Monthly Archives: May 2015

Lithuania in focus: 4 influences that affect the port and logistics industry

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Categories: Sustainability, Tips & Trends. Tags: , , , , , , .

A lot of things are happening in the port and logistics industry in Lithuania at the moment; politically as well as economically. As a shipping agency company, we need to always be adaptive to changes. In this article I describe a few influences that are affecting the future of our business and the industry in general.

1. Lithuania’s convenient geographical location between markets

Lithuania is centrally located between three sizeable markets: Western Europe and the Nordic countries, the Eastern markets of Russia and Central Asia. The port of Klaipeda plays a vital role in Lithuania’s foreign trade. It is our country’s biggest port, and thanks to its favourable location on the Baltic Sea, it functions as a very important transport hub for Central Asia, Belarus and the Western part of Russia. Last year more than 450,000 containers were handled in Klaipeda, which is a new record for the port.

Acting as the agent for Evergreen Line we offer global transport solutions, and from the seaport in Klaipeda we help export and import customers within the entire Baltic Sea region. With access to a worldwide network of offices and other agents, we can offer services to the majority of ports situated in the Far East, Mediterranean, North Europe and the United States.

2. The increased demand of logistics and transports to and from Lithuania

There are three main industries that dominate the export market in Lithuania; the forest industry, the peat moss industry and the furniture industry, with the food processing industry being not far behind. There is a substantial volume of transit cargo; fertilizers from Belarus, which are containerized in the port of Klaipeda and then shipped to many different destinations worldwide. In recent years the volume of exported fertilizers in containers reached more than one million tons annually. When it comes to import, Lithuania has a wide commodity base, mostly for consumption.

Over the last years, exports from Lithuania have more than doubled. We are seeing a rapidly increasing demand of transports from customers in distant regions, such as Asia and the United States. Both Lithuania’s imports and exports are expected to increase in volume in the coming years. For us, acting as a shipping agency company, it is important to be able to serve this increasing demand.

3. The introduction of the euro in Lithuania and support from EU funding programs

Earlier this year Lithuania adopted to the euro currency. The introduction of the euro is expected to lower costs and increase planning certainty for developing the infrastructure in Lithuania. Current developments in Lithuania include, for example, opening up new areas in the port of Klaipeda where cooperation between ports can be intensified in the future. Another investment is a new LNG floating terminal in the port, which will establish a measure of independence in terms of our country’s gas supply.
Billions of euros in EU funding will also speed up the expansion of the infrastructure. The government gives a lot of attention to developing Lithuania’s roads and the rail system. By doing that, Lithuania can continue to be attractive to Russian, Belarus and Central Asia customers within the logistics and transport industry. We also want the western Europeans and Scandinavians to use Lithuania as a gateway for their transports.

When it comes to the rail transport, we are connected into one single railway system together with Belarus, Russia and Central Asia. It is easy to access Lithuania from these countries, and the infrastructure is therefore important also to Belarus, Russia and Central Asia.

4. The geopolitical situation with problems in Ukraine and Russia

What is worrying us the most right now, acting as a shipping agency company, is the geopolitical situation and the problems in Ukraine and Russia. All ports in the Baltic Sea region are currently operating under conditions reflecting the impact of the Ukraine crisis and a weak Russian economy. Ukraine deal with political decisions and economical issues, and Russia wants to give priority to their own ports by introducing regulations that are meant to reduce the handled cargo flow in Lithuania.

With Russia being one of our most important trading partners, we are in an environment that doesn’t look very promising at the moment. The European Union and Russia need to come to an agreement, and lift all the barriers that are hindering the trade in the ports. But, despite the situation, Lithuania seems to have suffered little impact, since the port and logistics sector in our country managed to increase its added value last year.

The future of Greencarrier and Lithuania’s port and logistics industry

Looking at a ten years perspective, I am quite optimistic about Greencarrier and the future. The port and logistics industry is developing fast, and so is our business.

The country is receiving a lot of European funds to build infrastructure, and the government invests a lot in advertising to continue to stay competitive on the market. With support from partners in other European countries, both at the economic and political level, I believe the future of the port and logistics industry in Lithuania is bright.

Also our local economy is developing fast thanks to the European Union. The introduction of the euro in Lithuania, and having the same monetary system as other European countries, will help attract foreign investment in the future. With foreign investment, comes more job opportunities, and more jobs means that people will have more money to spend. This goes for companies to, which in turn generates additional demand for the retail and manufacturing industry, and consequently the port and logistics industry.

