Integrating port and inland rail logistics in Europe – Contship’s unique example

The container terminal operator and logistics provider Contship Italia, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year, recently took its market proposition message to the North American shipper, 3PL and carrier audiences in the New York, Houston, and Los Angeles markets. At a meeting on September 9^th in the Newark Airport Marriot Hotel in New Jersey, the Contship delegation described how the terminal operator offers a unique example of the integration of port and intermodal rail logistics affording a “one stop shopping” solution to shippers and ocean carriers.

Contship Italia, part of the Eurokai group of companies, operates five container terminals in Italy and North Africa; in La Spezia, Ravenna, Salerno, Cagliari, and Tangier. What may not be as well known, particularly to North American shippers, is Contship has a fully integrated logistics solution connecting their flagship terminal in La Spezia, Italy via rail shuttle to the company owned  and operated inland rail hub in Milan-Melzo and from there to not only most of the Italian consumer market, but to major markets in southern Germany,  Switzerland, and elsewhere that in the past have normally been served via the northern European port range of Hamburg to Le Havre. In fact, Contship not only operates the container and rail terminals, but owns the locomotives and rail cars used to transport the containerized traffic between La Spezia and these inland destinations – a truly integrated logistics provider.

The port of La Spezia, located midway between Genoa and Livorno is becoming increasingly important as a major east-west container transit hub on the Europe to N. America and Europe to Asia trades. The inland rail connectivity and overall transit time competitiveness between the port and inland European markets offers the possibility to N. American and Asian shippers and consignees of diversifying their supply chains so as to not have to rely solely on N. European ports to access the major inland European markets. With multiple daily train departures from Contship’s inland rail hub in Milan to Basel, Munich, Lyon, and Vienna, La Spezia’s intermodal rail percentage is currently running at 30% of total port volume; the highest percentage by far of any Italian port, and the goal is to increase that to 50% with capacity improvements underway. This alternative becomes attractive as shippers and carriers increasingly look for resiliency and flexibility in keeping their supply chains intact and insulated from unforeseen disruptions in any one port or port range.