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Category: News Business Environment
Credit Crisis: opportunities for flexible multifaceted service providers
Every day the tabloids are full of news about the Credit Crisis. Examples of how badly the automotive sector has been hit are abundant and the fall off in orders for new cars is not just bad news for the multinational car manufacturers but also for the second and third tier local suppliers.
Fall off in volumes and stagnation of sales for plastics has become commonplace. In many companies the production has been brought to a standstill in order to stop the growing stock levels. However, this doesn't mean that the whole petrochemical industry will be pulled into the crisis which has partly been caused by our own insecurity. In fact, many areas and products of the chemical industry are booming. BASF for example has admitted to be screaming for personnel and in the feed market, a second important branch for VSL Silo Logistics, the volumes are less influenced by the present economic situation.
Jos Müller, Commercial Director of VSL SiloLogistics observed: "In the first months of 2008 raw material prices increased to great heights and speculation was the creed. China and India showed no reduction in their hunger for raw materials. The price of a barrel of oil increased enormously. Also the producers of plastics steadily increased their sales prices, first the leaders quickly followed by the rest. Now, 8 months later, everything has changed, stagnation has become standstill and standstill has become fallback. The Market became silent and the sales prices dropped steeply. The effects: expensive stock and production lines running at half capacity or less. Nobody dares to make a prediction for 2009. This amount of change in such a short time has never been seen. Even people who have been in the trade for tens of years are not able to get a grip on the situation. When shall we reach the bottom and when shall the recovery begin."
These and other questions are being asked by us, but without doubt they are also being asked by other boards of directors. "What should we do in the present situation, with the abrupt change and with a climate where there is no trust and insecurity rules the roost? What can be the advantage of logistic services to pull us through the storm? Who should we call for support?"
A supplier needs to be in a position to react quickly; he needs to be close to the source, to offer multimodal services, not to be (too) dependant on the bank or American shareholders, to offer a variety of storage facilities for producers who have been forced to cope with stagnated stock. . . That are a few of the of the most important conditions that the ideal logistic service company has to comply with in these turbulent economic times, that is what can be read in the trade magazines and on websites of the last weeks.
VSL SiloLogistics is one of the flexible and multifaceted service suppliers that see not only threats but also chances in the credit crisis, for the company itself and for her customers. If you would like to know more about our vision of logistics and transport, in both times of plenty and in times of hardship, call Jos Müller, Commercial Director of VSL SiloLogistics: 06-20963605. We appreciate your feedback, click here to react.