EVERGREEN TO INVEST IN FORWARDING, LOGISTICS

EVERGREEN TO INVEST IN FORWARDING, LOGISTICS    In a break with tradition, Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp. will widen its activities by adding forwarding and other logistics operations.
   “Among … plans for the rest of this year, Evergreen has announced it will respond to the trend towards total logistics by targeting areas such as China, South East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and South America for investment in forwarding operations, container depots, warehousing and trucking,” the Taiwanese shipping company said.
   Unlike other shipping groups, like A.P. Moller/Maersk, APL, P&O Nedlloyd and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Evergreen had not moved into the logistics field beyond container shipping. The carrier has operated some container depots and trucking activities. In some instances, it has relied on its local agents to provide forwarding or other additional activities for customers, a spokesman for Evergreen said.
   “In terms of doing a Maersk Logistics or something like that, Evergreen has not gone that route,” the spokesman added.
   Evergreen did not provide information about whether it would invest in logistics and forwarding in regions other than Asia and South America.
   Evergreen Marine, the stock market-listed arm of the Evergreen group, reported that its container cargo volume declined by 8.5 percent in 2001, while freight rate revenues dropped by 14.7 percent. The company described its results for 2001 as positive, given the general economic downturn, currency devaluations and “a keen competitive environment.”
   The Taiwanese line, which recently terminated its independent round-the-world service, is engaged in an increasing number of slot-exchange arrangement and joint services with other carriers.