Challenges Facing Shippers Transport

During the operation or lifetime of any business, it is likely to face different challenges at certain stages. Just like any other business, shippers transport also experiences a number of challenges during its operations. Some of the challenges force some of the companies to go out of business due to the magnitude of negative consequences associated with the challenges. If many of the challenges persist and are not addressed in good time, most of the ship transport will be operating on losses which will drive most of them out of business. Some of the challenges faced by ship transport include the following;

There is an increase in port congestion especially in developing countries. Most of the port handling facilities in developing countries are not efficient due to technological backwardness. They have not yet upgraded to the most current technology that creates efficiency. The ports receive much cargo than they can handle and this creates unnecessary delays especially during clearing and forwarding. Therefore, most of the transported cargo gets held up at the port as it awaits clearing. This adversely affects shippers transport.

The congestion caused at the port forces shippers transport to employ more logistics personnel to help in clearing and forwarding. This means that the shippers transport has to incur more expenses in terms of handling logistics. A continued increase in such costs will mean that the ship transport will be operating on little profits and may even get worse by degenerating into losses. This therefore puts the business at risk. The increase in operational costs is even made worse by sky rocketing prices of fuel. Most of the shippers transport relies heavily on fuel to power their machines. A considerable increase in fuel prices will mean an increase in the operational costs. This will cut down on the amount of profits the business gets.

Another threat to shippers transport is adverse weather conditions especially with regard to sea transport. Unpredictable weather patterns like tides and waves have given ship transport a major blow. In some cases, a ship carrying cargo can sink due to strong waves and tides. In other cases, some of the cargo being transported will have to be thrown into the sea to ensure that the ship does not sink. This will impact negatively on the operations of a company as it will cause severe losses. When cargo is thrown into the sea to save the ship from sinking, the ship transport bears the responsibility of compensating the consignee.

Furthermore, shippers transport is also faced with increased cases of sea piracy. Most sea routes are turning out to be unsafe as pirates continue to hijack cargo ships and demand for ransoms in return before releasing the ship. When this happens, the vessel gets held up for long durations of time meaning that the shippers transport can no longer engage in any meaningful business until the ransom amount has been paid. During such cases, delivery of the cargo is delayed and even some cargo may be tempered with before delivery is done as the vessel is being held hostage.

Source by Brijesh P Ghelani

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