‘E-commerce to help shipping industry rebound’

‘E-commerce to help shipping industry rebound’
Lisbet K. Esmael August 26, 2020 https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/08/26/business/business-top/e-commerce-...

The country’s shipping sector will bank on the growth in electronic commerce (e-commerce) to bounce back as the government exerts all efforts to get the economy back on the expansion track, an industry player said on Tuesday.

During The online forum, Chryss Alfonsus Damuy, president and chief executive officer of Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp., said the industry had been greatly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, especially during the second quarter, when the government implemented lockdowns and other measures that limited mobility.

“From [the] third week of March to end-June — that’s the peak period of [the] shipping industry because of [the] summer vacation, [and it’s] the only period [when] shipping makes money,” Damuy explained, adding that the sector would either break even or lose money during the rest of the year.

To contain the spread of the coronavirus, the Duterte administration put Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on March 17. The lockdown, which forced people to stay home to avoid infection and severely restricted economic activities, lasted for two months before the government downgraded it to modified ECQ from May 16 to 31.

From June until early August, Metro Manila and other areas were put under the more relaxed general community quarantine.

Despite the hit, Damuy remains optimistic, believing that the sector might rebound “faster” as the government continued with its infrastructure push and as online shopping soared.
With 73 million Filipino internet users as of January, the growth in online shopping could “directly benefit” the logistics industry, he said.

Citing a Google and Temasek e-Conomy SEA 2019 study, the Chelsea chief said the worth of the local e-commerce market would balloon to $10 billion by 2025 from $3 billion in 2019.

“With the pandemic, the maturity of e-commerce has been expedited or fast-tracked,” he noted.

Challenges in that market remain, including the volatility of fuel prices; excess capacity; and changes in the legal and regulatory environment, according to him.

On his company, Damuy said it continued to improve its cooperation with the government and other local shipping and logistics firms.