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

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong> <strong>Sector</strong>on the Southern Shores of the Western Mediterranean October 2010ForewordThis report produced by CETMO 1 follows up on the work of the EuroMed Transport Forumand the Group of Transport Ministers of the Western Mediterranean (GTMO 5+5) inaccordance with the guidelines of the Regional Transport Action Plan (RTAP) for theMediterranean region and the conclusions of the last meeting of the GTMO 5+5, respectively.<strong>The</strong> RTAP contains the priority transport activities for 2007-2013 that have been approved bythe Mediterranean partners. It is an attempt to intensify cooperation with and within theMediterranean region in terms of transport. According to the RTAP chapter on thedevelopment of integrated multimodal services and, more specifically, Action 17, improvingthe professionalism of the freight transport industry and promoting the development oflogistic platforms to improve interoperability are key elements to help improve the transportsystem in the Mediterranean.However, at its latest conference in Rome in May 2009, the GTMO 5+5 decided thatpursuing cooperation with EuroMed Transport Forum projects and initiatives was also apriority. <strong>The</strong> conference also reached a decision to promote transport logistics developmentin the Maghreb region, support private operators in the sector and make progress towardsbringing the Maghreb transport companies up to standard.This report combines these two cooperation models and generally aims to contribute to theimprovement of logistics and transport services on the southern shores of the WesternMediterranean. As the amount of air freight services is not yet significant enough, theseservices have been temporarily excluded from this report.Several studies (by the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the EuroMed ForumTransport, etc.) have already been done on this region on the topics of infrastructure andinfrastructure funding, and operational problems encountered by logistics chains involved ininternational trade. However, the efficient use of transport infrastructure and the improvementof logistics chains ultimately depend on the standard of the companies in the sector, i.e.public and private operators.For this reason, the study approached the sector from the viewpoint of provision. It wastherefore a question of determining the current situation regarding services and thecompanies providing them. <strong>The</strong> report also analyses government plans for helping tomodernize operators, as well as companies' opinions on the most crucial problems to beaddressed.<strong>The</strong> study emphasizes the need for more information on the logistics sector and companiesand their environment, especially logistics clusters, since their relations and level ofmodernization determine the competitiveness of the sector as a whole.<strong>The</strong> conclusions and working recommendations stress, in the first place, the need for eachcountry to carry through the plans currently under way and to integrate operators' most basicproposals, particularly those coming from the private sector, which is the more dynamic.1<strong>The</strong> Centre Transport Study for the Western Mediterranean is the Technical Secretariat of GTMO 5+5.CETMO 1