Pappalardo (Federagenti): continuous politics to condemn the Italian marine industry in a kind of limbo without time



Italy of the ports has certainly urgent need of reforms, but it has also and especially need to by sea rethink its functions in an international market of the transports that financial institution is characterized by strong elements of embrittlement and that talora demands to the marine ports of call and the logistic systems infrastructural investments that often are able to not to face. It is one of the indications gushed today to Trieste from sessantacinquesima the assembly of Federagenti, the federation of the Italian shipping agents, that it has faced problematic of the field having introduced also a search, which set up from professor Sergio Bologna, on the criticalities of a field characterized from a solid income of deep of private equities, Americans and Asians, that they are succeeding to many financial banks as "partner" of the navigation companies.

In this scene, that it is the glare of an economic situation and social fragile complex and world-wise - has emphasized the president of Federagenti, Michele Pappalardo - the marine industry in continuous Italy to confirm characteristics of exceptional vitality, proceeding in controtendenza also in these years of crisis, generating occupation, wealth and improving constantly its qualitative standards. Own in this Pappalardo optical has found the contradiction between the operating structure of the marine row and politics that continues to condemn it in a kind of limbo without time, sending back sine die the moment to face large the problematic ones of development but also of survival of the harbour field. The president of Federagenti, in its relation that we publish in the address book "Forum of the Shipping and the Logistics", he has rimarcato as every project of harbour reform, from twenty years over the last, seems to be more an adjustment of the past that a projection in the future.

Taking part to the assembly of Federagenti, president of the Region Friuli Venice Julia, Debora Serracchiani, that he is also responsible transports of the Party Democratic, has confirmed that "the reform of the portualità is a necessity, a duty respect to a system that must grow in favor of the entire Country", a reform - he has specified - that "key must be based on points which rationalization, national vision in an European optical, simplification and integration". "All this - it has explained - means to recognize as strategic 14 ports in Italy, being see again also governance and competences of the Harbour Authorities bearing in mind that the internal requirements must respect those of Europe and the relative corridors". "National the strategic Plan - it has found the president of the Region - will have therefore to propose a total vision for the governance but also for the participations, see again to this end the autonomy financial institution of the ports and concerting the investments that Italy would want was exempted by the Pact of stability when they are fundamental for the increase". "Infrastructures, transports and logistics - it has concluded Debora Serracchiani - will have to converse perfectly in order to create a logistic platform of the Mediterranean in a moment in which facing cannot be prescinded these extraordinary challenges".

In the course of the assembly president Pappalardo has read also a message of the minister of Infrastructures and the Transports, Maurizio Lupi, that he has confirmed the intention of the government "to redesign a strategic function of planning of the harbour system", to break a vision "separated self-sufficient person" and of the ports of which he goes slimmed "the bureaucratic cargo". "Necessary transformations - it has observed the president of Federagenti - since the changes of the field are so traumatic to show for norm a characterized substantially different situation from that current one from deep changes as well as how much deep one is the embrittlement of the economic resumption and the row in its together".

"2014 - Pappalardo has remembered - have already recorded the commissioning on the routes from and for Far East of 14 new ships they give beyond 10.000 teu of capacity and others 47 will enter the field within year-end. In 2013 altogether Hooligan Large containerships and 51 in 2012 were delivered 34. This year already is lined up, considering also the ships of 8.000 teu, a fire power of 339.329 teu. With a geography of the traffics to variable order, with delicate balances of the globalization and phenomena of concentration in the marine transport that however they threaten to determine the important success or decline geographic and productive areas - the president of Federagenti has asserted - is also pulling down the myths in which we have rocked ourselves for decades. For example, as it evidences the study of professor Bologna, that of the ports of the Europe North. The commissioning in the field of the container of the giant ships from 16.000 and 18.000 teu that in the Northern Range they can be accommodated from the Havre, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Bremerhaven, but does not give Amburgo, is sending in crisis the operational cycles of the great terminals and the entire logistic row. Not only: it has primed a spiral of reductions in price, undermining the margins of profit of the ports.
In Europe North an excess of harbour infrastructure offer is recorded then determined, as well as from the waits produced from naval gigantism, from too much optimistic forecasts of traffic. The port of Amburgo until the day before yesterday moved with a horizon 2025 of 25 million teu, to January has introduced a study in which such forecast was reorganized not little: 15 million teu, a cut of 40%. But to worry, as it emerges from the analysis introduced during the assembly of Federagenti - it has continued Pappalardo - is the embrittlement financial institution of the field and the risk of a gigantic bubble fed from the progressive loss tenured of the great nordeuropee banks that they always give has financed the investment in new ships, the very fast development of the fleets and asserting itself of new speculative investor, as the deep ones of private equities, in fact today (by virtue of a process of buys back of the debits and conversion of same in actions) the owners of a wide slice of the shipping world-wide. One is estimated that the institutions financial institutions are exposed in the field for beyond 475 billion dollars and that, while equities fund Americans and Asians continue to order to new ships heading at the low prices of the same ones, single in next the two years the banks will have to refinance 35 billion euros of loans, 80% of which at the expense of European banks".

