May 27 - Having finally filed all the contacts made at last week's Breakbulk Europe 2010 conference and exhibition, it comes as no surprise to hear from the organisers that the event posted a record turnout of 3,300 attendees and 125 exhibitors, an increa

Recovery forecasts and upcoming challenges for the various sectors of the project cargo and breakbulk industry were highlighted at the event and it was also evident that there was a larger percentage of overall attendance from the cargo-owning side of the industry 

Hosted by the Port of Antwerp, Breakbulk Europe was a veritable beehive of activity, with robust floor traffic, entertaining and business networking throughout the two-day event. Panelists at the conference examined regulation and compliance challenges of working with global trading partners, plus the ongoing impact of the current financial environment. "Reducing the Piracy Risk" Moderator Lars Juhl called on attendees to sign a petition to all governments asking to allow the nearest warship to respond in instances of piracy.

Keynote speakers provided perspectives and outlooks from each sector of the industry, as well as worldwide economic prospects and industry research reports. Alex Azparrent of Fluor Chile detailed ongoing and new projects in South America, and Alstrom's Sandro Lepori noted the growing importance of modularization. Fred Bedford of Jumbo Shipping forecast moderate shipping growth for all markets but noted continuing industry overcapacity.

Now attention turns to the next Breakbulk event, the 21st Breakbulk Americas Transportation Conference & Exhibition which takes place between October 12 - 14, 2010 in Houston. For more information, visithttp://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=039e71ce-4590-40f1-9fdb-6a9f8f4ee064