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)