LOGISTICS AND
INFRASTRUCTURE

2020FOREWORD ON METHODOLOGY
The data contained in and employed for the present report

This has allowed the avoidance of overlap and duplica-

were collected by Cerved Group through the exclusive pro-tions.

cessing of information from both public and private

The data collected has then been aggregated to build asources. The term ‘public sources’ is intended here ascomplete picture of the logistics and infrastructure indus-

those publicly available from institutions including, but nottry. In detail this report considers:limited to Assaeroporti, Assoporti, ENAC, Eurostat, ESPO,x Integrated logistics, including basic and value-added

ISTAT, the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport

services typically provided by 3PL and 4PL (e.g. stor-(MIT), and the OECD. The term ‘private sources’ is intended

age/warehousing, goods receipt, order management

here as Cerved Group’s proprietary databases on the ma-

and preparation, packaging, picking, ancillary activities

jor companies that operate in the sector.

such as assembly, labelling, customer services, reverse logistics). Simple transport services provided by

The data collected has been cross-checked in the following ways:

carriers are not included;x Port, dry ports and airport infrastructure.

x Comparison of data from various sourcesx Supplementation of data and information through direct requests to sector operators enabling verificationof the data collected.

2

FOREWORD ON METHODOLOGY
The graphs presented have been prepared by Cerved

This enables our analysis to begin with a brief introduction

Group based on proprietary data and/or public sources

to the logistics and infrastructure industry as a whole andlisted above.

then proceed to examine each specific segment.

With regard to aggregation criteria, the following economic
activity (Ateco) categories have been included in the analysis:x 52.1 – Warehousing and storage (and all relevant subcategories)x 52.21.4 – Operation of terminal facilities for the handling of goods (dry ports)x 52.22 – Service activities incidental to water transportationx 52.22.09 – Other service activities incidental to watertransportationx 52.23 – Service activities incidental to air transportationx 52.29.22 – Logistics services related to the distributionof goods

Below we report the meaning of the main acronyms usedin this reportx 3PL: Third Party Logistic Service Providerx 4PL: Fourth Party Logistics Service Providerx AIV: Autonomous Intelligent Vehiclex B2C: business to consumerx ITU: Intermodal Transport Unitx LED: Light Emitting Diodex RFID: Radio Frequency Identificationx Ro-Ro: Roll on/Roll offx TEN-T: Trans European Network – Transportx TEU: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unitx WCS: Warehouse Control Systemsx WES: Warehouse Execution Systemsx WMS: Warehouse Management Systems

3

LOGISTICS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
AT A GLANCE
THERE ARE ROUGHLY 5,400 INTEGRATEDLOGISTICS COMPANIES OPERATING IN ITALY, OF WHICH 336 HAVE ANNUAL TURNOVER IN EXCESS OF €10 MILLION WITH
58,349 EMPLOYEES IN TOTAL.

INTEGRATED LOGISTICS TURNOVER IN ITALY€ bn

FDI STOCKS CAME TO €2,439 MILLION IN
2018, 0.7% OF THE TOTAL.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK COMPRISES 126 DISTINCT PORTS, AIRPORTS
AND DRY PORTS

58

44

24

PORTS

AIRPORTS

DRY PORTS

SEGMENTS
Mld. €

4

LOGISTICS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
AT A GLANCESTRATEGIC JUNCTIONS ARE LOCATED IN 4
REGIONS OF NORTHERN ITALY

THE PORT OF TRIESTE IS THE 2ND LARGESTIN THE MEDITERRANEAN FOR LIQUID BULKVOLUMES AND THE 3RD LARGEST FOR RORO TRAFFIC AND NON-CONTAINERISEDCARGOMILANO MALPENSA IS THE 7TH LARGESTAIRPORT IN EUROPE FOR GOODS TRAFFICVERONA RANKS SECOND AMONG THE 20
BEST DRY PORTS IN EUROPE

5

HIGHLIGHTSIn Italy integrated logistics is taking on an increasingly important role in helping manufacturers achieve the highest
levels of efficiency in inventory management and productdistribution. The rate of outsourcing, currently at 42%, continues to expand, and offers significant scope for further
development in the coming years.
The sector features a fairly limited number of companies
that generate significant turnover and are capable of offering 3PL or 4PL services. There is a richer, more fragmented
cluster of small and very small companies that largely operate as subcontractors, specialising in individual stages ofthe logistics process or single activities.
The infrastructure network spreads across the whole of
Italy. Nevertheless, the key strategic junctions are concentrated in the north, close to the areas with the highest concentration of manufacturing companies:x the port of Trieste, the sea outlet for the Baltic-Adriaticx Milan Malpensa airport, key for domestic and European
air traffic. According to Airports Council International(ACI) it is the seventh largest freight airport in Europe.

x Verona dry port, located at the crossing point of theMediterranean Corridor and the ScandinavianMediterranean Corridor. According to Deutsche GVZGesellschaft mbH (DGG) it is the second-ranked dry
ports in Europe.
Constant investment is required to ensure the continued
efficiency of the infrastructure network and guarantee appropriate support for the transit of goods.
In the ports sector, Port Authorities invested €433.9 million
in 2018, a 41.8% increase on the previous year. Airports
benefited from €378.1 million of planned or completed investments into air traffic infrastructure. On top of this, further resources were allocated to cargo areas (€13.3 million
in total, both planned and completed).

Corridor.

x The port of Genoa, one end of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor.
Along with the port of Trieste, it is one of the main intersections on the Mediterranean Corridor.
6

HIGHLIGHTS
The trends that are set to influence the logistics market in the coming years are:x Technological developments in the logistics arena (Logistics 4.0);x Increased focus on sustainable logistics;x Growing propensity for manufacturers to outsource logistics.
Logistics operators are investing in hardware automation solutions for warehouse services, both in terms of storage equipment and machinery and systems to work alongside or replace human operators, enhancing overall efficiency and communication between the various phases. Latest generation software enables optimisation of the flow of goods and activity
within storage areas and improves the exchange of information with the client, allowing real-time tracking of the locationand status of goods in transit.

7

HIGHLIGHTS

The main opportunities for the sector are:

The critical success factors within the industry are:x expansion of e-commerce;x territorial dominance;x reshoring of manufacturing;x process innovation;x infrastructure development in southern Italy;x extensive service portfoliox increased transit of goods in the Mediterranean.
8

CONTENTS
1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
1.1.

Key characteristics

11

1.2.

Key sector data

28

1.3

Main trends

52

2. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
2.2.

Investments in Italy59

3. INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS
3.1.

Industry attractiveness radar

69

3.2.

Opportunities

71

3.3.

Critical success factors

74

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWINDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
Integrated logistics turnover, with reference exclusively tothe outsourcing of a significant part of the logistics process to a single supplier, and therefore excluding transfers
within the transit chain, subcontracting and simple
transport services, amounted to €5.7 billion in 2019(+2.7%). 336 sector companies generated turnover in excess of €10 million, with 58,349 employees.
The value of services linked to the cold chain is estimatedat around 14% of overall turnover.

In 2019, freight traffic in Italian airports exceeded 1 million
tonnes, of which 52.1% went through Milan Malpensa, thelargest domestic freight terminal, which is strategically
positioned to serve the country’s main productive area.

The dry ports network manages around 65 million tonnesof goods traffic per year. The main dry port are Verona(Quadrante Europa dry ports), which ranks second among
the leading European dry ports.

The infrastructure network in Italy comprises 58 ports, 44
airports and 24 dry ports.
Goods traffic in and out of the leading domestic ports
came to 472.2 tonnes in 2019. The main strategic junctions, in terms of volumes, were the ports of Trieste andGenoa. Other ports play a key role in Southern European
commercial traffic: Ravenna heads the top 5 Mediterranean ports for dry bulk, followed by Taranto. In the Ro-Ro
segment, Ravenna is in first place, followed by Genoa andTrieste.

