Milan 11 April 2024 - Against the backdrop of the drastic transformations affecting the road transport and logistics sector and the challenges associated with them, Transpotec Logitec, scheduled from 8 to 11 May in Italy, at Fiera Milano, will not only be an opportunity to develop business and showcase innovation, but also to update skills, network and build a constructive dialogue with the institutions.

The key themes of the event – the energy transition, the market and professions, the impact on urban mobility, innovation and security – will be addressed through a packed programme of meetings and events: conferences, seminars and workshops will provide an all-round overview of the sector's critical issues and opportunities, offering proposals, ideas and tools to ensure competitiveness in a market that is strategic for the entire Italian economy.

The event will partly share these themes with the NME-Next Mobility Exhibition, dedicated to means of transport, solutions, policies and technologies for a sustainable collective mobility system, which will take place at the same time, but will close one day earlier, on 10 May. For this reason, to underline the common commitment to facing the challenges of the near future, the Opening Event of the two exhibitions, on the morning of 8 May, will be a joint affair and will propose a reflection on the state of the art and the evolution of transport, taking stock of both the haulage sector and transport for people. Two dedicated round tables will discuss in depth the specific topics of each of the two industries. The first topic will be Public transport: a driver and a challenge for growth, which, thanks to the participation of the three main Italian public transport associations – Agens, Anav and Asstra – will discuss the prospects of a sector that transports 5.5 billion passengers every year and generates more than 12 billion euro; a sector which is now being called upon to change, to come to terms with the challenging targets imposed by the European regulations and the NRRP, and the concrete difficulties linked to rising costs and a shortage of drivers.

The second roundtable, Road haulage from past to future, thanks to the intervention of the Central Committee of the Italian Register of Road Hauliers and the associations Unatras and Anita, will instead analyse the latest road haulage figures and the main critical issues that companies are facing and must overcome in order to grow the sector in Italy. But it will also be an opportunity to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the National Register of Road Hauliers, a body based within the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, and to remember the role this structure has played in the growth of the sector. Finally, at the end of the event, for the closing remarks it will be over to the institutions, whose support is strategic for the growth of the two sectors.

DECARBONISATION, TOWARDS REACHING THE GOALS OF THE EUROPEAN ROADMAP

As the deadlines of the European roadmap for the decarbonisation of the road transport and logistics sector approach, the focus is on which ways will be most effective for achieving the targets. And Transpotec Logitec is sure to offer plenty of food for thought.

On the morning of 9 May, Transpotec will host the fifth stage of Frigo'n Motion, the event organised by the magazine Vie e Trasporti in collaboration with OITAF, which, after Rome, Bologna, Pordenone and Florence, is coming to Milan. A format designed to turn the spotlight on sustainability in the transportation and distribution of refrigerated food, talk about excellences in local transport and promote knowledge of the national and international standards, as well as innovations in electrification and connectivity. There will also be a focus on the safety of refrigerant gases, a key issue in ensuring the industry's low environmental impact.

EvenT, on the morning of 9 May, will address the issue from a critical perspective, highlighting how, although the energy transition is an issue of responsibility, paradoxically, for the right goal, the approaches taken can sometimes be wrong. Indeed, it is essential to take into account the costs and impacts on the various industrial, commercial and service sectors, and to assess the effects in a realistic manner.

Again on 9 May, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana – the lead company of the Infrastructure Cluster of the Italian FS Group - chose Transpotec as the stage on which to present EASYRAILFREIGHT. RFI's innovative project aims to make an effective contribution to the challenge of decarbonisation through the digitisation of logistics processes. The objective of the platform is in fact to promote and develop intermodal logistics services through an information system that helps to match supply and demand, facilitates the acquisition of supplementary services and enables a complete view of the services on the market.