So we are definitely in a good place when it comes to the future. As the demand for transport will increase in the coming years, Greencarrier will continue to develop its business. Hopefully we will continue to meet our customer’s growing demand of transports and become even more competitive on the market.

Also, one mustn’t forget that Lithuania has only been independent for 25 years, and over the past ten years developments have happened very fast. Maybe for the next couple of years or so, there will be some doubts about the market due to the sanctions and problems in Ukraine. But once the problems are solved, the future will only look brighter to us, and not least our customers.

We always try to be attentive to what our customers need, and we always try to fulfil any customer demand or request. It really is a matter of solving problems, and making the lives of our customers easier. Our strong ability to solve problems is by far our greatest asset. Therefore, we will continue to believe that no challenge is too large or too small, and that everything is possible.

Contact us for more information about our global transport and logistics solutions
If you would like to know more about our global transport solutions, Evergreen Line or if you are looking for reliable ocean transportation, please contact us. With the know-how and experience collected over the years, our competent and loyal staff will make sure your transport will attend the best service all the way. You can also send me an email directly with any of your questions.

 

Greencarrier Clean-Up – Contributing to a greener planet

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Categories: In focus, Sustainability. Tags: , , , , , , .

Did you know that 70% of marine litter comes from inland? Marine pollution is actually one of the most serious threats to our oceans. Because we at Greencarrier hold nature close to our hearts, and want our planet to be green and flourishing, we decided to join the clean-up movement!

The oceans have been turned into plastic waste dumps

Every year, millions of tonnes of litter end up in oceans, beaches, forests and elsewhere in nature. The primary causes are our societies’ unsustainable production and consumption patterns, poor waste management strategies and the lack of environmental awareness.

Basically, we are turning the oceans into plastic waste dumps. And since no one is held responsible, the situation is only getting worse – every year. The amount of trash that is dumped in our oceans is set to double over the next decade. This poses a significant threat to the marine life, as well as to food safety and human health.

In line with the Greencarrier Spirit and our green profile and focus on the environment, we decided to take action against the marine pollution, and become part of two clean-up campaigns: European Clean-Up Day and Coast Rescuers.

Two initiatives with the same purpose – to tackle and give visibility to the litter problem

The first campaign is organised by the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR). Their aim is to promote the implementation of awareness-raising actions about sustainable resource and waste management – during one single week. The purpose of the campaign is to coordinate a Europe-wide annual clean-up event, that takes place on the same day all over the continent; involving and reaching as many citizens as possible.

The second campaign is organised by the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, which is a creator of public opinion that promotes recycling and combats litter through public awareness campaigns, awards and environmental education. The foundation strives to influence people’s attitudes and behaviour in order to encourage a sustainable development. The aim of Coast Rescuers (which is also part of the European Clean-Up Day) is to increase the knowledge and put marine litter on the political agenda – and to find solutions to stop the littering of our seas.

Cleaning up the coastline of Billdal

We decided to call our activity Greencarrier Clean-Up. Being part of the clean-up campaigns is a great opportunity, not only to contribute to a greener planet, but also to increase the involvement and engagement among our employees. Said and done, last week, we gathered all our Greencarrier Liner Agency staff in Gothenburg, Sweden and spent the entire afternoon cleaning the beach in Billdal, a municipal locality in Gothenburg.

Billdal has a winding coastline with many islands. It has a rich birdlife, and birds are often resting by the many beaches, enjoying the surroundings and soft shallow seabeds. In many areas of the globe, birds inadvertently feed on plastic floating on the water, mistaking it for food, and many times this ingestion leads to death and even the death of their young – something we want to stop.

During the day we collected and sorted as much litter as we possibly could! Together we collected 370 kilos of trash, which we are very proud of! The number will be reported to the European Week for Waste Reduction; by being part of the campaign and helping to clean up their environment, we and other participants can see how much waste is being dumped in our neighbourhoods. This action will hopefully raise the awareness of Gothenburg’s citizens on the litter problem, and help change people’s behaviour.

This is how we organised our clean-up action – you can do it too!

Do you also think that the oceans have suffered at the hands of mankind far too long? We encourage everyone to become part of the clean-up movement! This is what we did to organiclean_euse our Greencarrier clean-up action:

  • We identified a place to clean and got our contacts on board
  • We registered our action with our coordinator responsible for our area.
  • We set up our team and promoted our clean-up activity.

You can do it too! Apart from the European clean-up day you can take part in various awareness-raising actions. For more info visit the European Week for Waste Reduction.

If you want to know more about our CSR-projects and what we do to protect the environment, visit our website and like our Facebook page to follow our activities!

/Johan Olers, Greencarrier Liner Agency