11

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
KEY LOGISTICS FIGURES

336
TOP
COMPANIES

58,349EMPLOYEES(in topcompanies)€5.7 bn
2019
TURNOVER

KEY INFRASTRUCTURES FIGURES 2019
58

44

PORTS

AIRPORTS

472.2 Mn.
tonnes

1,046,756 Mn.
tonnes24
DRY PORTS
65 Mn. tonnes

12

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
SUPPLY SIDE CHARACTERISTICS
The supply of logistics services is fragmented, with a very
high number of operators. The majority are small or medium-sized companies specialising in basic services, suchas warehousing. On top of these there are a smaller but
still sizable number of companies that generate significant turnover and provide a rich offer of value-added services, such as order management and preparation, picking, additional processing, inventory management, distribution and returns handling. In some cases, these companies oversee the entire logistics chain on behalf of theclient, qualifying as integrated logistics partner (3PL) or
Lead logistics provider (4PL). Overall, there are c.8,600
sector operators, of which over 6,200 classified under the
ATECO code relating to logistics services and more than
2,300 linked to the ATECO code for warehousing. Some of
the leading operators are domestic representatives ofmajor international sector players.
The largest companies frequently resort to subcontracting, entrusting various warehouse activities to third-party
suppliers (predominantly cooperatives).
In terms of geographical distribution, the main concentration of logistics operators is in the north of Italy, where
there is the greatest presence of manufacturers.

The dry ports network shows similar geographical distribution, with most of the infrastructure located in Northern
Italy. Management companies are small or mediumsized. Competition plays out through infrastructure capabilities, which influence the volume of traffic that can be
managed each day, and above all on the location in relation to the destination of the goods in transit and the maintransport corridors.
These factors are also significant for ports and airports,
which appear more evenly distributed across the peninsula, but which feature a greater concentration of trafficaround key strategic junctions.

In port management, the supply is massively fragmented,
with a predominance of small and very small operators
specialising in specific functions, and a limited cluster of
mid-sized companies.
As for airport management services there are very few
companies with significant turnover, followed by a groupof smaller companies. The overall number of operators islimited.
13

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
DEMAND
TICS

SIDE

CHARACTERIS-BREAKDOWN OF MANUFACTURING COMPANIES BY REGION, 2019100% = 556,188

The market is made up of domestic manufacturers andlarge retailers.
In 2019, there were 556,188 domestic manufacturing
companies, of which nearly 30% were based in two regions (Lombardy and Veneto). There was also significant
concentration in other regions, such as Tuscany (9.5%)
and Emilia Romagna (8.7%). In Southern Italy, Campania(8.5%) stands out.
A significant portion of manufacturing companies operate
in the manufacture of metal products, food and apparel,coming to 47.8% of the overall total (Source: InfoCamere Movimprese).

Source: InfoCamere-Movimprese
14

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
BREAKDOWN OF MANUFACTURING COMPANIES BY GOODS SECTOR, 2019100% = 556.188

Cerved estimates that there are around 320 major foodretailers in Italy. According to the Ministry for Economic
Development, as at 31st December 2018 20,460 large foodretail outlets were trading (hypermarkets, supermarkets,
mini-markets and department stores). On top of this,
there were 335 large specialist food retailers, with a combined network of 1,847 stores (latest available figures).

Source: InfoCamere-Movimprese
15

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICSOPERATOR CATEGORISATION
Various categories of operators work in the logistics industry:x Generalist warehouses, specialising in the storage ofWithin ports and dry ports logistics operators, freight forwarders, road haulage companies, terminal operators (railand sea) and rail transport companies work alongside eachother, as well as integrated manufacturing companies atthe end of the logistics chain.

goods;x Value-added operators, which in addition to warehous-

In airports there are:ing, also carry out ancillary activities, further segmented
as follows:x airport management companies that also provide han-¡ companies specialising by product type or clientx specialist handling companies.

sector;¡ integrated logistics companies that cover all phasesof the logistics chain for all goods categories;¡ integrated logistics companies that manage allphases of the logistics chain for specific goods categories (e.g. frozen products, dangerous goods,
ready to wear garments, pharmaceuticals).

dling services;

Operators are often organised into groups in which the various companies carry out different activities within thesame airport, or provide handling services in a number ofdifferent airports.

There is frequent diversification into goods transport anddeliveries, especially among the largest companies andintegrated logistics companies.

16

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
KEY STRATEGIC
PORTS

JUNCTIONS:BREAKDOWN OF GOODS TRANSPORTED
THROUGH PORT OF TRIESTE BY CATEGORY,
2019
100% = 62.0mn tonnes

TRIES
TRIESTE

The port of Trieste is under the jurisdiction of the Port
Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea. Together with theport of Monfalcone, it is the leading Italian maritime hub,managing roughly 62 million tonnes of goods, just under
70% of which are liquid bulk (Source Assoporti, 2019 figures). It is the leading sea port in Italy for this category of
goods, for which it has 9 dedicated berths (8 of which areallocated to oil and gas products).

Source: Assoporti

17

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
Covering c.2.3mn square metres, it has 12km of quayswith 70 berths (for conventional and multifunctional vessels, container ships, RO-RO ferries, oil tankers, chemical
tankers, passenger vessels, etc.). There are 20 dedicatedfreight terminals managed by private operators in the port
area. Furthermore, the port has a 70km internal rail network. The port has a maximum depth of 18 metres(Source: Port Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea).
The port has an important strategic location due to thelinks with Central and Eastern Europe along two main axes:x the Baltic–Adriatic Corridor, which connects the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. The Corridor was identified by the European Commission as an EU development priority, offering important opportunities thanks
to goods arriving from China through the Suez Canal;x the Mediterranean Corridor, planned to connect Spainand Hungary through a high-speed, high-capacity railline that passes through France, Italy and Slovenia.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF PORT OF TRIESTE
Key characteristics
Average distance of closest railway station

0.4

Average distance of closest airport (km)37

Average distance of closest motorway junc-

25

Number of berths serving
Oil & gas products

8

Other liquid goods

1

Dry bulk

5

Packaged goods

18

Containers

7

Ro-Ro

7

Other goods

4

Number of berths with dedicated railway
Connected to the railway network30

Not connected to the railway network

34

Source: Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport
(MIT)
18

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
BREAKDOWN OF GOODS TRANSPORTED
THROUGH PORT OF GENOA BY CATEGORY,
2019

GENO
GENOA

The port of Genoa ranks second among domestic ports interms of goods volumes (52.8mn tonnes). Along with theport of Savona-Vado, it is under the jurisdiction of theWestern Ligurian Sea Port Authority. It predominantly
handles container goods (46.7%), but also liquid bulk
(29.1%) and Ro-Ro goods (18.3%). (Source: Assoporti –2019 figures).

Source: Assoporti

The port covers an area of around 7mn square metres,with c.22km of quays. It has 76 berths, of which 58 dedicated to goods traffic.
It has two container terminals, 5 multipurpose terminals, 4
dry bulk terminals and 6 liquid bulk terminals in which
private companies operate.

19

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
The port of Genoa is a strategic junction for North-West Italy and an important link between Europe and the Far East
(primarily China), as well as North America and the Middle East, especially in terms of exports, which made up 60% of
overall container traffic through the port in 2018 (Source: Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority).
Furthermore, it is a strategic crossroads for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor, which links Belgium and Netherlands to Italy; Genoa is its only Mediterranean port.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF PORT OF GENOA
Key characteristics
Average distance of closest railway station (Km)Average distance of closest airport (km)Average distance of closest motorway junction (km)Number of berths serving
Oil & gas products
Other liquid goods
Dry bulk
Packaged goods
Containers
Ro-Ro
Other goods
Number of berths with dedicated railway
Connected to the railway network
Not connected to the railway network

0.9
0.4
0.6
6
6
8
9
10
19
20
34

Source: Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT)20

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
THE ITALIAN PORT SYSTEM IN THE MEDITERRANEAN CONTEXTEurostat’s classification of ports for goods transported, net of the unladen weight of the container ships or Ro-Ro vessels
used, ranks the ports of Trieste and Genoa among the top 20 in Europe. Analysing the volume of goods arriving, Trieste isin ninth place, making it one of the three main Southern points of entry to Europe, along with Marseille (France) and Algeciras (Spain) (2018 figures – the latest available).
The Italian port system is strategically important within the Mediterranean basin. Trieste is the second largest port for liquid bulk and third for other non-containerised cargo and Ro-Ro traffic, in which it is only surpassed by Livorno and Genoa.
Ravenna and Taranto are among the largest ports for dry bulk, while Gioia Tauro is in the top 5 for container traffic (2018
figures - Source: European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO) based on data for the Eurostat Annual Report 2018-2019).

