WSSA’s GIOVANETTI: DON?T WRITE OFF NICHE CARRIERS

WSSAÆS GIOVANETTI: DONÆT WRITE OFF NICHE CARRIERS    Despite the trend toward carrier consolidation and shippers reducing the number of their carrier vendors, niche carriers still have a role to play, said Geoffrey N. Giovanetti, managing director of the Wine and Spirits Shippers Association.
   “We must do business with the largest carriers available, but we cannot afford to lose sight of the niche carriers that offer specialized services or serve special markets,” said Giovanetti at an industry conference in London.
   The WSSA has a “major partnership” with a small transatlantic niche carrier that calls at only two ports in the United States, but whose service fits well with the needs of the association, Giovanetti said. He did not name the carrier involved.
   “It makes no sense for us to forsake these niche carriers simply for the ease of having fewer vendors or pursuing a global relationship,” he said.
   The association has found that “very few forwarders or carriers can universally meet our needs in all of our markets,” he added. The WSSA has, however, signed multitrade service contracts with certain major ocean carriers.
   Giovanetti warned that, as carriers rationalize their services and introduce larger vessels, port calls will become more and more limited.
   “It’s my hope and belief that the market will support those carriers that truly find a niche in serving ports simply beyond Rotterdam and New York,” he said. Service is paramount in the relationship between the
shippers’ association and its ocean carriers vendors.