Unorthodox approaches
Italian logisticians with big plans for 2024. 2023 may have ended on a gloomy note in Italy, but the country’s exports are poised for growth this year. Fundamental trends have led players such as Ambrogio Intermodal to open new offices, and Ignazio Messina to undertake a fleet transformation.
It goes without saying that the times aren’t very rosy for the logistics industry in 2024. In 2023, Italy’s maritime ports lost about 3% of their throughput, with only a few bright spots – for example for the Vado Gateway in Liguria, SCT Salerno, PSA Vecon Venice and MCT Gioia Tauro, in Calabria.
Economic augurs expect Italy’s GDP to grow only slightly in 2024, namely by around 1%. Exports are expected to drive growth strongest. This news, at least, seems to portend a change of fortunes for the national transport and logistics industry.
New offices; and some restructuring
The future belongs to the intermodal approach. At the beginning of this year Ambrogio Intermodal, which was founded in 1969 and which today generates an annual turnover of around EUR 100 million, opened a new office in Campogalliano, in the Emilia-Romagna region.
Ambrogio Intermodal intends to use the location as a hub for its links to and from northern Italy, amongst other things, and will further expand its network regionally, especially at its headquarters in Gallarate, in Lombardy, in Candiolo, in Piedmont and in Domegliara, in Veneto.
These moves augment the company’s previous efforts, as Ambrogio Intermodal chief executive officer Pieralberto Vecchi said, “and represent further milestones for us, following the opening of our new intermodal terminal in Domegliara, near Verona, in June last year.” Import / export activities are another field the firm focuses on.
The long-standing shipping line Ignazio Messina, in turn, whose history goes back over more than 100 years, has opted for a different strategy. The shipping line that originally specialised in con-ro transports has sold eight of those specialist vessels in recent months and now withdrawn from the ro-ro sector.
Ignazio Messina has gradually converted its fleet to containerships ever since MSC acquired a 49% stake in the enterprise in 2019. The family-owned firm made further clear statements in this direction by purchasing a new vessel, the Jolly Argento with a 4,600 teu capacity, in August 2023 (see ITJ Daily of 29 August 2023), and again at the beginning of 2024 when it bought the Jolly Giada, which in turn can carry 4,400 teu (see ITJ Daily of 12 January 2024).
Need to remain resourceful
Global developments won’t pass Italy by in 2024 either, of course. On 10 January the president of Fedespedi, Alessandro Pitto, appeared on the television channel Sky TG24 to analyse the impact of the crisis in the Red Sea. According to forecasts developed by Fedespedi’s study centre the alternative to the Suez Canal, that is a trip around the tip of Africa, will guzzle additional fuel expenditures of as much as USD 1 million.
So Italy’s forwarders will have to remain rather resourceful.