RANKING OF LEADING MEDITERRANEAN PORTS IN EUROPE BY CATEGORY OF GOODS (a)Category of goods
Ranking

Liquid Bulk

Dry Bulk

Ro-Ro

1
2
3
4
5

Marseille (FR)Trieste (IT)
Algeciras (ES)Agii Theodori (GR)
Cartagena (ES)Ravenna (IT)Taranto (IT)
Marseille (FR)
Tarragona (ES)Koper (SI)

Livorno (IT)Genoa (IT)Trieste (IT)
Palma de Mallorca (ES)Piraeus (GR)Non - containerised
cargo
Valencia (ES)Barcelona (ES)Trieste (IT)
Algeciras (ES)
Marseille (FR)Container
Valencia (ES)Piraeus (GR)
Algeciras (ES)
Gioia Tauro (IT)Barcelona (ES)(a) 2018 figures. Ranking of volumes net of unladen weight of transport vessels

Source: European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO) based on Eurostat data
21

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
KEY STRATEGIC JUNCTIONS: DRY PORTS

QUAD
QUADRANTEEUROPAEURO

It is also strategically placed in light of the structure of the
Italian manufacturing industry; according to ISTAT, NorthEastern Italy has the largest number of industrial districtsin the country: 45, including 28 in the Veneto region.
In 2019 15,950 trains, of which 14,102 intermodal trains,carried a total of 8.4mn tonnes of goods (8.2mn tonnes ofintermodal goods traffic) through the Quadrante Europa
dry port. The main destination was Germany.
As for the road segment, in 2019 the dry ports handledover 22mn tonnes of goods, in line with the previous year.
75% of road traffic volumes came on articulated lorries,
22.8% on transporters and the remaining 2.2% on vans
(Source: Interporto Quadrante Europa).

The Quadrante Europa dry port is located in Verona, and is
an important intersection point on the Mediterranean Corridor, which links Spain and Hungary, and the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor, which links Italy to Northern
Europe.

22

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICSITALIAN DRY PORTS IN THE EUROPEAN
CONTEXT
According to the rankings drawn up by Deutsche GVZGesellschaft mbH (DGG), there are 6 Italian entries in thelist of the 20 leading European dry ports; only Germany
appears more frequently, with 7 places. The classifications rank dry ports on a number of criteria, including strategic positioning, volumes of goods transported, efficiency, sustainability, and services provided in support of logistics and transport.
Interporto Quadrante Europa in Verona is the leading Italian dry port in the rankings, taking second place.

EUROPEAN DRY PORTS: TOP 20
Ranking Dry Ports
1
BREMEN2
INTERPORTO QUADRANTE EUROPA
3NÜRNBERG
4
ZARAGOZA (PLAZA)
5BERLIN SÜD GROẞBEEREN
6
CLIP LOGISTICS
7
INTERPORTO DI PARMA
8
INTERPORTO BOLOGNA9CARGO CENTER GRAZ
10
INTERPORTO PADOVA11
INTERPORTO CAMPANO
12BERLIN WEST WUSTERMARK13
RRT KOUVOLA14INTERPORTO DI TORINO
15
LEIPZIG16
GVZ JADE WESER PORT
17
ENNSHAFEN
18
BILK
19
ERFURT20
ZAL BARCELONACountry
Germany
Italy
Germany
Spain
Germany
PolandItaly
Italy
Austria
Italy
Italy
GermanyFInland
Italy
Germany
Germany
Austria
Hungary
Germany
Spain

Source: Deutsche GVZ-Gesellschaft mbH (DGG) 2020
rankings based on 2019 figures
23

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
KEY STRATEGIC JUNCTIONS: AIRPORTS

In 2019 it managed 545k tonnes, of which 372.8k in cargoplanes and 172.2k belly freight (Source: SEA).

BREAKDOWN OF GOODS TRANSPORTED
THROUGH MILAN MALPENSA AIRPORT BY
CATEGORY, 2019

MILAN
MALPENSA
MALP

Milan Malpensa is the most important Italian airport, accounting for over 52% of all goods transported through
Italian airports. Lombardy, the region in which the airport
is located, is the leading Italian region in terms of thenumber of industrial districts (29 – Source: ISTAT).

Source: SEA

24

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
LEADING 10 DESTINATIONS FOR MILAN MALPENSA GOODS TRAFFIC(a)a) – Tonnes. Figures updated to 12/12/2019
Source: Confetra on SEA data

25

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
According to Airports Council International (ACI) World, Milano Malpensa ranks seventh among European airports for traffic volumes.

GOODS TRAFFIC THROUGH MAIN EUROPEAN AIRPORTS(a)a) – Million tonnes. Figures updated to 12/12/2019
Source: Airports Council International (ACI) World
26

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWKEY CHARACTERISTICS
The main origins/ destinations of goods are the Middle East and Europe, followed by the Far East and North America, with
marginal volumes for Central and South America, Africa and other domestic airports.
The airport’s cargo zone covers 400k square metres, and contains:x three buildings dedicated to goods handling, covering 55,000m2 in total;x two temperature-controlled buildings for perishable goods (4,500m2);
x two buildings for pharmaceutical products;x a 15,000m2 structure for express couriers (Source: SEA).
According to the 2020-2035 airport development masterplan, approved by ENAC, the space dedicated to goods traffic will
be expanded, with 3 new front-line buildings to be constructed (alongside the apron), each covering 15,000m 2. Further
new buildings will be constructed away from the apron, up to a maximum of 9. Moreover, there are plans to build a new
Service Centre for hauliers, with parking, repair shops and catering.

27

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAINTEGRATED LOGISTICS
According to Milan Polytechnic University’s Contract Logistics monitor, the logistics industry, comprising warehouse management services, goods transport and integrated logistics (excluding simple transport services) generated €17.8 billion in
turnover in 2017, a 2.2% increase on the previous year (latest available figures).

With reference exclusively to the outsourcing of a significant part of the logistics process to a single supplier, and therefore
excluding transfers within the transit chain, subcontracting and simple transport services, estimated turnover amounted to€5.7 billion in 2019, a 2.7% increase on the previous year.
Overall, there are over 5,400 companies operating in the sector. Nevertheless, the highly fragmented structure of the sector
is demonstrated by the fact that only 336 sector companies generated turnover in excess of €10 million, with 58,349 employees in total.

INTEGRATED LOGISTICS TURNOVER, 2017-2019
€ bn

28

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
According to Statista, the value of the global logistics market, in its broadest sense, i.e. including warehousing, sea,land and air transport, product distribution and delivery ofpost and parcels, exceeded €5,582 billion in 2018.

The equivalent figure for Europe is c.€1,100 billion, of
which €456 billion relative to contract logistics and €123
billion to warehousing activity.

BREAKDOWN OF EUROPEAN LOGISTICS TURNOVER BY SEGMENT, 2018
Total: €1,121.0 bn

Source: Statista based on data from Fraunhofer, DVZ, Bundesvereinigung Logistik
29

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATATHE COLD CHAIN
The provision of logistics services dedicated to refrigerated and frozen products is a niche market occupied by highlyspecialised companies. There are 46 major companies (i.e. joint stock companies with annual turnover in excess of€10mn), with 7,295 employees.

