Dear members,
At our latest Webinar we had the idea of developing chat rooms where we could virtually meet each other and discuss our current situation and how we cope with this. The trial was a success and we all enjoyed talking to each other again. It was like chatting with friends who face similar problems and have the same concerns.
Our member in Mexico who was our host of the Webinar, informed us that current customers remain but there is persistence in contacting new ones. Home working for 50 % of personnel, many Web meetings, government inspection and daily concern for Covid and what countermeasures can be pursued are now the new routine. Vaccines unfortunately do not proceed as expected.
For Holland video conferences are often and visits to customers or other businesses is not possible. But Saudi Arabia is lucky and is re-opening now after lockdown with a supporting government and increasing business.
Brazil on the other hand has different rules from state to state. Webinars are promoted a lot to customers and it seems a good time for projects, with privatizations in infrastructure that support the economy.
In USA clients are reluctant for in person meetings, Covid protocols are strict, working from home continues but project market for 2020 was good despite Covid and 2021 seems promising. Only container freight has increased prices enormously and trucking has big delays.
Syria however is open in meeting in person although Covid hit Middle East badly but business is going normal, only clients have become very demanding.
Thankfully in Belgium there are a lot of Exports and Imports, many orders but growth is not as expected. Although vaccination is at a low level, everybody waits for better days to come soon.
India sees 2020 as a challenging year with some cargoes stopped, lockdown and lack of drivers but to the end it was a good year for projects. The worst was the increase in prices of containers.
France is in a strict lockdown with everything closed but breakbulk market imports are in a good level although exports are weak and containers prices are seriously increased. Thankfully offshore wind farms market is booming.
For Italy countermeasures for Covid were implemented to all companies, clients are not available for in person meeting and home working was pursued. The major difficulty for the moment is the shipping lines situation but on the other hand, exports are growing. Nevertheless, vaccination has started to progress.
Last but not least, Greece faces severe pressure due to extended lockdown in retail businesses. But local projects/expansions are still operative. People have started to meet in person with the necessary caution, and home office is no longer imperative. Container business is struggling due to equipment shortage and continuous fare increase. We are soon to be faced with products price increase on universal level.
Concluding we must admit that we are very proud of our members, how well they reacted in pandemic by implementing immediate and fast countermeasures. Everyone increased their knowledge through Webinars and training and took advantage of all facilities Web offers. Although meeting new customers is a challenge, growth is pursued despite Covid.
The truth is that logistics have gone crazy everywhere, especially in containers and vaccination is not going as fast as everyone would expect, nevertheless the crisis showed that it brought out the best of us and made us stronger. We are a resilient group, determined to persevere through adversity! THLG thrives at any situation!
See you all again soon at the next THLG Webinar by the end of March. More details will follow shortly!
Best Regards
ExCom