Transport and logistics are driving the economy: they account for 19 per cent of GDP

The integrated transport and logistics sector accounts for 19 per cent of GDP (equivalent to 341 billion in value added across the entire economy) and employs 4.67 million workers, representing 19.5 per cent of national employment. This is according to an analysis by the Confindustria Research Centre (CsC) presented at the Federtrasporto general meeting held in Rome. Ministers Giancarlo Giorgetti (Economy) and Matteo Salvini (Infrastructure) addressed the meeting via video link.

The CsC study, for the first time, presents the mobility of people and goods as a single, integrated industrial system. The macro-sector under investigation includes: all forms of freight and passenger transport (land, sea and air); logistics managed in-house by companies (on their own account); warehousing and support activities; postal services and courier activities; and vehicle maintenance. In summary, disruptions, inefficiencies and bottlenecks in transport and logistics have immediate and often large-scale repercussions on the economic and social fabric of the entire nation.

Paolo Colombo, president of Federtrasporto, says: ‘The systems for the movement of people and goods in Italy can no longer be regarded as ancillary activities or simply a cost to be cut, but as a key driver of the country’s industrial policy and competitiveness. This applies to passenger transport, given its ability to influence the quality of life for all of us and the appeal of our regions to tourists. It applies to manufacturing, which relies on transport twice: inbound, for supplies, and outbound, for distribution and exports. ‘This is another reason,’ Colombo emphasises, ‘why we must support businesses in the transition from “ex-works” to “ex-destination”. Managing the product right through to its destination market means overseeing the entire industrial cycle and not ceding this formidable competitive advantage to others.’

Now, with the conclusion of the NRRP, the challenge is to ensure continuity in investment to bridge Italia’s infrastructure gap. This is according to Leopoldo Destro, Confindustria’s vice-president for transport, logistics and the tourism industry: ‘In Italia, transport infrastructure alone will require around 550 billion over the next 15 years’. According to Destro, the priority is to complete the TEN-T corridors that cross Italia, to enable our businesses to remain connected to the major European transport networks. And then we need to focus on intermodal freight transport, which is still struggling to take off.

Destro, too, emphasises the importance of managing the final link in the logistics chain, prioritising delivery to the final destination, because the product’s journey is only considered complete when it reaches the customer. “Countries with the best logistics performance,” he explains, “record up to one percentage point more GDP and increase trade by 2 per cent.” The World Bank’s performance index ranks Italia 19th out of 139 countries assessed. According to Destro, the Italian system should aim to break into the top five.