30

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
Cerved estimates that the national turnover generated in2018 by logistics services for refrigerated and frozen products (e.g. food and pharmaceuticals) net of transfers
within the transit chain, subcontracting and simple transport services, came to c.€800 million, corresponding to
14% of total integrated logistics turnover (estimate basedon annual reports and proprietary data). The majority ofthis turnover is generated by a small group of players.
There is significant growth potential in the frozen segment, where trade is expanding, while opportunities inrefrigerated food products are fewer, given more uncertain
consumption trends: in 2019 Italian spending on fresh fish
products (-1%), milk and milk derivatives (-0.1%) and meat(-0.8%) fell slightly, while consumption of cold cuts rose(+1.3) (Source: ISMEA based on Nielsen data).

In 2019, the global cold chain logistics market, includingtransport services, exceeded US$188 billion, well up on
around US$160 billion the previous year. Global storage
capacity for refrigerated products came to 616mn m3 in2018 (+2.7%). The leading countries were India (150mnm3), the USA (131mn m3) and China (105mn m3) (Source:
Statista and Global Cold Chain Alliance).
Statista figures show that the European cold chain logistics market is worth US$75.1 bn, and is expected to growto as much as US$112.8 bn by 2025.

According to the latest figures issued by the Italian frozen
food institute (Istituto Italiano Alimenti Surgelati - IIAS)
domestic consumption of frozen products came to849,900 tonnes in 2019, up 1.3% on the previous year.
Looking exclusively at the retail channel consumption
came to 531,400 tonnes, up 1.5%.

31

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAINFRASTRUCTURE: PORTS

32

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
There are 58 ports of national significance in Italy, overseen by Port Authorities (AdSP) (Source: Italian Infrastructure and Transport Ministry – MIT).

1,050 companies of various types operating in this area, of
which 223 generated annual turnover in excess of €1 million, with a total of 5,388 employees.

Overall turnover deriving from the management of port
infrastructure is estimated to have come to c.€1.1 billion in
2019, up 1.8% on the previous year. There are around

ITALIAN TURNOVER FROM MANAGEMENT OF PORT ACTIVITIES
€ bn

33

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
Ports play a key role in the management of goods enteringand leaving Italy: 55.4% of imports and 41% of exports
come by sea (Source: ISTAT, 2019 figures).
2019 Assoporti figures show that the main domestic ports
transported 479.2 million tonnes of goods, predominantly
liquid bulk (179.5 million tonnes), container goods (111.1
million tonnes) and Ro-Ro goods (106.4 million tonnes),
followed by dry bulk (58.8 million tonnes) and various other goods (23.4 million tonnes). Container traffic came to10.8 million TEUs.

diversified and fragmented picture, which includes ports
located all along the peninsula. In liquid bulk, Trieste was
responsible for 24.1% of the total, followed by Cagliari –Sarroch with 15% and Augusta (11.4%). In dry bulk theleading port was Ravenna (19%), followed by Taranto and
Venice with 15.6% and 10.5% respectively. For container
goods, the leaders remained Gioia Tauro (25.9%) and Genoa (22.2%), followed by La Spezia with 12%. In Ro-Ro traffic there were key roles for Livorno (15.1%), Genoa (9.1%)
and Salerno (7.6%). Finally, in various other goods themain port was Ravenna (27.5%), followed by Taranto(19.7%) and Cagliari – Sarroch (11.5%).

Italy accounts for 12.3% of total maritime traffic in theEuropean Union (EU28), the second largest proportion
after Netherlands (14.9%). It is also one of the European
leaders in Short Sea Shipping (SSS), again taking second
place with 16.2% of total volumes, only exceeded by theUnited Kingdom (16.3%) (Source: Eurostat).
Genoa and Trieste are the main Italian ports, in terms ofoverall volumes of goods transported. Nevertheless, ananalysis of the various goods categories shows a more
34

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAGOODS TRAFFIC IN LEADING ITALIAN PORTS, BROKEN DOWN BY PORT AUTHORITY(a)System Port Authority
Western Ligurian Sea
Genoa
Savona - Vado
Eastern Ligurian Sea
La Spezia
Marina di Carrara
Northern Tyrrhenian Sea
LivornoPiombino
Porto Ferraio - Rio Marina - Cavo
Central-Northern Tyrrhenian Sea
Civitavecchia
Fiumicino
Gaeta
Central Tyrrhenian Sea
NaplesSalernoGioia Tauro
Gioia Tauro
Crotone
Corigliano Calabro

2019(mn tonnes)
67,2
52,8
14,4
18,9
15,9
3,0
44,9
36,7
5,4
2,8
14,6
9,6
3,5
1,5
32,9
18,6
14,3
29,7
29,1
0,2
0,4

TEU
2.669.917
2.615.375
54.542
1.490.537
1.409.381
81.156789.833
789.833112.249112.249
1.095.156
681.929413.227
2.522.876
2.522.876-(cont.)
35

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
(cont.) GOODS TRAFFIC IN LEADING ITALIAN PORTS, BROKEN DOWN BY PORT AUTHORITY(a)System Port Authority
Messina Strait

Messina Milazzo - Tremestieri
Ionian Sea
TarantoSouthern Adriatic Sea
Bari
Brindisi
Manfredonia
Barletta
Monopoli
Central Adriatic Sea
Ancona - Falconara
OrtonaCentral-Northern Adriatic Sea
Ravenna
Northern Adriatic Sea
VeniceChioggia
Eastern Adriatic Sea
TriesteMonfalcone

2019(mn tonnes)
24,3
24,3
18,1
18,1
15,5
6,1
7,5
0,6
0,8
0,5
11,8
10,8
1,0
26,3
26,3
26,2
24,9
1,3
66,1
62,0
4,1

TEU
82.74282.627105
10176.193176.193218.138
218.138593.126593.07056
790.542789.640902(cont.)36

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
(cont.) GOODS TRAFFIC IN LEADING ITALIAN PORTS, BROKEN DOWN BY PORT AUTHORITY(a)System Port Authority
Sea of Western Sicily
PalermoTermini Imerese
Sea of Eastern Sicily
Catania
Augusta
Sea of Sardinia
Cagliari-Sarroch
Olbia
Porto Torres
Golfo Aranci
Oristano
Portoscuso-Portovesme
TOTAL

2019
(mn tonnes)
6,5
5,8
0,7
29,9
8,5
21,4
46,3
34,7
5,5
3,7
0,2
1,5
0,7
479,2

TEU
14.12414.12463.17963.179151.405
151.405
10.770.017a) Figures include weight of transport vehicle. Only ports with goods traffic shown
Source: Assoporti
37

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAPORT TRAFFIC BY GOODS CATEGORY, 2019(% of total volume)(cont.)38

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
(cont.) PORT TRAFFIC BY GOODS CATEGORY, 2019(% of total volume)a) Figures calculated on volumes including weight of transport vehicles
Source: Assoporti
39

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAINFRASTRUCTURE: DRY
PORTS

40

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
Turnover from the management of dry ports came to €335
million in 2019, a 10.7% increase in line with the growthrate recorded the previous year.
There are 24 dry ports in Italy, through which 65 million
tonnes of goods are transported each year. They are often
managed by a number of companies with different specialisations (e.g. management of the dry ports and management of logistics platforms).

Overall, there are 78 companies of various types involvedin the management of dry ports, with 865 employees.
There are also over 1,357 private companies operating
within the dry ports, including rail and road transport companies and logistics operators.

TURNOVER FROM MANAGEMENT OF DRY PORTS, 2017-2019(a)€ mna) Aggregate turnover of companies operating under Ateco code 52.21.4 “Operational of terminal facilities for the handling ofgoods (dry ports)”
41

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
Cumulative surface area of all Italian dry ports is just under 34 million m 2, of which 44% is attributable to just 4 (Verona,
Maddaloni (CE), Bologna and Turin).
The dry ports system includes over 90km of railways and 4.9million m2 of warehouses. 89.8% of the warehouse area is atambient temperature, with the remaining 10.2% being made up of temperature-controlled facilities (Source: MIT and Unione Interporti Riuniti - UIR).

