He Transportation and Logistics Play a present Strategic role On the national scene, overseas sales are gaining more weight each day in the balance.
Our country occupies a top position at the European and global level due to its modern and powerful infrastructure network, land, air, sea and rail and the quality of services provided. These modern networks and the strength of its industrial value chain are key to driving economic growth and job growth.
According to ICEX data, the sector 6.9% of Spanish GDPincreasing size until reached 10% if logistics is included It is carried out by industrial, commercial and service establishments connected to this sector, which has about 218,000 establishments. Regarding annual turnover, it stands 101,000 million Euros And, in addition, it creates about A million jobs.
In addition, the eighth, the latest edition of Spain’s Transport and Logistics Monitoring Laboratory (OTLE), presented in February 2023, also includes some indicators that highlight the recovery experienced after the pandemic. A general increase in mobility, if not in all modes for passengers and goods, has been accompanied by an improvement in economic activity.
Another great feature of this department is its outdoor plan. Investments made in recent years in infrastructure, new technologies and systems have contributed to the creation of a complete value chain of highly specialized exporting companies. How do you know, experience and solutions for all countries of the world. Among them, they have contributed to the initiation of transport projects and the implementation of modern transport networks, both as intermediate logistics nodes at airports, railways or ports.
The challenges the sector needs to respond to can become new success stories and contribute to greater contribution in terms of R+D+i, employment and wealth creation.
Despite the good evolution recorded after the impact of the pandemic, in the current environment marked by digital transformation, the objectives of sustainable movement and the growing role of intermediate logistics chains, The challenges are many and varied. On the one hand, in the case of air transport, technological advances must continue to improve the constraints inherent in recovery and aircraft load limits in passenger transport. This method addresses medium and long-term environmental objectives and constraints.
On the other hand, in road transport, which is crucial for the movement of people and goods, enabling door-to-door delivery, one of the challenges is Last Mile Management, a critical feature especially in urban environments. This mode should respond, among other things, to the need to increase the efficiency of fleets through digitization and to reduce the carbon footprint by using mainly electric vehicles.
For maritime transport, in addition to the goals it shares with other modes, the introduction of new paradigms and technologies must continue to revolutionize port logistics processes, adding security to transactions between the agents involved and facilitating intermodal connectivity. And for railways, immersed in a major transformation, such milestones Model integration or liberalization of passenger transport will set the tone for the development of railway services and systems under the paradigms of interoperability and safety.
The challenges the sector needs to respond to can become new success stories and contribute to greater contribution in terms of R+D+i, employment and wealth creation. The changes in recent years offer a unique opportunity to promote a new mode of transportation, more sustainable, efficient and with the most advanced technological developments in the market.
This evolution is possible due to various factors such as new circumstances after liberalization of rail passenger transport, deployment of innovative concepts such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS) or implementation of sustainable door-to-door intermodal logistics. Chains and digitized. Along with these factors, it includes Major investments in strategic corridors such as the Atlantic or Mediterranean; Dry portsPort modernization projects, urban air mobility, Electric planes or the imminent arrival of new fuels such as Hydrogen For different fleets.
This rapid evolution towards an efficient, sustainable movement to meet the changing needs of today’s society will require professionals with profiles that are in tune with these developments. It is a great opportunity to create employment and prepare a new generation of professionals who are going to do essential work in an essential area like movement of people and goods.
Throughout this path of change and transformation, the work carried out by actors and various institutions, among them the Spanish Transport Association (AET), is an essential part of taking advantage of the opportunities and responding to the great challenges. AET’s main objective is to collaborate on better integration of all modes to create a new model of efficient, sustainable, integrated and innovative transport.
*** Juan Manuel Martinez Morin He is Vice President of the Spanish Transport Association (AET).
