Yes on all counts. The global usage of containerised freight was a
significant evolution in freight transport as the cargo can be transported by
truck, ship, and rail without the labour intensive and costly need for
unloading and loading from one means to another.
Looking at these details of Arctic routes, it seems that the Shanghai to
London rail route is going to be cost and time competitive with sea transport.
What remains in this route is reducing the time needed to accommodate the
various track gauges that are encountered, as was mentioned in the BBC article.
Changing wheelsets is not a viable solution as can be seen in the interchange
between France and Spain.
>
>If there was any ADVANTAGE to our global climate change situation,
>it's that by opening up the arctic to shipping, we eliminate or reduce
>the potential for a geo-political crisis affecting global shipping.
>
>For example, the Suez and Panama canals are choke points. The Suez was
>closed before, there is no reason why it won't close again.
>
>Another factor, which can't be underestimated is a potential global
>shift to localized or distributed manufacturing which will reduce the
>growth curve of shipping demand between the east and the west.
>
>A third factor at play is DP World. This company is easily the most
>powerful entity in global commerce there is. If it makes sense for
>them to build a terminal in the arctic, they will in a heartbeat. But
>I see DP World acquiring land/air assets that will make then an
>entirely one-stop shop which will allow them to provide complete
>intermodal solutions on a global scale that links strategic ports
>together by sea, air and land. Instead of direct A-Z routes, there
>would be A-B, B-X, X-Z routes. The middle piece of the puzzle only
>changes based on capacity and speed requirements in relation to
>geology as well as geo-political conditions.
>
Chris
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
- Hunter S. Thompson
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