42

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATALOCATION AND CLOSEST TEN-T CORRIDOR FOR ITALIAN DRY PORTS
Dry ports
Interporto Regionale della Puglia

Location
Bari

Interporto Bologna

Bentivoglio (BO)Interporto Cervignano del Friuli
Interporto Toscano
ISE Interporto Sud Europa
Terminal Intermodale di MortaraInterporto Campano
Interporto di NovaraInterporto Centro Italia
Interporto Padova
Interporto di ParmaInterporto d'Abruzzo
Interporto di PortogruaroInterporto della Toscana Centrale
Rivalta Terminal Europa
Interporto di Rovigo
Interporto di Torino
Interporto di Trento
Interporto di Trieste
Interporto di Vado
Interporto Quadrante Europa
Interporto delle Marche
Interporto di Venezia
Società degli Interporti Siciliani

Cervignano del Friuli (UD)Collesalvetti (LI)
Maddaloni (CE)
Mortara (PV)
Nola (NA)
NovaraOrte (VT)
Padua
Bianconese di Fontevivo (PR)Manoppello Stazione (PE)Portogruaro (VE)
Prato (PO)Tortona (AL)
RovigoOrbassano (TO)
TrentoMonrupino (TS)
Vado Ligure (SV)VeronaJesi (AN)
VeniceCatania

TEN-T(a) Corridor
Scandinavian - Mediterranean
Baltic - Adriatic; Mediterranean; Scandinavian Mediterranean
Baltic - Adriatic and Mediterranean
Scandinavian - Mediterranean
Scandinavian - Mediterranean
Rhine – Alpine
Scandinavian – Mediterranean
Rhine - Alpine and Mediterranean
Scandinavian – Mediterranean
Baltic - Adriatic and Mediterranean
Mediterranean and Scandinavian - Mediterranean
Baltic – Adriatic
Baltic - Adriatic and Mediterranean
Scandinavian - Mediterranean
Rhine – Alpine
Mediterranean
Mediterranean
Scandinavian - Mediterranean
Mediterranean and Baltic - Adriatic
Rhine – Alpine
Scandinavian - Mediterranean and Mediterranean
Scandinavian - Mediterranean
Baltic - Adriatic and Mediterranean
Scandinavian - Mediterraneana) Trans -European Transport Network
Source: MIT
43

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAKEY CHARACTERISTICS OF ITALIAN DRY PORTS
Dry ports

Total
Operators(no.)

Ambient
Temp.
Total
Warestorage
controlled
surfacehouse
Customs Railway lines
warehouses warehouses
area (m2) area (m2)
(m2)
(m2)

Interporto Regionale della
Puglia50

400.000

77.40057.40020.000YESInterporto Bologna

120 3.713.093

518.248460.59057.658YES

4 x 600m
12 x 500m
17 (lengthn.d.)6 x 750m
2 x 450m
2 x 650m
11 x 750m
2 x 650m
1 x 700m

Max. train
length (m)600
750Interporto Cervignano delFriuliInterporto Toscano
ISE Interporto Sud Europa
Terminal Intermodale diMortara460.000

24.00023.400600

YES

36 2.500.000
25 4.100.000

106.600
350.000

73.500352.000

33.10025.000

YES
YES

12

705.278

30.85230.000-NO

Interporto Campano

138 2.900.000

416.000

389.575

26.000YES

7 x 900m

750
650

6

450
600
750
650

Interporto di Novara

42845.000

66.50066.000500

YES

7 x 600m
1 x 560m
4 x 400m

Interporto Centro Italia

4325.000

12.500

6.000

6.500

YES

2 x 800m

680

Interporto Padova

140 2.000.000

270.000

251.350

18.650YES

8 x 450m
8 x 750m
2 x 690m

750Interporto di Parma

103 2.521.815

574.000

530.000

44.000YES

3 x 350m

350Interporto d'Abruzzo

18

78.00078.000-NO

5 x 680m

680

YES

4 x 500m
2 x 360m

478Interporto di Portogruaro

48

960.000
300.000

33.0008.000-(cont.)
44

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
(cont.) KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF ITALIAN DRY PORTS
Dry ports

Total
Operators
(no.)

Total
Waresurface
house
area (m2) area (m2)

Ambient
Temp.
storage controlledwareware- Customs Railway lines
houses houses
(m2)
(m2)

712.000

92.900

3.300

YES

2 x 700m
2 x 620m
4 x 300m
4 x 450m
3 x 480m
1 x 250m
2 x 250m

Interporto della Toscana Centrale

64

Rivalta Terminal Europa

n.d. 1.250.000

430.000 410.000

20.000YESInterporto di Rovigo

30

41.00031.00010.000YESInterporto di Torino

200 3.000.000

900.000 867.900

32.100YES

2 x 450m
2 x 600m

600

Interporto di Trento

130 1.000.000

246.000 215.000

25.000YES

3 x 720m
4 x 550m
2 x 400m

720

Interporto di Trieste

30

229.000

33.00033.000-YESInterporto di Vado

10232.000

59.00041.90017.100n.d.

3 x 450m
3 x 350m
n.d.

Interporto Quadrante Europa

130 4.200.000

400.000 250.000 150.000

YES

5 x 650m

600

350.000

96.200Max. train
length (m)

700

440
500

450
n.d.

Interporto delle Marche

8

540.000

12.50011.0001.500

YES

9 (length n.d.)640

Interporto di Venezia

12

230.000

70.09770.097-YES

2 (total length
4,600m)300

Società degli Interporti Siciliani

1290.000

15.00015.000

-

YES

n.d.

400

Source: MIT
45

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAOTHER INFORMATION ON SOME LEADING ITALIAN DRY PORTS(a)Dry ports
Interporto Bologna

Interporto Toscano
ISE Interporto Sud Europa
Terminal Intermodale di MortaraInterporto Campano
Interporto di NovaraInterporto Padova
Interporto di PortogruaroInterporto della Toscana Centrale
Rivalta Terminal Europa
Interporto di Torino
Interporto Quadrante Europa

In 2019 1,773,465 trucks (+8.8% vs. 2018) and 3,105 trains (+13.4%) arrived/ departed.
There were 50,361 railway carriages, a 20% increase.
605,000 transits through the truck terminal and 239 trains in total (arriving and departing)
2,300 trains per year in transit
Dry port capable of managing 150,000 intermodal transport units (ITU) per year
In 2019 the inland port managed 5,436,220 tonnes of road traffic, in line with 2018. The
dry port transported 151,378 TEU (+1.8%)
Over 4mn tonnes of goods transported per year. The dry port can manage 24 pairs of
trains per day.
Over 4.1mn tonnes of traffic per year. 96% of the rail traffic in transit is intermodal, corresponding to 275k TEU. 5,500 trains are managed per year.
Over 1mn tonnes of goods transported in 2017; 900 complete trains
The dry port has the capacity to move 120,000 TEU per year, and manage 4 trains a day.
The area dedicated to rail carriage transport can manage 200,000 tonnes of goods per
year.
Around 1.4mn tonnes of goods transported per year.
Roughly 3mn tonnes of goods transported per year
Over 22mn tonnes of goods moved on the road in 2019, in line with 2018. An additional
8.4mn tonnes of goods transported by rail (of which 8.2mn tonnes intermodal).

a) latest available figures
Source: processing of data from company websites
46

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAINFRASTRUCTURE
AIRPORTS

47

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
Total turnover from airport handling activity was €644
million in 2019, a 3.5% increase on the previous year.
There are c.300 joint stock companies active in services
connected to air transport, with 26,840 employees in total.
The Italian airport system includes 44 certified commercial airports, 3 of which are defined as being of strategic
national importance (Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino
and Venice). (Source: Italian National Civil Aviation Author-

ity - ENAC).
In 2019 there was over 1mn tonnes of goods traffic(excluding post) through the main airports. 81% was concentrated in three airports: Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino and Bergamo (Orio al Serio) (Source: Assaeroporti).

