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Japan International Freight Forwarders Association Inc. (JIFFA) will make efforts to clear the ongoing container shortage problem in maritime transport as soon as possible. JIFFA Chairman Junichiro Watanabe said so at a press conference held after the association convened its annual ordinary general assembly on June 10.
“Although we were in a very difficult economic situation in fiscal 2020, the number of our members reached 532, a growth of 13 from a year earlier, consisting of 507 regular members and 15 supporting companies and 10 supporting organizations,” he said.
The chairman also introduced how his association did last fiscal year. “The combined volume of shipments handled by our members plunged 16.7% from a year earlier to 51.99 million tons in the first half of fiscal 2020 (April-September), marking the greatest year-on-year contraction due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he announced. “In the second half, however, [their performance] improved, carrying 60.52 million tons, up 6.7%, for an annual total of 112.51 million tons, down 5.6%.”
Projecting how freight forwarders will do in fiscal 2021, Watanabe indicated that at a time when NVOCCs are playing a more and more important role, it will qualitatively enhance the industry, mainly by conducting education and training programs.
As for recent slot and container shortages and sharp rises in freight rates, “We will strive to solve [the problems] together with shippers and shipping companies by reaching out to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and taking other actions,” he said.
In respect to the introduction of computerization to port and harbor formalities that began in April, known as Cyber Port, he stated that JIFFA regards it as an important infrastructure to enhance port and harbor efficiency. “We have been working with the MLIT so far to have opinions [from outside] reflected in the system,” he added. “From now on, we will steadily call for participation from a wide variety of circles, including supporting enterprises.”
