Brussels, 25 November 2021
On the 25th of November, CLECAT held its online annual Freight Forwarders’ Forum entitled “Building Sustainable & Resilient Supply Chains”.
After the welcoming speech given by Mr Willem van der Schalk, President of CLECAT, the floor was given to Ms Magda Kopczynska, Director Waterborne Transport at DG MOVE, who stressed the ever-growing importance of close cooperation between policy makers and businesses in order to counteract unprecedented events. Moreover, she underlined the importance of well-functioning logistics and transport networks and recognized their role in achieving the EU’s ambitious climate agenda.
During the first session, the findings of the report “Brave New World – Container transport in 2043” were presented. The report from 2018 outlined multiple scenarios for the container shipping industry and analyzed how the industry may ensure value creation over the next 25 years based on differing perceptions of likely trade growth and the impact of digitalization. In regard to the increase of ship sizes, the question was raised whether bigger ships create value since they are adding costs to other actors of the supply chain, for instance ports, terminals and logistics operators.
The second panel focused on the role of platforms in the international supply chain and debated whether this is a threat or an opportunity for the industry, while the third session focused on the role of first movers on the pathway towards zero-emission logistics and how they can encourage other companies to join them on this road of decarbonization.
Source: CLECAT