Logistics connectivity and economic growth
While the rates of economic growth are slowly recovering the initial optimism gives way to rather cautious predictions about future growth rates. Some of the factors impeding it are fairly well known and understood, while others such as adequate logistics connectivity, while appreciated by businesses, can sometimes be overlooked by policymakers.
Due to historical reason some regions remain better connected than others and when the new trade market emerges its attractiveness for trade will be determined among others by the development of transport infrastructure.
The advances in technology serving the supply chain sector, organizational innovations, necessary harmonization of trade rules and freight forwarding practices are often adopted slowly by developing economies.
This adversely affects competition where the advantages of cost and quality can be cancelled out by high transport costs and supply chain inefficiencies. The economical potential of the region cannot be fully utilized causing growth impediment, which due to continuing globalization of trade affects the overall growth pattern. Even Europe, a well-established importer and best connected region in the world, looses around 12 billion euro per year due of lack “interoperability in multimodal transport exchange” according to TNO.
CLECAT and FIATA have jointly discussed the problem at International Transport Forum’s 2015 Summit and organized an event specifically dedicated to “logistics connectivity and trade facilitation” in Leipzig on 29 May to “demonstrate that a successful logistics sector is both a cause and effect of stronger and more sustainable development through greater connectivity in the world.”
For further details on both events please refer to the official pages of International Transport Forum’s 2015 Summit: