held this week under the theme Resilience Amid Global Economic Uncertainty – What Does the Future Hold for Middle East Liner Shipping?.

Industry leaders including ship owners and maritime analysts from around the region and outside are attending the event.

“The Middle East is among those regions that have reported decent trade volumes over the past two years,” said Al Muallem.

“DP World’s experience shows that the emerging and developing markets offer new frontiers for growth for the industry as a whole. It is up to us, the shipping industry leaders, to explore these business opportunities.”

According to industry analysts Alphaliner, while the annual growth rate of global port throughput has almost halved from 14.1 percent in 2010 to a projected 7.6 percent in 2011, the change in the Middle East was from 7.5 percent to 7 percent for the same period.

DP World saw a return of volumes to the record levels of 2008 as early as in 2010 and posted a 10 percent growth in gross volumes globally in 2011, with the UAE Region growing 12 percent to 13 million TEU for the year.

“This indicates the resilience of the region’s liner shipping trade in the face of global economic uncertainties,” said Al Muallem.

“The continued concern over the Eurozone and slow growth in other developed markets has meant there is a need for caution. We must step up our efforts, individually and collectively, as industry leaders to look for new cost-effective solutions to encourage supply chain growth.”

The IMF in the latest update to its World Economic Outlook, issued on January 24, predicts a GDP growth rate of 3.3 percent in 2012 followed by 3.9 percent in 2013 for the MENA region.

“There are still challenges ahead at the global level that can potentially impact the region’s supply chain sector. The answer lies in pursuing value creation through innovative technology as DP World has done at our flagship Jebel Ali Port. Sustainability can only be achieved through superior performance that benefits customers.”

In December, DP World announced plans to expand capacity at Jebel Ali by a further 4 million TEU to reach capacity of 19 million TEU by 2014.