The Meteorological Agency announced “ Heavy rain special warning” in West Japan including Kyoto and 10 prefectures saying that a disaster to be caused once in several decades was expected after July 6. However, in the flooding of the river, it has come to 157 dead people, refugee 10,049 as of July 10th. Complete destruction, the house damage of inundation below the floor level recorded 18,694 houses in total 31 including Kyoto, Hokkaido and prefectures. The heavy rain damage cuts the lifelines such as a railroad, the road apart, and the restoration is not in sight. Are several thousand people will be forced to live at an evacuation site from now on? On the other hand, an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 attacked North Osaka before 8:00 a.m. on June 18. Damage was 3 dead people and gas supply stopped for 108,000 houses in Takatsuki-city and Ibaraki-city. 2,063 houses were suffered damage of part of destruction in Kyoto.
The rainy season was declared at an end in the Kanto-Koshinnetsu district. It became the exceptional speed compared with the end of the rainy season of July 21 in average year. The rainy season was ironically declared on July 9 in West Japan hit by a little less than 2 times rainfall of the average year. I think that it is necessary to think about how we live together with nature once again.
I always think why ISO container should be used in disaster recovery freely. The convenience is high by remodeling for houses of refugees or for the safekeeping warehouse of relief goods or for transportation of the debris and so on. When we use ISO container for administration in the country, I always want the government to relax use of the building certification by all means. I am convinced that it will help them on convenience, safety and a large cost cut to quicken disaster recovery.
The American President Trump exercised the addition duty of 25% and 10% to steel, aluminum ware each of the import in the United States in March waving the banner of “The American First Principles”. China set 25% of duties against the imported products of 128 items including wine, pork from the United States from April. For it the United States exercises an additional duty of 34 billion dollars to Chinese products of 818 items such as semiconductor, robots again from July 6. China opposed with the retaliation of import duties of the same scale on the farm output product of 545 items like the beef, soybean on the same day. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts the quantity of global trade to fall down by 10% when 10% of duties are raised in the United States, Europe and China. It looks like the trade war.
Big influence comes out for a distribution company, a shipping company.
The American Department of Labor announced June employment statistics on 6th. The number of the employee of the non-agriculture section is 213,000 increase compared with the month before. It exceeded 190,000 people of the market prediction. The unemployment rate turns worse by 4.0% for the first time in 10 months. It considers voluntary unemployment in prospect of the change of job to the good workplace of the condition to increase by job offer increase of the company. On the other hand, as for the economy of Europe, European Central Bank (ECB) decided the end of an asset purchase program within the year in the board of directors of June. It means a reduction, the end of the quantitative easing, and normalization of the monetary easing will advance. It shows bottom hardness of the economy by deciding a pay rise of the whole Euro area particularly the wage rate of climb in Germany in March with +2.3% compared with the previous year and April with + 2.7% compared with the previous year. There is some force about the movement of the economy with the United States, Europe.
British research company, Drewry Maritime Research consider how the containership industry can collect Emergency Bunker Surcharge (EBS) is the means of improving income and expenditure under higher fuel and higher chartered ship charges.
The containership industry switches net income of 7 billion dollars to security, the black in 2017, as for first-quarter (from January to March), they fell to a deficit of more than $1,200 million by remarkable fuel oil rise this year, the achievements improvement of second-quarter (from April to June) is difficult. They consider that the shipping company started to collect EBS from June but it is not reflected enough by achievements. As for third-quarter (from July to September), they can anticipate the improvement of the profit in a peak season, but expect that it is difficult to reach the break-even point because the non-demand period enters in the fourth-quarter (from October to December).
Another problem of the shipping company is SOx (sulfur oxide) regulation of 2020. It is obliged of taking effect by SOx regulation from January, 2020 that the use fuel of the ship hold down sulfur density to less than 0.5%. Most ships use fuel oil C as fuel and the containership is pressed for correspondence of the regulation now. It is impossible to change an existing ship to LNG fuel and a scrubber (exhaust gas treatment equipment). Therefore they cannot but do low-sulfur fuel mainly. They have the problem whether they can treat it enough in all parts of the world. They cannot but pass such cost to a shipper.
The volume of the new production container stock in China factory is 911,000 TEU for Dry and 42,000 TEU for Reefer as of the end of June. Leasing company occupy the half of the above order. The new container price is $2,200 per 20f.
On June 22, I stayed one night in Yagen Hotspring of the Shimokita, Aomori Peninsula with 7 old friends. It is approximately 3 hours with the Tohoku Shinkansen to Hachinohe from Tokyo Station. We got off at Ohminato Station in Ohminato line after one hour from Hachinohe Station. It was quite surprisingly to know that there were many senior travelers to enjoy with the holiday pass for the senior issued by JR East. Hayabusa (Falcon) No. 8 of the Tohoku Shinkansen and the train in the Ohminato lines were in the congestion as a commuter train with the senior who enjoyed a trip
Osorezan is one of Japan’s 3 biggest hallowed places. We looked at Gulf of Mutsu from an observatory of the Mt. Kamafuse top. Beautiful Yagen mountain stream. Hot water of the unexplored hot spring was kind to skin. The hot-spring hotel becomes unmanned from the end of October to next year March. It was unforgettable that a taste of the air has been so delicious when I got off at Hachinohe Station. It might be exaggerated, but I was able to realize that my lungs, brain, skin, the whole body were pleased with a taste of the air when I strolled the walk course of the Hiba (Japanese cypress) natural wood in Yagen mountain stream. I felt environmental importance to live for.
It has been lasting nearly for 50 years, starting from 2nd year after I entered NIC. Some alumni of the shipping line joined and some passed away. I participated this time as it would be the last. It is great thanks to Mr. Shoichi Okano as the manager of the meeting.
This meeting followed on the coattails of him for a long time. 3 people among 4 people of the establishment member including me were able to participate. I am sorry that Noboru Abe who could not attend died in last November. Finally I would like to write down a participation member, 6 other names and want to show respect with my appreciation. MOL alumnus Ogata of 90-year-old, MOL alumnus Kobayashi, MOL alumnus Nishioka, Mr. Hiroya of NIC and 2 other establishment members of another Mr. Abe, 83-year-old and Manager, Mr. Okano.
