UAE shipping industry set to bounce back in 2010
The region's shipping industry volumes suffered a drop in growth in 2008, but forecasts say a quick rebound is expected next year. Container traffic from Asia to North America saw a decline of 5.7 per cent in 2008. This year, a lesser impact of the crisis is expected with a decline of 3.2 per cent. A sharp rise to a growth of 7.3 per cent will follow in 2010, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants.
It forecasts a seven per cent growth in container port volumes in the region for the next two years, with possibilities of less optimistic numbers.
Neil Davidson, director of ports at Drewry Shipping Consultants said, "There is a danger of getting pre-occupied by the short term," adding that as ports are a long-term, the prospects "look good".
As part of a cyclical swing, the UAE GDP in 2009 will see a zero to 6.7 per cent growth, while Saudi Arabia will be between 0.9 per cent and 4.9 per cent.
At the Ports Development conference, Edmund O'Sullivan, chairman of MEED Events said that according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economic outlook of the Middle East would continue to grow at four per cent this year, with growth increasing to five per cent in 2010.
"The GDP of the GCC would see a sharp decline, from over a trillion dollars to $800 billion in 2009," he said.
However, the recovery is also expected to be quite quick in 2010.
Speaking on the budget, Sullivan said, "The GCC countries are solvent, no matter how bad [the effects of the credit crunch are]."
It forecasts a seven per cent growth in container port volumes in the region for the next two years, with possibilities of less optimistic numbers.
Neil Davidson, director of ports at Drewry Shipping Consultants said, "There is a danger of getting pre-occupied by the short term," adding that as ports are a long-term, the prospects "look good".
As part of a cyclical swing, the UAE GDP in 2009 will see a zero to 6.7 per cent growth, while Saudi Arabia will be between 0.9 per cent and 4.9 per cent.
At the Ports Development conference, Edmund O'Sullivan, chairman of MEED Events said that according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economic outlook of the Middle East would continue to grow at four per cent this year, with growth increasing to five per cent in 2010.
"The GDP of the GCC would see a sharp decline, from over a trillion dollars to $800 billion in 2009," he said.
However, the recovery is also expected to be quite quick in 2010.
Speaking on the budget, Sullivan said, "The GCC countries are solvent, no matter how bad [the effects of the credit crunch are]."