TURNOVER FROM AIRPORT HANDLING ACTIVITY, 2017-2019
€ mn

48

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATAGOODS TRANSPORTED THROUGH MAIN AIRPORTS(a)AirportAlgheroAnconaBari
Bergamo
Bologna
Brescia
Brindisi
Cagliari
Catania
CrotoneFlorence
Genoa
Lamezia Terme
Lampedusa
Milan Linate(b)Milan Malpensa
Naples2019 (tonnes)
2,97.021,3262,0118.964,048.810,08.755,011,01.179,02.028,60,4178,72.693,062,619,06.380,0544.977,910.449,7(cont.)
49

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
(cont.) GOODS TRANSPORTED THROUGH MAIN AIRPORTS(a)Airport
Olbia
PalermoParma
PescaraPisa
Reggio Calabria
RiminiRome Ciampino
Rome Fiumicino
Taranto-Grottaglie
Turin
Trapani
Trieste
VeniceVeronaTOTAL

2019 (tonnes)
93,4
409,0
27,2
276,0
12.944,729,4
4,418.408,1
186.491,7
7.588,03.334,012,2276,563.913,6
1.152,7
1.046.756,0a) Only airports with goods traffic shown. Post volumes excludedb) Milan Linate airport was closed from 27th July to 25th October. Operational activity was transferred to Milan Malpensa
Source: Assaeroporti
50

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

KEY SECTOR DATA
According to the Airports Council International (ACI) World report on 716 airports, in 2019 global goods traffic reached96.4mn tonnes. The Asia-Pacific area has the highest proportion (34.1mn tonnes), closely followed by North America with
28.6mn tonnes. Europe is the third largest cluster, with 19.6mn tonnes.

BREAKDOWN OF GLOBAL AIRPORT GOODS TRAFFIC BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA, 2019(a)a) Data from 716 airports
Source: Airports Council International (ACI) World
51

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

MAIN TRENDSLOGISTICS 4.0
Technological developments are key drivers for improving efficiency and enhancing the levels of service offered to clients.
Companies are therefore investing in the introduction of next generation hardware and software that enable the optimisation of warehouse activity, and also create real-time information exchanges between the various stages of the logistics
chain and with the customer.
According to data published by Research on Investments (ROI) in May 2020, 55% of companies in the logistics, retail sales
and manufacturing sectors are investing in warehouse automation.
Examples of innovative hardware include:x automated warehouses, single-, double- or multi-depth, with stacker cranes that move on rail tracks to pick up or deposit pallets and boxes, and are capable of working up to considerable heights, optimising warehouse space;52

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

MAIN TRENDS
x drones equipped with high-resolution cameras formonitoring stock levels and carrying out inventories
by reading bar codes. These drones are supported byground robots and use geolocation to move aroundthe storage area;x artificial intelligence, deployed in:¡ Autonomous Intelligent Vehicles (AIV), capable ofinteracting with their surroundings and avoiding
obstacles (people and objects, both stationary andmoving). They can operate independently, ingroups, or in conjunction with a human operator(in follow-me or precede-me modes) to carry out
warehouse activities;¡ Cobots, or anthropomorphic robots designed towork alongside a human employee, from whomthey learn by replicating movements. They aremainly used for repetitive actions, picking or packing. As they are equipped with sophisticated safetymechanisms they can be used in close proximity
to the human operator, without the need for protective barriers.

53

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

MAIN TRENDS
The other area of interest is software. The main applications are:x Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). Programmes that manage logistical flows, monitor stocklevels, process orders and manage returns. The
standout WMS application is voice picking;x Warehouse Control Systems (WCS). Software that

equipment (e.g. stacker cranes, conveyors, etc.), in
execution of WMS orders. There are a wide range ofapplications in highly-automated warehouses withlittle direct input from human operators;x Warehouse Execution Systems (WES). A hybrid of
WMS and WCS solutions that incorporate the basic
functions of each.

manages warehouse machinery and automated54

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

MAIN TRENDS
The most attractive software innovations are in the following areas of application:x Inventory & Order Management, a key variable, especially in logistics for fast-moving goods in sectors suchas e-commerce. This area includes applications for the
3D mapping of warehouses, which provide real-time
information without the need to read bar codes;

olds have been exceeded. This information can subsequently be read through RFID technology. Completion of
the development of this type of label, and its broad diffusion, could have an important impact on the cold chain, or
more widely on all logistics linked to perishable goods.

x Supply Chain Visibility, enabling real-time communication between all network operators. The main advantage is the identification of critical points in the various phases of the logistics process and the opportunity
to increase customer satisfaction thanks to a more
timely and punctual response to delivery delays andincreased availability of tracking and tracing services.
Finally, a recent innovation which is not yet in use, butwhich could have widespread applications in the logistics
arena in the coming years, is the intelligent label developed
and patented by ENEA Research Centre researchers at
Portici (Naples) in early 2020. It contains a wireless indicator that can memorise when certain temperature thresh55

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

MAIN TRENDSSUSTAINABLE LOGISTICS
Improvements in sustainability are closely linked to Logistics 4.0. According to Milan Polytechnic University’sContract Logistics Monitor (research carried out in November 2019 on 69 warehouses representing a surfaceof 2.067.644 m2 - latest data available), the most widespread solutions are:x LED lighting (present in 85% of the mapped areas bym2);

x High-frequency battery chargers (59% of m2);x Motion sensors (50% of m );2

x Interventions to improve thermal insulation of warehouses (48% of m2).
There is also widespread use of forklifts powered by lithium-ion batteries, instead of traditional lead batteries.
Despite the higher initial investment for the replacementof forklifts or conversion of their power supply (a lithiumion battery costs around 4 times as much as a lead battery), there are a number of advantages:x environmental: they don’t emit fumes, unlike leadbatteriesx lower energy costs for recharging (-25% vs. traditional lead batteries, according to LIUC research)x smaller than traditional batteries, and can therefore
be fitted to more compact forkliftsx can be recharged in any area of the warehouse,
whereas lead batteries require a dedicated room withextraction hoods and ventilation systemsx possibility of short (as little as 10-15 minutes) incomplete recharging, whereas lead batteries must be fullyrecharged. This reduces the need for duplicate batteries in order to be able to operate for the entire day.

x longer average life than lead batteries (c.3,200/3,300
recharging cycles vs. c.1,200).
Moreover, there is evidence of a trend for the transformation of warehouses from carbon-positive to carbonneutral, with neutralisation of CO2 emissions, or evencarbon-negative, which are capable of generating clean
energy that can be sold externally.

56

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

MAIN TRENDS
INCREASED PROPENSITY FOROUTSOURCING OF LOGISTICS
There is a steadily growing tendency for Italian manufacturing companies to outsource logistics services.
Some of the advantages of outsourcing are:x Reduction in logistics management costs;x Enabling focus of resources and energy on the corebusiness;x Increased efficiency in logistics process thanks to theable figure) the rate of outsourcing had reached 41.7%,
much higher than in previous years. Indeed, in 2009 thispercentage was just 36.4% (Source: Milan Polytechnic
University’s Contract Logistics Monitor – November2019).

In this respect, Italy represents a country with high potential for development. On the one hand, the demand side isincreasingly moving towards more comprehensive outsourcing. On the other hand, there is still a significant proportion of the market where logistics is managed internally, suggesting considerable future opportunities.

intervention of a specialist, dedicated operator.
While the prevailing approach continues to involve theoutsourcing of individual stages of the logistics chain, themost rapidly developing trend is for the entire process to
be entrusted to a single partner capable of providing 360°
coverage.
Considering the overall turnover generated by logistics
and distribution services, including transport, excludingtransfers within the transit chain, in 2017 (the latest avail57

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

58

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALY
R&D SPENDING
The latest available figures provided by the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicate that in 2016 R&D spending in the Transport and Storage sector came to €41.4 million, 76.7% of which was invested by companies operating under Ateco codes pertaining to the sector and the remaining 23.3% by operatorsin other areas.

increase on the previous year. Most of this spending relates to the completion of design and construction works(88.5%). The largest investments in 2018 were made by
the Northern Adriatic and Central Tyrrhenian Port Authorities (Source: MIT Report on Port Authority Activity, latest
available figures).

