The Logistics Sector on the Southern Shores of the Western ... - cetmo

October 2010<strong>The</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong> <strong>Sector</strong>on the Southern Shores of the Western Mediterranean<strong>The</strong>re is a noticeable, widespread effort to liberalize and improve the regulatory context ofthe transport sector, and to define the professions in logistics. However, procedures remaincomplex, particularly in Algeria. In addition, a number of Ministers have input in the sector.Operators would like to see better coordination, with the Ministry of Transport taking control.Stronger control of the enforcement of standards is another requirement common to all theMaghreb countries.In terms of the players involved in the logistics sector, particularly public and privateoperators, the most typical characteristics of the current situation are the following:<strong>The</strong> road transport sector is highly fragmented in all the countries and, more importantly,there is no critical mass of structured companies. In Morocco and Algeria, there are twopublic operators, although they no longer have much market power. <strong>The</strong> process ofliberalization has not been accompanied by stricter controls on professionalism or bystrategies encouraging the creation of structured companies.In the case of the central Maghreb, rail transport is the monopoly of national companies andthere are no private intermodal operators. In Libya, there are no rail services yet and inMauritania, the railway is used as an exclusive means of transport for the State miningindustry.Maritime transport is largely dominated by international shipping companies presentthroughout the Mediterranean basin. In Tunisia and Algeria, the national shipping lines(Compagnie Tunisienne de Navigation, CTN and Compagnie Nationale Algérienne deNavigation, CNAN) still retain a significant share of the market. This is also the case in Libya,where the national shipping line transports 80% of the country's oil.<strong>The</strong> port sector is gaining importance in the area of handling, thanks to the presence ofseveral major international players working alongside national companies and/or the portauthorities, which still carry out this type of activity.<strong>The</strong>re are still only a few national logistics operators, as we understand them in Europe. Fewforeign companies are present.Lastly, in terms of the situation regarding services, the most obvious common characteristicsare the following:<strong>The</strong> market share for road transport operated by self-employed individuals with their ownvehicle is still very high (greater than 40%) in all the central Maghreb countries. In Moroccoand Algeria, unofficial transport, which does not meet regulations, is very widespread.Specializations such as refrigerated transport, the transport of hazardous goods and freightconsolidation have been developed very little and answer only to very loose qualityrequirements. European operators control international freight. In the case of Libya andMauritania, road transport operated by self-employed individuals with their own vehicle isless extensive and barely reaches 20%, although in Mauritania there is a crisis in the publictransport market following liberalization.Rail traffic is mainly oriented toward the bulk-freight market. Although national rail companiesstrive to win market share in the area of container and other freight transport and to comeacross as a real alternative, these sectors are dominated by road transport.In the maritime sector, bulk-freight shipping predominates and containers are not used widelyenough. In the three central Maghreb countries, Ro-Ro traffic is significant and benefits fromthe involvement of the national shipping companies. In the port sector, with the exception ofTanger-Med and Misurata (two deep-water ports), the ports of the region are generally linked6 CETMO