Following the closure of a number of domestic container shipping companies such as Nanqing, Gangtai, and Hainan Pan-Ocean，6月24日，Recently, Yangpu Zhongliang Shipping Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhongliang Shipping") has issued four announcements，Announced due to the continued downturn in the domestic shipping market, intensified competition in the industry, increased production costs and other reasons，The company suspended all routes on June 25。
After nearly 15 years, Zhongliang Shipping finally collapsed, and the resulting chaos in the freight market is also being staged.
Break the chain of funds
Zhongliang suspended route operations
Established in 2004, Zhongliang Shipping is an early liner company engaged in domestic container transportation。Its existing coastal trunk route 20, nearly 30 ships, a total capacity of 600,000 tons, business network covering the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Bay area, is one of the domestic trade industry shipping giants。
Recently, the industry began to spread the news of poor management of Zhongliang shipping。To this end, on June 3, Zhongliang Shipping issued a statement on its wechat public account, condemning the bad remarks about business problems, and telling the company that business is stable and normal。On June 4, Zhongliang Shipping announced the conclusion of a comprehensive strategic partnership with Shenzhen Huihong Shipping Co., Ltd. to jointly operate domestic coastal container transport business, with a total investment of 1.200 million yuan。At this point, the discussion about the poor management of Zhongliang shipping has been calmed to a certain extent。
But on June 13, a paper announcement from Ningbo's Zhoushan port pushed it to the forefront。The announcement said that customers at the port of Ningbo to pick up the container owner is Zhongliang shipping heavy container, required to pay a deposit。Subsequently, Rizhao Port, Tianjin Wuzhou Dock, Guangzhou New Port Dongjiangcang dock and so on have issued the notice of deposit boxes, many ships under sail also refused to dock and unload。
6月24日，Zhongliang Shipping issued four announcements in succession, including "Announcement of Suspension of Route Operation", "Letter to all employees", "Notice on the suspension of circulation of containers of Yangpu Zhongliang Shipping Co., LTD." and "Notice on the return of containers of Yangpu Zhongliang Shipping Co., LTD., to the dock yard"，Announced the Chinese shipping company that has been operating for nearly 15 years，All routes were suspended on 25 June。
Zhongliang shipping said that in the face of route outage and increasingly severe operating status, the majority of customers and all employees have given strong support and trust, and carried out the route resumption rescue, after difficult negotiations, but the restructuring plan and resumption conditions are far from each other。Therefore, they had to announce: "Yokura Nakara Shipping Co., Ltd. temporarily suspended line operations from now on.。”
According to other media reports, once Zhongliang Shipping declared bankruptcy or the company was dissolved, there would be no authorized subject for handling the handling of stranded containers, and the handling of containers would be chaotic, so the content of the final announcement adopted the reference of "suspending the route operation"。
Underprice competition
"Dragged to death" house after house
Zhongliang shipping in the end owe each terminal how much debt?It is estimated that the total amount of arrears due to Zhongliang shipping is about 3.200-400 million yuan, of which the amount of arrears to the port is much more than other arrears, so the port has taken the measure of "control box and stop loss"。
So why does Zhongliang Shipping have a capital chain break?The industry speculated that the butterfly effect caused by the excessive collection of barge accounts is the trigger of the crisis of Zhongliang Shipping, and the shipping market is depressed, and the domestic trade ship company only makes money one month a year is the main reason behind it。
At present, the freight rate index has been at the lowest level in history. Although the upsizing of ships can reduce the operating costs of shipping companies, the current freight rate is not enough to make up for the operating costs of shipping companies, and the phenomenon of losses of shipping companies is widespread。According to insiders, in good times domestic shipping companies made money only two months out of 12 a year; now they make money only one month out of 12。
"I do not know when the low-price competition began, the competition of domestic trade consolidation has become naked low-price competition?。This also has the experience of the development of foreign trade consolidation: fifteen years ago, the freight rate of the Shanghai-Japan route was competitive for negative freight。In the article "Eight Questions of China's Domestic trade consolidation", the author with the pen name of Lu Sheng said that although the collapse of Zhongliang has its own reasons, the competition in the domestic trade consolidation market is "only lower, there is no minimum", and the freight rate and cost are upside down for a long time, and it is also a living drag and death of one domestic trade consolidation ship owner。
If Zhongliang Shipping goes bankrupt, the terminals, freight forwarders, cargo owners, etc. that previously cooperated with it will also be greatly implicated
For the port terminals，Once the box is picked up，Dock charges, stowage charges and barge charges will not be recovered;For leasing companies and financial leasing companies，Not only can the shipping company not recover the rent, repair costs and other debts in time，It may also incur additional recovery costs;Owner's side，Once the ship, boxes and other assets are seized，Equivalent to the seizure of goods，Time, expenses and other costs in the delivery process will also increase...The fall of the domestic shipping giant，It will bring a wave of impact to the industrial chain。
Expert appeal
Innovative mechanisms allow companies to exit gracefully
There are Nanqing before, after the new Minhang, the situation of poor management and high debt of Zhongliang shipping is a microcosm of the domestic trade consolidation industry。Although the overall freight demand of domestic trade consolidation is growing, the domestic trade consolidation industry is facing greater challenges in the face of the double pressure of falling freight rates and rising fuel。
At present, the fundamental reason for the domestic trade consolidation industry to fight a price war is the imbalance between supply and demand in the market。"' Everyone sails with water 'has promoted the prosperity of the market, but its side effect is overcapacity.。For such a long period of market downturn, business owners are still using the repeatedly effective low-cost competition strategy, but they do not know that the good market is difficult to reproduce, and the market share obtained by low-cost competition will not wait for the market spring。Xie Xiaocheng, a researcher at the Institute of Water Transport Science, Ministry of Transport, said。
In addition to domestic trade shipping companies in order to seize market share, continuous expansion of increased capacity, new routes, low freight competition and other reasons, the port in order to achieve performance to achieve port throughput, long account period to ship companies, but also buried hidden dangers for domestic trade consolidation。
How should the industry cope with the downturn?Xie Xiaoxiao said, from the good event point of view, now more should be done, is to let enterprises in the business can not go on, can have an appropriate exit mechanism, rather than using the local government's blood transfusion to let "zombie enterprises" survive, which is the respect for the market's better business。
同时，In the case that the role of the industry authorities in the capacity control is getting weaker and weaker，Current areas for improvement，It is under the guidance of the competent department of the industry，Let scientific research institutions in the industry field release the relevant market dynamic information and annual reports，Enable practitioners to obtain information on market supply and demand relations，Avoid blindly adding capacity。"The 'Development of the water transport market in 2017 and the Outlook for 2018' released by the Water Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Transport in May this year is a good start for government information disclosure, which is conducive to giving guidance to the market direction and everyone's investment impulse.。”
For domestic trade container enterprises how to achieve self-renewal, Xie Xiaoxi believes that it is necessary to build core values and overcome the key measures of supply aging with innovation。"The core value is spiritual improvement，The behavior of ports, freight forwarders, practitioners, business owners, etc., will change，The positive energy of the industry can be promoted，You can create synergy within the industry，Promoting a healthy market environment;In addition，In the new era，There is no way out of underpricing，Water transport enterprises must find a path in the supply-side structural reform，Through technological innovation and model innovation，Offering something completely different from the past，And regain the market。”
