Stress test: Disruption, demand and opportunity
We’ve all witnessed the extraordinary — and unpredictable — series of shocks and challenges that have been shaping the breakbulk market since COVID first hit five years ago. Even logisticians who had never paid attention to geopolitics now parse the headlines for signs of the next blunt-force impact to global supply chains.
Today, as 2024 winds down, predicting what the market will look like when the Journal of Commerce Breakbulk & Project Cargo Conference convenes April 23-25 in New Orleans seems a bit of a fool’s errand. But we can bet on a few big-picture forces that the industry will still surely be grappling with, including geopolitical tension, unexpected hits to the supply chain, and tight capacity in the multipurpose, heavy-lift sector.
Project forwarders and cargo shippers use contradictory terms — “stressful" and "crazy," but also “exciting,” for example — when they tell us about the market. There is little stability in either bookings or rates. Although project cargo demand is strong and getting stronger, uncertainty surrounding project commitments and schedules continues to make shippers reluctant to contract forward. This reluctance, in turn, adds to carriers' reluctance to order new vessels beyond capacity replacement.
Whatever else is happening, we know that, come next April, we’ll bring together breakbulk and project cargo shippers, ocean and land-based specialized carriers, project forwarders, ports and terminals, and other breakbulk supply chain service providers in New Orleans. There, we will sort our way through myriad industry and logistics opportunities and challenges that show no sign of calming.
Conference sessions will include discussions with subject matter experts on geopolitics, energy and the MPV fleet, in-depth panel sessions, case studies and guided focus sessions. And stellar networking, as always, will be the lifeblood of the event.
Join us in New Orleans, where, together, we’ll continue to build on the world’s most impactful breakbulk and project cargo industry event.
Among this year’s topics and features:
- Geopolitics and risk management
- Global shipping outlook: Boxes and breakbulk
- No more JIT: Thriving despite a whipsaw supply chain
- Filling the talent gap: recruiting industry newcomers
- Decision-making in the era of decarbonization
- State of the multipurpose/heavy-lift fleet
- Progress report: The Journal of Commerce Breakbulk Index
- Powering the world: energy and renewables outlook
- North and south: trade and market trends in the Americas
- Brownwater reality check
- Heavy-haul with a side of rail
- AI and project cargo shipping
- Heavy-haul/DOT corridor update