AAL Japan celebrates one-year anniversary

Attended by almost 200 guests, the anniversary celebration provided an opportunity for the attendees to share cautious optimism about the industry’s economic outlook and predictions that heavy lift breakbulk cargo movement ex-Japan into Asia will grow over the next 18 months.

The slightly upbeat outlook came on the back of news that local engineering companies are involved with energy projects coming online in Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, as well as oil and gas developments in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Beyond Asia, upcoming projects are being targeted in Africa and oil and gas projects on the US West Coast and Middle East are raising confidence and drawing focus away from a slowing China trade.

Wolfgang Harms, deputy managing director of AAL and head of its operations in Japan, commented: “Japan’s position as the world’s third largest economy is very much by design. The engineering, industrial and commercial infrastructure and capabilities here are a leading example to the rest of the Asia and indeed many other markets around the world.”