Transport professionals foresee a tough 2009 but expect to emerge even stronger from crisis

Dutch transport & logistics industry a ‘thermometer’ of the general economy

Amsterdam (02 December, 2008) - TransportPlaza, the first online community in the Transport & Logistics industry, today hosted a roundtable conference on the future of the T&L industry in the Netherlands in 2009. During the conference leading T&L professionals and stakeholders analysed the expected impact of the economic crisis on the sector in 2009.

The panel was comprised of: Mark Appels, Area Manager North Europe, Teleroute; Willem de Vries, Directeur Randstad Transport, Randstad Netherlands; Alexander Sakkers, Algemeen Voorzitter, Transport en Logistiek Nederland (TLN); Ad Toet, Directeur, Koninklijk Nederlands Vervoer (KNV), and Mark van der Horst, Director EU Affairs, UPS. The debate was moderated by Will Tinnemans, leading journalist and debate moderator.

The panellists stated that the transport sector is facing a difficult 2009, and that the first signs of the current economic crisis were felt by the industry as early as April this year. In this respect, they see the T&L industry as a bellwether of the general health of Dutch economy and one of the first sectors to be touched in times of economic crisis.

The panel members consider that the economic crisis represents an opportunity for the industry to innovate, which will help the industry bounce back even stronger after the crisis. The panellests underscore the fact that costs need to be kept down at the moment, but whilst recognising the needs for investment, principally in improving and expanding the European transport intfrastructure, highlighting for instance the opportunities represented by Europe’s navigable internal waterways. Alexander Sakkers, TLN. Said: “from a strategic perspective it’s about who your partners are, not just modal but also multimodal”.

What threat?
The panel does not consider eastern European markets to represent a threat to the Dutch logistics sector. Ad Toet, KNV, in fact see Eastern European countries as a basis for further growth of the overall European Union economy. However to make this happen Mark van der Horst, UPS, recalls the need for infrastructure investments in the East and cites as an example Poland, which has just 450km of roads suitable for T&L needs.

During the discussion security emerged as one of the most important priorities for the T&L industry. As Willem de Vries, Randstad Transport, pointed out, “safety is one of the fundamentals of our indusrty”. The panel agreed that the industry itself needs to contribute to better overall safety – both driver and cargo – but also called on greater judicial and political involvement in contributing to improved safety standards in the industry. In terms of ensuring improved safety within the industry, Mark Appels, Teleroute, underlined the importance for transport businesses to know who their partners are and their backgrounds.

Commenting on the event, Ingrid Willems, TransportPlaza founder said: “We are proud to host this debate at such a crucial time for the Transport & Logistics industry. The turnout we’ve witnessed today demonstrates the timeliness of this roundtable and the importance of the issues discussed. TransportPlaza is leading the debate within the T&L industry, and it was particularly important for us to be able to welcome some of the most influential industry players who have shared with us their valuable insights on how to continue managing business successfully under the threat of global recession.”

Video excerpts from the conference are available to view at www.transportplaza.eu/forum.  TransportPlaza is continuing the roundtable debate online, where anyone who was not able to attend the conference can view the debate videos, post their own comments and opinions online, and answer others’ contributions.

TransportPlaza is leading the debate in the Transport & Logistics industry through its ‘Monthly Forum’ initiative, where every month a new topical issue affecting the T&L industry is thrown open to debate. Any registered user of TransportPlaza is entitled to contribute to the online debates, and regular contributors who gain sufficient online presence are even able to initiate debates on topics of their own choosing. To register and take part in the ongoing discussion online, simply go to www.transportplaza.eu.

About TransportPlaza

TransportPlaza is the first online community that brings together people, ideas and information in the Transport & Logistics industry. It is a new initiative that offers Transport & Logistics professionals opportunities to expand their business network, stay connected with business contacts, find valuable information and analysis on industry trends, and read, learn about and participate in online business discussions. TransportPlaza is an open networking and discussion forum fuelled by innovative industry leaders in the Transport & Logistics environment. TransportPlaza is a joint initiative of Teleroute, Randstad and UTA, whose secondary objective in launching TransportPlaza is to profile the Transport and Logistics industry positively to non-trade media as an innovative and dynamic industry focused on thought leadership in the industrial space, and thereby profile all T&L stakeholders in a positive light.

TransportPlaza sources strategic market information from its partners (Teleroute, Randstad and UTA) as well as from its pan-European intelligence partner, Transport Intelligence. In addition, TransportPlaza has also local-market key content partners to offer locally-relevant information and stories. TransportPlaza also invites key opinion leaders, business leaders, policy makers, academics and all of its members to offer their expert opinion, view and interpretation of news and events and to actively engage in a debate online.

About TransportPlaza Partners

Teleroute
Teleroute is a leading pan-European company providing innovative and electronic solutions for the transport and logistics industry that help transport and logistic professionals across Europe increase their efficiency and maximise their profits. Teleroute helps transport & logistics professionals connect with one another, and conceived TransportPlaza as the first online European transport community that would provide a powerful communication and information platform for the transport and logistics industry.

Teleroute is a Wolters Kluwer business.

Randstad Transport
Randstad Transport is a division of Randstad Holding, the number one staffing company in the Netherlands and number two in the world in bringing together people and organisations. As market leader, Randstad Transport is the expert in selecting and recruiting truck- and bus drivers. Randstad Transport continuously trains new drivers in order to meet their clients' needs in qualified drivers. As a partner of TransportPlaza Randstad Transport is convinced that existing business relationships can be reinforced via this online channel, and that new online contacts can be grown into potential business partners.

UTA
UTA is one of the key players in the service card sector and offers cashless en-route supply of services for commercial goods and passenger transport across Europe. UTA’s participation in TransportPlaza reflects its strong belief in facilitating communications and trade across Europe. UTA promotes channels that allow industry partners to communicate with one another quickly, directly and with ease to promote greater trade.