Hot on the heels of the Intermodal Europe trade fair this past October, Trans Rak MD Paul Donaldson flew from Amsterdam to Copenhagen to attend the 2023 ECG Conference on 12th and 13th October. This year’s conference, organised by the ECG – the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, drew nearly 500 attendees from across the European finished vehicle logistics sector.
Sustainability – The Issue Of The Day For Finished Vehicle Logistics
A number of speeches focused on the pressing issue of sustainability in global automotive logistics, and the role of container shipping space optimisation in shortening time to market, reducing supply chain costs, and lowering emissions from transport vessels.
Highlights Of This Year’s Ecg Conference
ECG 2023 was an extremely interesting event, dealing with issues as diverse as standardisation, networking and integration, and industry representation and lobbying. We had the pleasure of attending several panel discussions looking into the near- and long-term future of finished vehicle logistics, and enjoyed the opportunity to network with numerous industry professionals – including new contacts and familiar faces.
Facing The Challenges Of 2024
Events such as the ECG Conference 2023 are a valuable way of equipping industry professionals with the knowledge base needed to face the challenges of the coming year. These include the continued need for supply chain agility and resilience in the face of the continued war between Russia and Ukraine and geopolitical instability between China and the international community. This comes at a time when demand for finished vehicle logistics has never been higher, with trade to and from Europe, the USA, and the Asia-Pacific region – fuelled by the growth of the electric vehicle market, putting pressure on transport businesses to increase cost efficiency and streamline processes. Alongside these market pressures, the safety issue affecting electric vehicles in transit is likely to increase in 2024, with the growing use of containerised transport to reduce the risk of onboard fires arising from EV batteries and faulty components.
Next Steps
To find out more about our containerised car racking solutions and how they can benefit your supply chain operation, please download a free copy of our Containerised Car Transport Guide, available now.
Image Source: Canva
