Michael King

In part 2 of his interview with Bronson Hsieh, former chairman of both Evergreen Shipping and Yang Ming Shipping, host Mike King explores the implications of the Covid-era and the challenges facing container lines in the years ahead.
Episode in more detail:
 
Conclusions from the Covid years (1.00)
Liner-shipper relations (5.50)
Will we see a rates war in 2023? (8.45)
Evolving alliances (12.20)
Carrier strategy: port-to-port vs integrator model (16.30)
Are carriers cutting emissions quickly enough for customers? (19.30)
‘Green’ fuels (21.50)
The digitalisation challenge (23.50)
This episode was produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group.

In this episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club host Mike King gets a very rare and exclusive interview with one of the true titans of container shipping: Bronson Hsieh. Over a 45-year career, he has been chairman of not one, but two of the world’s biggest shipping lines – Evergreen and Yang Ming. In fact, he was vice president of Evergreen Group and chairman of Evergreen Shipping. And he was the Chairman and CEO of Taiwan-based Yang Ming Shipping.
And by common consent, he made an indelible imprint on both. He was front and centre as Evergreen opened the world’s first global east-west, two-way route. He also helped Yang Ming emerge from a difficult financial period, turning losses into profits. He has won accolades from California to Shanghai, including a lifetime achievement award from the Journal of Commerce.
Part 1 of this two-part interview covers the following:
 
Balance box shipping supply and demand (2.32)
A return to container shipping seasonality? (7.05)
How carriers will cur capacity (9.40)
How this downcycle compares historically (14.16)
Bronson’s career, Evergreen and his fascination with container shipping (15.40)
Saving Yang Ming (19.00)
Current challenges (24.42)
 

Wondering what happens next to box shipping rates, alliances and carrier-shipper relations? 
Need some help with freight buying strategies or tips on benchmarking contracts? 
Or perhaps you were pondering what those big beast shippers who invested in their own vessels will do now rates have collapsed?
Well, please listen in, because these are just some of the issues addressed by host Mike King and Bjorn Vang Jensen on this episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club, produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group.
Bjorn has experience of all sides of the freight business. Until very recently he was one of container shipping’s best analysts as VP Advisory Services for Global Supply Chain at Sea-Intelligence Advisory Services. He’s also been a vessel scheduling manager, a salesperson, a freight forwarder and a 3PL.
On the BCO side of the fence, he was global head of logistics at Electrolux for 16 years during which time he was responsible for moving millions of TEU and hundreds of thousands of tons of airfreight.
This year he embarked on the next stage of his remarkable career as Executive Director for International Transport at U.S. multinational Cummins, which manufactures and designs a whole range of heavy equipment including engines and generators and is on the cutting edge of alternative fuel systems. 

The inaugural episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club, produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group, features an in-depth debate with two thought-leaders in the world of business, logistics, container shipping, freight and retail.
Host Mike King is joined by Paul Page, Editor of the WSJ Logistics Report, and Jon Gold, VP for Supply Chain and Customs Policy at the National Retail Federation.
They discuss the state of the US economy, world trade forecasts, post-Covid supply chain takeaways, the future of China as the factory of the world and the shift of US trade and industrial activity from west to east.
They also break down what the Covid years means for future relations between carriers and shippers.
Featuring
Mike King, Producer and Host
Paul Page, Editor of the Wall Street Journal’s Logistics Report
Jon Gold, VP for Supply Chain and Customs Policy at the National Retail Federation
 
Episode in more detail:
THE U.S. ECONOMY AND WORLD TRADE (from 2.05)
Retailer outlook, 2023 import forecasts, inventory levels and e-commerce demand.
THE FUTURE OF CHINA AS THE FACTORY OF THE WORLD (from 12.07)
Sourcing post-Covid, reshoring, friend-shoring, near-shoring, the CHIPS Act and what supply chain diversification means for shipping networks.
U.S. INDUSTRY AND IMPORTS SHIFT FROM WEST COAST TO EAST COAST (from 24.20)
Implications for trade, trucking, rail and air cargo. ILWU vs PMA. East coast dockworker disruption ahead?
THE COST OF SHIPPING (from 33.28)
A boon for retailers and BCOs as freight rates collapse? Contract renegotiations. Carrier and shipper relations hit new nadir; better services ahead?
TAKEAWAYS FROM THE COVID YEARS (from 40.20)
Logistics goes from backroom to boardroom and from the business pages to the front page. Challenges ahead and optimism in the air?
 
Editing: Karen Ball and Tom Matthews
Contact: info@mkingassociates.com

Welcome to The Freight Buyers’ Club podcast, a new home for anyone interested in international trade, container shipping, procurement, logistics and air freight; in fact, all things supply chain in the Americas, Asia and beyond.
This podcast is brought to you by your host, Mike King, and produced in partnership with Dimerco Express Group, a global 3PL that specializes in managing logistics to, from and within the Asia-Pacific region.
Please subscribe at the freightbuyersclub.com to receive every episode direct to your email. You can also follow and review this podcast on all major platforms.
If you would like to appear on this podcast you can reach Mike on: mikeking121@gmail.com
The first episode is out during the second week of February so please stay tuned.