Singapore's container throughput fell by 0.9% in 2020 and will strengthen multimodal transport services
After a slight drop in container volume last year, Singapore is planning to strengthen multimodal transport.
Compared with 2019, Singapore’s container throughput dropped 0.9% last year to 36.9 million TEUs; freight volume fell 5.8% to 590.3 million metric tons; and the tonnage of arriving ships rose 1.7% to 2.9 billion tons.
Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Singapore’s Ministry of Transport, said that although Singapore’s economy contracted by 5.8% last year, international trade volume recovered in the second half of the year, which allowed Singapore to “maintain flexibility”.
He added: “Serious disruptions in the supply chain have caused congestion in different ports around the world. This has affected our ship’s waiting time and port productivity.”
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Xu Fangda added: “I believe globalization will continue, but we can foresee that the supply chain will become more complex, and customers will receive higher premiums on factors such as reliability and flexibility. For hub ports like Singapore In other words, these trends are not necessarily harmful. Singapore’s competitive advantage lies in excellent connectivity and service quality, rather than low cost and a vast domestic market."
In fact, Singapore is seeking to strengthen multimodal transport, which he said is cheaper than air transport and faster than sea transport.
In terms of sea and air freight outside Asia, the Singapore hub has become very popular. Last year, the lack of air cargo capacity in Asia meant that for shippers wishing to reach the Southeast Asian and Australian markets, sea and air cargo from Europe via Singapore was a viable option.
Xu Fangda said that Singapore has established a specific multimodal transport solution for refrigerated meat to cope with the rise in e-commerce goods. This month, Singapore government agencies have cooperated with Indonesia's Batam to launch a new multimodal express delivery system. Cargo solutions.
Multimodal transport service to and from Batam Island, twice a day from Monday to Saturday
According to information provided by the Maritime Safety Administration of Singapore, there are currently two multimodal transport services between Singapore and Batam every day from Monday to Saturday. The average daily volume of cargo arriving from Batam is about 10 metric tons, and the volume of cargo sent from Singapore to Batam is about 7 metric tons.
Companies that use the above-mentioned multimodal transport include DHL Express, Batam Logistics, and Schneider Electric.
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Xu Fangda pointed out that in this way, manufacturers and logistics companies in the two countries can benefit from more efficient and cost-effective cargo transportation. Companies based in Singapore can also increase cost-effectiveness by expanding their production base to Batam. But he admitted that not all situations require such a program, but it still provides the company with additional shipping options.
Xu Fangda said: "On the basis of the success of this program, we will continue to work hard to explore other innovative multimodal transportation solutions with industry partners, strengthen Singapore's cargo connection, and consolidate Singapore's position as a regional transportation center."
Xu Fangda mentioned that the Maritime Safety Administration will launch SafeEntry@Sea at the wharf, allowing personnel mainly working on shore to scan a special QR code before boarding and provide relevant boarding information to strengthen existing safety management measures and facilitate access Tracking work.
He added that in terms of fighting the epidemic, the next important step in the maritime sector is to vaccinate workers, and it will start with those who must board the ship, such as crew members, surveyors, and cargo personnel.