PORT AUTHORITY INVESTMENTS, 2017 AND
2018

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS€ mn

As part of the European structural and investment funds(ESIF) programme for the 2014-2020 period, Italy was allocated an overall budget of €3.4 billion for interventions in
Network Infrastructures in Transport and Energy, 72.5% of
which was financed by the European Union (Source: European Commission – figures updated to July 2020).

Investment type

2017

2018

% chg.
18/17

Design and construction works

231,7

383,8

65,6

Extraordinary maintenance

66,8

40,5

-39,4

Port systems, equipment, movable and immovable assets

7,6

9,6

26,3

306,1

433,9

41,8

Total
As for port infrastructure, in 2018 overall investments
made by Port Authorities came to €433.9 million, a 41.8%

Source: MIT Report on Port Authority Activity
59

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALY
BREAKDOWN OF PORT AUTHORITY INVESTMENTS, 2018
100% = €433.9mn

According to ENAC, in 2018 €536 million was invested in
Italian airports, bringing the total for the 2015-18 period to€2.2 billion.
Considering just the flight infrastructure built at key strategic
airports, the total investment was €120.3 million, to whichshould be added €257.8 million of combined further spending already included in the airports’ development plans. The
majority of these resources are concentrated in the airports
of Venice (27.1%), Rome Fiumicino (19%) and Bergamo(12.1%).
As far as cargo investments are concerned, the total comesto €4.8 million, of which €4.4 million can be attributed to
Milan Malpensa. A further €8.5 million of spending isplanned.

Source: MIT Report on Port Authority Activity
60

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALYINVESTMENTS IN FLIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE AND CARGO AT LEADING ITALIAN AIRPORTS, 2018(a)2018 (€ X 1,000)
AirportFlight Infrastructure
PlannedCompleted

Cargo
PlannedCompleted

AlgheroAncona

600

66
-

1.500

-

Bari
Bergamo15.3382.349
14.6001.254

125Bologna
Brescia

5.508
-

6.866
5.504

3.000
-

165
43

Brindisi
Cagliari

17.514
3.270

1.187
7.660

-

-

Catania
Florence

5.700
-

274
2.049

-

-

Genoa
Lamezia Terme

-

1.110
1.629

-

-

Milan Linate
Milan Malpensa

2.600
-

266
954

-

4.411

(cont.)
61

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALY( cont.) INVESTMENTS IN FLIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE AND CARGO AT LEADING ITALIAN AIRPORTS,
2018(a)2018 (€ X 1,000)

AirportFlight Infrastructure
PlannedCompleted

Cargo

PlannedCompleted

Naples
Olbia

2.300
17.290

753
370

2.000
-

80
-

PalermoPescara

523
5.000

28
32

-

-

Pisa
Rimini

1.677
-

46
156

-

-

Rome Ciampino
Rome Fiumicino

6.218
106.989

7.539
22.833

700-

Taranto-Grottaglie
Turin

1.780

1.744
1.614

-

15

Trieste
Venice3.943
55.1571.387
32.563--

VeronaTOTAL

6.350
257.757

6.735
120.314

8.454

4.839

a) includes self-financed and public sector investments. Excludes investments in categories other than flight infrastructure
and cargo
Source: ENAC (State of infrastructure investments in national airports)
62

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALYINVESTMENTBUILDINGSIN

LOGISTICS

In 2019 investments in logistics real estate in Italy approached €1.4 billion; this marked a 53.8% increase on
2017. Italian investments come to 14.4% of the €9 billion
total for Europe as a whole (+2.5% vs. 2018), making Italy
one of the most attractive markets for investors. From ageographical point of view, investments remain concentrated in the Lombardy region, and in particular the zone between the A4 motorway and the Via Emilia highway, up to
their intersection point (Source: World Capital).

x

Other warehouse services

Inward FDI represent 22% of the total in the transport andwarehousing segment and 3% of total FDI, which increased
by 5.2% in 2018. In terms of FDI income, in 2018 warehousing and transport support reached 1.6% of the total,
thanks to a 5.9% increase in 2017. The trend for the entire
transport and storage segment was also positive (+28.2%),in stark contrast to the trend for overall FDI (-1.1%).

INCOME FROM ITALY’S INWARD FDI STOCKS,
2017 AND 2018
€mn and %Income from inward FDI
as % of% chg.
20182017 2018
18/17
stock
915 1.173
28,2
6,8

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS(FDI)AcƟvity

According to OECD figures, in 2018 stocks of inward foreign
direct investments (FDI) into Italian warehousing andtransport support activity came to €2,439 million, accounting for 0.7% of the total for Italy. Transport support activity
consists of:Transport and storage(a)of which:
Warehousing and transport
257
272
support(b)Other sectors
16.491 16.040
Total
17.405 17.213xPalletizing/depalletizingx

Order managementx

Labeling

5,9

1,6

-2,7
-1,1

93,2
100,0

a) - transport activities are includedb) - transport activities are not included
Source: processing of OECD data
63

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALYFOREIGN-OWNED COMPANIES IN ITALY
Among integrated logistics companies with turnover in excess of €10 million, there are 24 with foreign investment, almost
exclusively in Northern Italy. 81% of these are controlling stakes in companies that generate cumulative turnover of c.€1.1
billion with over 6,300 employees in total. Investments in Central and Southern Italy are predominantly controlling interests;
the companies in question have aggregate turnover of some €79 million and have 79 employees.

INTEGRATED LOGISTICS: COMPANIES WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT, 2020(a)€mn, no and %Active companies with some foreign investment-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest
Employees of such companies-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest
Aggregate 2018 turnover of active companies with some foreign investment-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest

Area
North Centre/South

Total

21
17
81,0

3
2
66,7

24
19
79,2

7.096
6.333
89,2

376
79
21,0

7.472
6.412
85,8

1.430,01.106,2
77,4

98,9
79,1
80,0

1.528,91.185,377,5a) – figures relate to companies operating under Ateco code 52.1 "Warehousing and storage (and relative sub-codes)" and52.29.22 "Logistics services related to the distribution of goods". Only joint-stock companies with turnover equal to or higher
than €10 million are considered64

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALY
There are 15 port management companies with some foreign investment, 3 of which are majority foreign-owned, all in
Northern Italy. Aggregate turnover of the companies with some foreign investment is €95.2 million, and they have 266 employees in total.

PORTS: COMPANIES WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT, 2020(A)€mn, no and %Active companies with some foreign investment-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest

Area
North Centre/ South

Total

7
3
42,9

8
-

15
3
20,0

142
65
45,8

124
-

266
65
24,4

50,6
36,3
71,7

44,6
-

95,2
36,3
38,1

Employees of such companies-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest
Aggregate 2018 turnover of active companies with some foreign investment-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interesta) - figures relate to companies operating under Ateco code 52.22.09 " Other service activities incidental to water transportation ". Only joint-stock companies with turnover equal to or higher than €10 million are considered65

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALY
There are 6 dry ports management companies with some foreign investment. 5 of these are located in Northern Italy, andthey generate €70.8 million in turnover and have 212 employees. There are only two cases where foreign investors have acontrolling interest.

DRY PORTS: COMPANIES WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT, 2020(a)€mn, no and %Active companies with some foreign investment-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest

Area
North Centre/ South

Total

5
1
20,0

1
1
100,0

6
2
33,3

212
42
19,8

10
10
100,0

222
52
23,4

70,8
48,4
68,4

14,8
14,8
100,0

85,6
63,2
73,8

Employees of such companies-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest
Aggregate 2018 turnover of active companies with some foreign investment-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interesta) - figures relate to companies operating under Ateco code 52.21.4 "Operation of terminal facilities for the handling of goods(dry ports)"
66

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEINVESTMENTS IN ITALY
In airport handling there are 21 companies with foreign investment, 16 of which are located in Northern Italy. The majorityof these are controlling interests (68.8% on average), relating to companies generating aggregate turnover of €332.7 million
with 2,071 employees in total.

