Periódico independiente sobre economía y política de transporte
10:44 GMT+1
CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE STUDI CONTAINERS
ANNO XXXVIII - Numero MARZO 2020
LOGISTICS
LOOK AT TODAY'S LOGISTICS IN ITALY FROM WITHIN
In Italy, the bridgehead of the coronavirus or Covid-19 epidemic
spreading from Asia to Europe, public precautionary measures reached
a peak on 12 March. Nevertheless, the transport of goods is not the
object of specific state control and regulation.
Andrea Condotta, marketing manager of the logistics operator
Codognotto Group, headquartered in Salgareda, about 50 km from
Venice, comments: "Our industry isn't affected by the
regulations. Transport and logistics are considered a vital
strategic sector to bring normality to the life of the people."
The same rule applies to ports, overland and rail cargo
business. According to Silvio Ferrando, Ports of Genoa, there are
mainly side-effects: "We are not affected directly as trucks
can enter or leave any destination provided that they have their
mandatory transportation documentation, as ever. We have more police
and carabinieri and even the army on the streets but freight must
and can keep on going."
Daniele Testi, marketing director of the terminal and intermodal
operator Contship Italia, stresses these facts: "No limits, no
constraints." The port terminals, for example in La Spezia, and
the dry port in Melzo, the heart of the railway connections close to
Milan, are all "up and running". Yet, the personnel is a
concern.
Condotta: "We have put specific rules for staff in place,
of course, in order to minimise the risk of infection." It is
these precautionary measures that cost some extra time in comparison
to the pre-epidemic period, but disturbances are kept to a minimum.
Testi: "Besides training our manpower, we installed a task
force on 24 February, with senior managers meeting every 48 hours to
monitor the situation and launch the requisite measures, if
necessary."
Whilst internal communication is important, interaction with
customers is even more crucial. Requests keep pouring in, and now
the advantages that intermodal services offer can kick in, as
Condotta pointed out. "Intermodal operations also help the
situation greatly, as in people are only in action on the first and
last mile of the transport. We haven't encountered any legal
restrictions to intermodal transport in or outside Europe."
The volume of goods transported by rail in Italy amounts to 97
million t per year. The international share is particularly
relevant, with 62 million t imported and export annually. The
current development also fits into Contship Italia's concept to
recommend to shippers that they split their risk by opting for
various European regional gateways as well as different transport
modes.
So what is the overall impact? Logistics services providers
don't seem to be too upset about the current situation. Luca
Abatello, president of the supply chain software developer Circle,
remains calm, commenting that "We haven't registered a direct
impact on our business activities yet, even if 100% of our team is
in 'smart work' mode. Should this situation prevail for several
months, however, then things will become difficult for everyone."
Just one major planned implementation for a customer in Morocco has
been postponed so far, Abatello elaborated.
The operators, who generally experienced a good start of the
year - Codognotto witnessed a growth in turnover of 10% both in
January and February - expect March to be the first month with
results under pressure.The peak of the virus impact on the
international supply chains is yet to come, Testi points out: "We
expect the real impact to happen in May and June this year. This
will be in the range of 10% less traffic at the most." This is
also not to be overestimated. In the port of La Spezia, for example,
there are four void sailings per month registered because of the
virus.
Besides air cargo being in a particularly critical situation, in
Italy, the model state in Europe of prevention measures against the
Covid-19, logistics businesses face organisational challenges, but
also an open field to keep their services running. (cd) "
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