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Photos: Logistics Plus Projects (3)<\/p>\n
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Logistics Plus Projects of Bremen was launched only three years ago. The outlook was favourable. Its parent company, founded in 1996 in Pennsylvania, US, had over twenty years of experience behind it. In 2017, the Drewes Group acquired the Logistics Plus subsidiary in Antwerp and founded Logistics Plus Projects in Bremen a year later. The Group is currently in its fourth generation in the shipping and logistics markets and is continuing to evolve. \u201eAt the beginning, we were involved in large-scale projects, e.g. with Siemens in Tanzania, but we weren\u2018t then as broadly positioned as we are today with the global network of Logistics Plus international as well as that of the Drewes Group,\u201c says Logistics Plus Projects Managing Director Thomas H\u00f6lker from Bremen. The Drewes Group also includes freight company Carl Polzin and the Transport- und Handelsberatungsgesellschaft (THB).<\/p>\n
While Carl Polzin specialises in logistics services for the steel industry and THB acts as a shipbroker for numerous well-known corporations and medium-sized companies, Logistics Plus Projects operates primarily as a project forwarder. An interdisciplinary team of twelve is based in Bremen. The forwarding and shipping merchants and engineers take care of container loads (FCL and LCL), sea and air freight and other transport modes in Germany and Europe. \u201eThe US market is covered by our American company, which is one of the country\u2018s leading logistics companies,\u201c says H\u00f6lker, but it\u2018s not a typical freight company. It offers 3PL (third-party logistics) and 4PL, where an independent party takes over the management, optimisation and control of the supply chain and provides IT solutions.<\/p>\n
The company\u2018s integration into the Drewes Group and the expertise available there have contributed to Logistics Plus Projects\u2018 rapid growth. \u201eWithin only two years, we\u2018ve signed several large framework agreements,\u201c says H\u00f6lker.<\/p>\n
Despite its growth, the company has also felt the consequences of the pandemic. \u201eThe market twelve months ago was very different from what it is now,\u201c says H\u00f6lker. \u201eA year ago, volumes dropped sharply and many ports were closed. For components for wind turbines, ships sometimes had waiting times of three to four weeks.\u201c<\/p>\n
Fortunately, many restrictions were lifted in late summer, autumn and winter. Since then, however, the cargo backlog that had been created in the first half of the year by lockdowns, port closures and production stoppages has been worked through from October onwards, leading to an extreme shortage of cargo space. \u201eThe Chinese ports in particular were completely overloaded with containers, breakbulk and steel,\u201c says H\u00f6lker. But there was another development: \u201eAs the situation was similar in container shipping, the latter reacted and reduced breakbulk cargo, which has exacerbated the situation. We are currently seeing a continued tonnage shortage across the board \u2013 breakbulk, bulk and container.\u201c This volume is now being worked through, he says.<\/p>\n
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Thomas H\u00f6lker, Managing Director, Logistics Plus Projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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It is only thanks to the specially design shipboard crane that an ammonia tank weighing 1,047 tonnes and measuring 30 x 40 x 17 metres can be loaded in the Korean port of Ulsan for shipment to Portland, US.<\/p>\n
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According to H\u00f6lker, the shipping industry used to work in cycles of about seven years, but this rule of thumb no longer applies. \u201eWe\u2018ve had twelve bad years and now the worst summer I\u2018ve ever experienced,\u201c H\u00f6lker emphasises. He doesn\u2018t expect the situation to ease in the short term. \u201eIn the bulk and breakbulk sector, we\u2018re not expecting any new builds, as the container shipping companies have reacted much faster with their orders and the Asian shipyards are now working to capacity for the time being.\u201c As in container shipping, the overall situation has led to skyrocketing freight rates. Breakbulk cargo from Asia to Europe currently has to pay around 50 to 60 per cent extra, and bunker prices have also risen.\u2009 \u201eI don\u2018t expect the situation to ease until the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest, or even until the beginning of 2022,\u201c says H\u00f6lker.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, H\u00f6lker is satisfied with the growth of his project cargo business. \u201eThe flow of goods is normal and we are playing a significant role.\u201c When it comes to acquiring new customers, it helps that both Logistics Plus and its staff were already well established in the market. The fact that, due to the pandemic, the company hasn\u2018t had a meeting with any of its customers since September last year is definitely an obstacle. Like any company, it takes the health and safety of staff and customers seriously. \u201eBefore that, we were on the road a lot, because trust can be built better face to face than in a video call,\u201c says H\u00f6lker. Nevertheless, the prospects for 2022 are good. \u201eWhen I look at our situation as a young company, I can only say that I am quite content.\u201c The company already has some permanent customers, but is still flexible in terms of new customer relationships.<\/p>\n