The competitiveness and sustainability indicators of the Catalan logistics system

On July 18^th 2018, Institut Cerdà, presented the competitiveness and sustainability indicators of the Catalan logistics system, an output of the Logistics Observatory. The event took place at the Auditorium of the Department of Territory and Sustainability of the Generalitat of Catalonia. The participants included Pere Padrosa, General Director of Transport of the Generalitat of Catalonia; Enric Ticó, General Director of Cimalsa; Jordi Hereu, president of the Sustainable Logistics Group and Fina Jarque, financial director of Cimalsa.

The presentation of the Logistics Obervatory’s Indicators of Competitiveness of the Catalan Logistic System, is an annual event, promoted by the Department of Territorial Policy and Public Works of the Generalitat and Cimalsa, and produced with the technical input of Institut Cerdà. The initiative was originally launched in 2004 and, with this document, has now reached its thirteenth edition.

The competitiveness indicators monitor the most representative parameters of the Catalan logistics system and analyse its evolution. The indicators are based on statistical data and the collection of information from the sector. The objective is to give a global, practical and real vision of the main trends in the logistics and transport market in Catalonia.

This year’s edition presents the following novelties:

• • Expansion of the “Short sea shipping” section that was started in the previous edition (2017)

• • Introduction to the logistics, mobility and transport startups observatory

• • Preview of 2018 data

The main highlights of the Report are:

• • Following the downward trend started in 2014, this year (2017) there has been a decrease in unemployment in the transport and storage sector. Unemployment has gone down 11%, from 13,765 in 2016 to 12,199 in 2017. A reactivation of the weight of the logistics sector within the economy of Catalonia is therefore anticipated.

• • The first 4 months of 2018 show an 8.2% increase in the economic value of exports compared to April 2017. The value of exports of motor vehicles and other transport materials in particular stand out.

• • In terms of supply and demand, there was an increase of 10% in tonnes transported during the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. The intra-regional flow load experienced a growth of 13% compared to the same period of 2017.

• • diesel accounts for the greatest share of the total consumption of automotive fuels in Catalonia, 77%, followed by petrol, 17%. Both fuels show a downward trend: -1% and -4% respectively.

• • The use of alternative fuels has been increasing since 2007. Of these the most notable increases in the last two years are in the use of LPG and NGV (+8% and + 9%respectively,2016-2017).

• • During 2017, the volume of goods transported by rail has increased by 11%, rising to 10,306 thousand tonnes.

• • During the first five months of 2018, the volume of goods transported through the Port of Barcelona increased 17% compared to the same period in 2017.

• • The increase in e-commerce is directly related to the increase in commercial transport in urban centres since it generates new trips for last mile delivery of packages to consumers:

• • In 2017 more than 30% of the Catalan population made an on-line purchase, representing an increase of 10% over the previous year

• • The transport of goods represents around 21% of the total vehicle transit in the city of Barcelona, ​​which in absolute terms translates into around 443,000 journeys per day in 2016. This figure represents the start of a growth trend, following a substantial decrease during the years of economic crisis.

You can consult the full document on the CIMALSA web page.