AIRPORTS: COMPANIES WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT, 2020(a)€mn, no and %Active companies with some foreign investment-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest

Area
North Centre/ South

Total

16
11
68,8

5
3
60,0

21
14
66,7

4.928
2.071
42,0

1.365
1.346
98,6

6.293
3.417
54,3

1.050,4
332,7
31,7

47,7
46,0
96,4

1.098,1378,7
34,5

Employees of such companies-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interest
Aggregate 2018 turnover of active companies with some foreign investment-Total-Foreign controlling interest- % foreign controlling interesta) - figures relate to companies operating under Ateco code 52.23 "Service activities incidental to air transportation". The totals
for turnover and employee numbers include a portion not attributable to airport handling, as sector companies also provide
other services
67

INDUSTRY ACTRACTIVENESS68

INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESSINDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESSRADAR, 2020(a)THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS
Average threat of new entrants. The main possibilities arefor operators in adjoining businesses, such as transport,that decide to enhance their offer by moving into logistics
services. The risk is greater in more basic services (e.g.
storage), but diminishes as the complexity of the service
provided increases.

BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERSa) – The smaller the area between the five points, which represent
attractiveness factors, the more attractive the sector

In general, suppliers have below average bargaining power.
It is extremely limited when it comes to simple transport
services, where supply is highly fragmented and small andvery small operators are prevalent.

69

INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESSINDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESSRADARBARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS
Buyers have significant bargaining power due to the requirement for highly customised services and the fragmentation of supply. Price sensitivity is very high.

THREAT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS
There are not currently any services that can replace logistics. The only risk derives from potential client decisions
not to outsource the logistics process.

RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING FIRMS
Competition is very fierce in both basic and value-added
services. Nevertheless, the value-added services provide
an opportunity to differentiate the services on offer fromthose provided by rivals.

70

INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESSOPPORTUNITIESE-COMMERCE
The rapid expansion of e-commerce represents a major
growth opportunity for logistics companies, as it generates
increased demand for dedicated services.
In 2019, the value of online purchases made by Italian consumers reached €31.6 billion (+15% vs. 2018), of which €18
billion linked to the purchase of physical products (+21%).
The most heavily purchased items were IT and electronics
goods (€5.3 billion, +19%), followed by apparel (€3.3 billion,+16%).
Exports, i.e. the value of sales to foreign consumers on
Italian websites, reached €4.4 billion (+13%), of which €3billion generated in product sales (also +13%). Apparel
played the dominant role, responsible for around 70% of
the revenue from online exports.
Northern Italy is the highest potential area: 56% of ecommerce deliveries originated in Northern Italy, 23% inCentral Italy and the remaining 21% in the South and islands (Source: B2C e-commerce monitor, Milan Polytechnic University).

2020 forecasts suggest an acceleration in the value of
online product sales (+26%), mainly thanks to the contributions from Home & Living (+30%) and Food & Grocery(+56%) sectors, which are the fastest growing. As for thelargest product categories sold, i.e. IT/electronics and apparel, sales are expected to increase by 18% and 21% respectively (Source: B2C e-commerce monitor, Milan Polytechnic University – figures up to date as of July 2020).
The logistics segment dedicated to e-commerce is characterised by:x Preponderance of packages and parcels of a smaller
size and weight, in contrast with traditional logistics, inwhich larger loads are more common;x Need for real-time inventory management;x Speed of delivery, making maximum efficiency in orderpicking and preparation essential;x Crucial role in management of returns (reverse logistics), a key area of differentiation between competitors.

71

INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESSOPPORTUNITIESRESHORING OF MANIFACTURING
Reshoring, or the relocation of production sites to Italy
after a period in which they had been moved abroad, may
help expand the demand for integrated logistics services
from medium-sized and large companies.
According to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofund), Italy
was among the European countries most affected by thistrend in the 2014-2018 period. Indeed, it was in second
place, with 39 cases of reshoring, only surpassed by theUnited Kingdom, with 44 cases, and closely followed by
France with 36. Other countries trail significantly further
behind.
Recent events linked to the Covid-19 pandemic could givethe reshoring process a further boost, highlighting some ofthe drawbacks of the implementation of global supply

chains (such as difficulties in times of crisis for companies
relying on foreign suppliers to procure items necessary for
their production processes). In the medium to long term
more and more companies are expected to decide to bringproduction back to Italy in order to enable direct control ofthe entire supply chain.
Reshoring can be particularly advantageous for Italiancompanies that manufacture high-end products and basetheir strategies on the prestige of the Made in Italy mark.
Bringing all phases of the manufacturing process back to
Italy would deliver great benefits in terms of both image
and product quality, given the well- qualified domestic
workforce in some highly specialised areas of processing
and craftsmanship. On the other hand, relocating production to Italy involves significant investments. Moreover,after prolonged recourse to offshoring it might even be
possible that the expertise to produce certain components
has been lost and therefore very difficult to be found at
home.

72

INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESSOPPORTUNITIESINFRASTRUCTURE
DEVELOP- INCREASED GOODS TRAFFIC IN
MENT IN SOUTHERN ITALY
THE MEDITERRANEANIn May 2020 the Italian Ministry for Infrastructure &Transport launched began the tender process to financethe completion of the national dry ports network, with particular reference to areas in Southern Italy, where the concentration of dry ports is currently lower than in the North.
The allocation of €45 million is part of the 2018-2022 plan
drawn up by the dedicated infrastructure development andinvestment fund. Beefing up the infrastructure network inthis part of the country may contribute to the developmentof the manufacturing fabric and drive growing demand forlogistics services and other activities connected to the
movement of goods.

The increase in goods traffic in the Mediterranean basin
represents a development opportunity for the entire Italianlogistics and infrastructure sector. Indeed, as well as having a central geographical position, Italy also has a higher
number of ports than the other European countries with
Mediterranean coastlines.
In 2019 over 1 billion tonnes of goods were transported
through the Suez Canal, a 4.9% increase on the previous
year. 55.5% of this traffic related to goods leaving Europe,with 44.5% of traffic coming the other way (Source: Suez
Canal Authority).

73

INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORSPROCESS INNOVATION
Successful companies are focused on innovation in logistics hubs thanks to systems and equipment that enhance the levelof service offered to customers, exploiting opportunities deriving from technological evolution (Logistics 4.0).
This allows more effective coverage of high-potential markets, such as e-commerce, for example (21% growth in 2019, witha further 26% development projected for 2020), in which interconnection between the various stages of the logistics process
and between suppliers and client companies is of fundamental importance. Moreover, it offers significant scope to differentiate the offer from those of competitors, facilitating customisation of the service to the specific needs of different manufacturing companies.

74

INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORSTERRITORIAL DOMINANCE

EXTENSIVE SERVICE PORTFOLIO

A presence in areas with the highest production density isa strategically important factor, as is proximity to the leading strategic land, sea and air transport corridors. 47.7% of
manufacturing companies are located in four regions ofCentral and Northern Italy (Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany
and Emilia Romagna), and these regions also play host to
the main integrated logistics players and the most established infrastructure in terms of volumes of goods transported.

The market rewards companies capable of offering acomprehensive range of integrated logistics services,
starting with the provision of value-added services on
platforms and extending right through to the transport andproduct distribution stages. Indeed, the leading players put
themselves forward as 360° logistics partners.
The ability to tailor the service to the customer’s requirements while remaining competitive on price is anotherfundamental element that represents a key driver of customer choice. Specialisation by client sector is also crucial, with the development of specific expertise and the
exploitation of economies of scale, especially in areas with
distinctive needs such as the cold chain. The main integrated logistics players dedicated to these activities tend
not to operate in other goods categories.

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