ATTENDEES at the annual Lloyd’s List Executive Meeting, in which shipping leaders and analysts share forecasting, will get 2020 supply chain scenarios direct from United Nations Economic Affairs Officer Luisa Rodriguez.

Ms Rodriguez, representing the UN’s trade and development agency Unctad will also outline how port productivity can be improved.

Emphasising how the US-China trade dispute, in particular, is impacting supply chains, Ms Rodriguez said: “By April 2019, shipments from China to the US had dropped by 6% year over year, a significant contraction, given the share of Chinese exports in transpacific trade.

“By contrast, exports to the US from neighbouring Southeast Asian countries increased by nearly one-third, compared with the same period in 2018,” she said.

Hosted by Lloyd’s List Intelligence, the day’s programme — themed on Untested Waters Ahead — will also address broader geopolitics, sanctions implications, energy realignment, technological advances, and fleet and fuel developments.

LLI head of consulting Chris Pålsson said: “All the signs are there that 2020 will likely be a pivotal year for the direction of shipping, with the added challenge that business leaders should expect the unexpected.

“Our programme and speakers will give attendees the facts, trends and scenarios they will need to help them plan the best way forward for their businesses in untested waters.”

Among other organisations and companies speaking will be ABB, Business Sweden, Furetank, Intertanko, Kuehne + Nagel, Lorentzen-Stemoco, Stena Bulk and Shell.

Pålsson said he and Lloyd’s List group colleagues — including director Niklas Bengtsson,chief correspondent Richard Clayton and markets editor Michelle Wiese Bockmann — will share outlook findings extracted from unique LLI data and forecasting.

The presentations will include a five-year outlook for new ship ordering and deliveries.

“The world as we know it is rapidly changing. The potential impact on trade from the changes of direction of political development is substantial, particularly in the medium to long term,” said Pålsson. “Our Executive Meeting will take some of the planning fear out the minds of our delegates.”

Speakers will include:

• Katharina Stanzel, managing director, Intertanko
• Luisa Rodriguez, economic affairs officer, UNCTAD
• Magnus Runnbeck, senior analyst, Business Sweden
• Kai Miller, manager seafreight, Kuhne + Nagel
• Claire Wright, business economics manager, Shell
• Lars Höglund, managing director, Furetank
• Jörgen Karlsson, head of marine Sweden, ABB AB
• Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior reporter and market analyst, Lloyd’s List
• Nicolai Hansteen, head of corporate development, Lorentzen-Stemoco
• Erik Hånell, president and CEO, Stena Bulk

The Executive Meeting will be held at the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, Sweden, on January 16, 2020.

Attendance is limited. Delegate pricing of €525 will be discounted for early-bird registration before December 31. Discount for block booking is also offered.

To register and for further information, contact Salvina Costa salvina.costa@informa.com or tel. +44 (20) 7017 4220.