It is evidenced that in the field, with the European credit institutions in retreat, they emerge subject as the DBS of Singapore, the Overseas Chinese Banking Corp, the Maybank malaysian, but also the Chinese institutions, China Development Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Merchants Bank Leasing, and the agencies of credit to the exports, Chineses and Korean. Sul forehead of the Countries of the Gulf, Qatar National Bank, Arab Corp Banking and others, even under the direction than Deutsche Bank, offers a support financial local to the marine companies, as UASC. And in order to complete the picture it goes remembered that private equity has pumped 13 billion dollars in the shipping in 2013, against almost zero in 2007. All against hires who have remained depressed, even if a light improvement in the course of 2014 is previewed, and of a structure of governance of the great companies to say little anomalous. Pack-saddles to think that all the three associates of the P3, the alliance between Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM rejected in these hours from the Chinese authorities antitrust, are family businesses, in the long run difficultly compatible with the structure of governance and the transmission of know-how-how of a company of world-wide dimensions.

In occasion of the assembly of Federagenti professor Sergio Bologna has introduced own study "To accept "new normality" in which it draws considerations on the current phase of the marine-harbour market. New "normality" that - as guru of the economy as the former secretary al Tesoro remembers Bologna citing American Larry Summers, Paul Krugmann, the editorialist of "Financial Times" Martin Wolf and its colleague Wolfgang Munchnau - probably for the capitalistic West it will mean a period of long inactivity and deflation much: "while all expect a return to normality, with a resumption, sooner or later, of the economy, such resumption could not be to us in some way and the inactivity recorded in last the five years could become new normality (the new normal) of the next decades for the western economies".

In its heavy Bologna study nozzle accusations to the management of the Italian harbour system, denouncing not the failure of the legislation that governs the field how much rather the mismanagement of the ports is from public part that private. With regard to the reform of the harbour legislation, Bologna has remembered that "it has been begun to say at a certain point that the Italian ports have lost competitiveness for guilt of the 84/94 (the harbour law of reform, ndr). But - Bologna has wondered - on that bases make affirmations of that sort? In West Med it is in terms of volumes is in terms of management results me does not seem that Genoa and La Spezia are the much worse one than Valencia, than Barcelona or of Marseilles. To grow in the volumes thanks to the transhipment and to accumulate hundred of million deficit as it has happened in sure Spanish ports of call not seem me a great jump of competitiveness. The railway traffics of Koper are greater of those of Trieste but, being to news of it prints, the Slovenian railroads do not enjoy just optimal health. If sure Italian ports have arrived on the border of the default, with tens of million canons paid - it has observed Sergio Bologna - are not sure for guilt of the 84/94, but of impropriety of the concessionaires and the administrators. With the eye distorted from an excessive attention at the market of the container, elating itself with the dream of pharaonic projects, only speaking about physical largenesses and infrastructures and never about economic accounts, enormous importance has been given to the problem of the governance and the due has not been lend attention to the terminalista enterprise”.

“The ports - it has continued Bologna - grow when the docks are managed by subjects that they invest. The ports can grow how much the more space is given to these subjects and at least it is left to who it vegetates on situation rents. The harbour Federal property - it has emphasized - is a insufficient resource, already the canons is four inferior times to those of a interporto, if then the concessionaire, instead respecting the business plan that it has introduced and by virtue of which has obtained the enjoyment of a public good, simply pulls to live, the result cannot that to be a loss of competitiveness of the entire system. We succeed to comprise the reasons for who it today asks the extension of the current concessions - it has specified Bologna - but what would not be useless to make a detailed analysis of the economic accounts of the terminaliste enterprises and the authorized enterprises to operate in harbour within. If it is made this analysis for the budgets of the Harbour Authorities because not to make it also for those of the terminalisti? Whoever invests in the Italian ports has its beautiful gain, the profit of the branches Italian of foreign large groups, features of PSA or Eurogate, she is to demonstrate it. But in order to favor the income of the groups more available to the investment and the innovation there is a single way: to give certainty of the right. This means to repeal hundred of conflicting laws and to replace them with little clear norms, means to ricentralizzare decisional processes that they have becomed decentralized - unfortunately federalism in Italy has carried more damages that advantages - means to have the courage once and for all to make chosen of plan. In lack of this, the amalgamation of Harbour Authorities does not resolve no problem. Just instead - it has found Bologna - the will to integrate the port in tissue logistic earthling, the Italian ports is destined to the definitive decline if they serve only the home market, must forzatamente lengthen own tentacles and “fish” on contendibili lands with other European ports. Then because not to begin from the represented logistic woven one from the European railway net? Own Trieste is demonstrating that it is possible, thanks to the railroad, to conquer distant niches of market only 450 kilometers from Antwerp, is demonstrating it with the container but above all with the ro-ro. This is the test once again that it has been mistaken to read dynamics of the single portualità with the lens of the container, forgetting that in the Inframed traffics, that from which us the elevated increase expects more, the ships ro-ro, with-ro and multipurpose they have much to say. To concentrate the reform on all the regarding aspects the railway modality would have meant to go one step further remarkable in the construction of integrated and efficient between rear logistic port and woven a relationship, because this is the land on which the greater deficiencies also in ports of strategic interest are found, as Genoa, Livorno, Savona”.