As part of the reach programme of the Logistic Village organised by FIAP (Federazione Italiana Autotrasportatori Professionali - Italian Federation of Professional Hauliers), two discussions about sustainability are scheduled. Horizon 2030 - The Europe of the Future between Politics, Economy, Environmental Commitments and Social Challenges is the theme of the talk show that on 9 May - Europe Day, commemorating the birth of the current EU institutions - will provide an opportunity, in the run-up to the upcoming elections, to better understand the workings and dynamics of the European Parliament, but also to focus on transport and logistics, covering aspects related to politics, economics, environmental commitments and social challenges. The panel Energy Revolution – How to cope with the transition from dependence on fossil fuels to the fuels and energy carriers of the future on 10 May will instead take stock of the state of the art of technologies, vehicles, fuels and energy carriers in relation to the transition to a greener, decarbonised and/or neutral mobility compatible with environmental goals. A reflection that will talk about new fuels – HVO, electric, green hydrogen – but also about European projects, best practices and infrastructure.

Finally, Uomini e Trasporti (magazine published by Federservice) on 10 May will present the fourth edition of the book 100 numeri per capire l'autotrasporto (100 numbers for understanding the road transport industry), which this year is entitled Tutte le spine della sostenibilità (All the thorns of sustainability). The book focuses on how to achieve sustainability goals, considering not only the environmental, but also the economic, business, fiscal, social, human, technological, market and geopolitical aspects. The conference presenting the work will give a voice to both institutional and academic figures as well as young industry operators, whose point of view is less conditioned by preconceptions and more forward-looking.

INNOVATION AND SAFETY: DRIVERS FOR GROWTH IN THE SECTOR

Fundamental pillars for the development of the sector, innovation and safety are essential to address the emerging challenges of increasingly complex supply chains and to improve the efficiency, sustainability and security of logistics operations.

In the current scenario, more and more markets – from e-commerce to large-scale retail trade to various manufacturing sectors – are starting to look to cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), self-driving vehicles and big data management to manage their logistics, in order to improve the environmental impact of vehicles, optimise the transport and distribution of goods, develop new materials and business models and increase the competitiveness of companies.

Innovation will be a theme of discussion that cuts across all the areas of the event.

On 8 May, the magazine Vie e Trasporti will present the White Paper ADR-Dangerous Goods, which was produced by OITAF in cooperation with MIT and contains a survey of Italian ADR transport licences.

Instead, FIAP's Logistic Village on 10 May will offer a specific focus on Entrepreneurs of the future, from emerging technologies to digitisation and A.I., new market dynamics and sustainability goals. The aim will be to understand how, in today's constantly changing environment, characterised by pressing environmental commitments, evolving social challenges and the increasingly widespread incorporation of Artificial Intelligence, it becomes crucial for corporate governance and management models to adapt to remain relevant and effective.

On the safety front, on 8 May VDO Continental in cooperation with the Central Committee of the Italian Register of Road Hauliers and with the presence of the Traffic Police Service and UNRAE, proposes Road safety and competitive sustainability: success factors for Italian road haulage, a discussion on how road safety and competitive sustainability can be two success factors for the road transport sector, in a context of continuous regulatory change, vehicle and tachograph ecosystem technology transformation, and finally smart enforcement approaches.

THE LAST MILE: NEW FRONTIERS OF URBAN LOGISTICS

End-to-end logistics plays a crucial role in modern supply chains, with the final stage of delivery to the consumer taking centre stage. In order to optimise this process, companies are adopting various innovative strategies. Among these, the use of alternative and zero-emission vehicle types emerges as an effective approach to reduce environmental impact and mitigate congestion problems in urban areas, helping to improve the overall sustainability of delivery operations.

On 8 May, this will be discussed as part of the meeting organised by EvenT, which aims to examine the complexity of the last mile in the supply dynamics of 100 modern-day cities, characterised by a heterogeneous and discontinuous evolutionary process, which has seen the development of goods distribution, and of e-commerce, with its own unique issues and contradictions.

Instead, on 10 May the magazine Vie e Trasporti will propose an innovative reflection on the transformation of urban transport through micrologistics. Vehicles dedicated to small-scale transport and short-range delivery, which are becoming increasingly common in urban areas, will be discussed, as will the ways in which this rapidly evolving sector is changing the city transport landscape. This phenomenon, still not fully regulated today, is set to expand further in the near future, thanks to new vehicles and the use of advanced technologies.

A NEW LIFE FOR THE LOGISTICS PROFESSIONS: TRAINING AND CONTRACTS

In Italy, the logistics industry employs 1.16 million people and generates a value of EUR 92.7 billion, equal to 5.41% of the GDP (source: Randstad Research). Moreover, the sector offers interesting job opportunities: according to the Contract Logistics “Gino Marchet” Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano there is a shortage of 60,000 professional figures, not only for the traditional and manual roles, but also for the more highly qualified ones. As a result of digital development, the training of new recruits and the ability of companies to work on appropriate and appealing contracts, salaries and working arrangements becomes central.

On 8 May the Logistic Village will host a discussion on the topic Economy in Motion: Challenges and opportunities for transport and logistics companies. Starting from an up-to-date view of the global geopolitical landscape and its impact on Europe and Italy, the discussion will analyse the transport and logistics ecosystem and the flow of goods produced in the country along Italy's main infrastructure corridors. This is a fundamental premise for understanding the scenario in which the sector's operators work, and to enable them to then go on to define and assess the new mechanisms that will shape and characterise the activities of the companies in this sector.

Also on 9 May, the FIAP Village will host a talk show on Innovating Business Collaboration: the evolution in Customer-Supplier Relationships. The rapid development of new technologies and applications in the transport and logistics sector, together with the accentuated focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability, calls for a change in the relationship between customers and suppliers. This transformation should foster closer involvement and the adoption of new models of collaboration that overcome traditional dichotomies and contractual constraints, and promote efficient planning and greater process digitisation, while ensuring safety, efficiency and mutual respect.

In cooperation with the Italian TV magazine programme Next to the Truckers, on 10 May, Transpotec Logitec will host a discussion on how a positive collaboration between the world of education and companies can lead to enticing employment opportunities for young people. At the table there will be representatives of the Fondazione ITS Area Mobilità Emilia Romagna, a post-diploma training school that trains high level technicians in the technological area of logistics and freight mobility, some of the companies that work closely with the ITS, and young people who have completed this course of study and have already found employment, who will relate their experience.

Attracting new recruits also means offering fairer contracts and better working conditions. The two meetings organised by DG Consulting will be an opportunity to talk about this. On 10 May the topic of the minimum wage and collective bargaining in the road transport world will be addressed, while on 11 May, second-level bargaining, performance bonuses and welfare measures for travelling personnel and others will be discussed.

TRANSPOTEC LOGITEC. MARKET AND INSTITUTIONS JOIN FORCES TO BUILD THE FUTURE

Transpotec Logitec will tell the story of the market and innovation in the area of logistics and road transport, but it will also be a special meeting place where all the components of the sector can voice their demands and present them to the institutions, as early as at the end of the Opening Event.

An open space for discussion will be offered by DG Consulting, which will promote active participation in two meetings. On 10 May, a meeting and discussion is scheduled to gather requests, ideas, complaints and proposals from transport companies, drivers and logistics operators, while on 11 May the conference Freewheeling with the road transport world will take place. Demands from the road transport industry to be presented to the institutions and the government, in order to update a dynamic platform with ongoing grassroots input.

Lastly, FIAP's Logistic Village on 11 May, at the end of the programme of meetings held over the four days of the exhibition, will offer the talk Moving Italy in the world together: Policy Meets Business, in which the feedback and suggestions that have emerged will be summed up and debated with the contribution of politicians, stakeholders, opinion leaders and experts on the many subjects covered.

Transpotec Logitec will run from 8 to 11 May 2024 at Fiera Milano.

The full programme of meetings is available online at https://www.transpotec.com/eventi1/convegni.html