ZPP Newsletter
Warsaw, 18 April 2024
Leaders of the TSL sector at the ZPP conference ‘Poland in Motion’
The TSL (transport, shipping and logistics) sector is one of the champions of the Polish economy. In the more than 30 years since the political transformation, the sector has established a strong position on the European market. Today, the market faces a great opportunity for further growth, but at the same time companies have to deal with a number of challenges.
After a difficult period of global crises, the market looks to the future with optimism, seeing the potential for growth, but also the need to adapt to new political and economic conditions. This and other topics were all discussed by the guests of the ‘Poland in Motion’ Conference organised by the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers on 18 April in the Listing Room of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Infrastructure Logistics Transport, which announced new strategies and solutions for the effective management of the sector.
The Vice President of the ZPP Marcin Nowacki, delivering an opening speech, recognised the importance of the development of the national transport infrastructure for the development of the TSL sector in Poland.
‘The Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers is actively involved in the development of the TSL segment in Poland. Our involvement has visibly intensified in the context of EU regulations and the difficult situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border. We have advocated and continue to advocate for extensive measures to increase the capacity of border crossings, warehousing space, the expansion of domestic seaports, the development of the road and rail network, as well as the construction of the Solidarity Transport Hub. Our location on the map of Europe gives us the opportunity to become the largest transport and logistics hub in this part of the world’, said the ZPP Vice President.
The event commenced with a panel discussion: ‘Poland on the European Map of the TSL Market’. Speakers drew particular attention to the challenges posed by the lack of investments driving rail and combined infrastructure development. Poland is a transit country between Western and Eastern as well as Northern and Southern Europe. For this reason, according to the speakers, investments should be made in rail transport corridors for road transport, as well as the development of intermodal transport.
Panel II, ‘The TSL Sector in the Face of Contemporary Challenges’, addressed the most pressing challenges that the logistics and transport industry is facing.
MEP Mirosław Suchoń, chairman of the parliamentary Infrastructure Committee, emphasised that one of the key issues in the context of the sector’s development is the proper shaping of the legislative and institutional environment.
‘This major challenge faced by the transport industry can be divided into two areas. The first concerns internal, national regulations. We need to organise the whole regulatory area so that companies can finally get on with running their business rather than focusing on bureaucratic obligations. On the other hand, however, we need to have a serious talk with our partners in the EU, as the majority of regulations are adopted in Brussels’, said Mirosław Suchoń.
The TSL industry is particularly sensitive to changes in climate policy regulations, especially in the context of European Union initiatives, including the Green Deal and Fit for 55. The legislation introduced to reduce CO2 emissions and incentivise the use of greener solutions, such as low-emission transport or electrification of the vehicle fleet, will require companies to invest in new technologies and adapt to new standards.
‘In my view, there are two key areas that need to be addressed. One of these are regulations concerning carbon footprint reduction. The second challenge Poland has been facing for years is the shortage of labour. This applies to both drivers as well as warehouse workers’, emphasised Adam Galek, Member of the Management Board, Rohlig Suus Logistics.
During the panel ‘Infrastructural Must-Haves – Essential Investments in Infrastructure’, speakers addressed topics related to the most important infrastructure investments for Poland.
‘Poland needs investments in road, rail and port infrastructure. This has been clearly vividly demonstrated by the events of recent months related to Ukrainian grain that should be handled quickly and efficiently at Polish ports and then transported further to other countries around the world. There are similar problems with other agri-food products, which need to be exported from Poland as quickly as possible. This is why the funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan are crucial to ensure that these investments are implemented in order to continuously improve Poland’s infrastructure’, stressed Stefan Krajewski, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In turn, Rafał Zahorski, Board Representative for Port Development, Zarząd Morskich Portów Szczecin i Świnoujście, paid particular attention to the link between port and rail infrastructure:
‘Poland’s maritime economy has been on the upward growth trajectory. Polish ports are developing. All ports allocate significant amounts to investment. At the moment, we are waiting for a very strong development impulse for the railway infrastructure, because this is the first condition for the ports to be able to absorb a much higher volume of cargo’, he stressed.
In the concluding panel of the conference ‘Can Poland Become a European Transport and Logistics Hub?’, discussions revolved around the accession of Ukraine to the EU. Today, it is certain that Poland will be one of the most important links connecting Ukraine with the West. This requires strengthening and modernising existing routes and delivery models, but also creating new ones based on domestic infrastructure. However, transports from other parts of the world also pass through Poland. Our country has everything it takes to become the most important transport and logistics hub in this part of the continent.
During the panel, Katarzyna Ostojska, Marketing Manager at Raben Logistics Polska, emphasised the importance of the conference in developing new strategies and technological solutions to effectively manage the TSL sector:
‘Conferences on transport, or transport solutions, and the logistics industry in general, are very important. They provide a platform for sharing experience, exchanging views and perhaps finding new ways to build a positive image of companies’, she emphasised.
To solidify our position but also to provide the business with conditions for constant growth, the industry now needs strong investment impulses and a predictable, transparent law. These and a number of other issues were discussed during the ZPP Conference ‘Poland in Motion – Infrastructure, Logistics, Transport’ by experts, journalists, and representatives of government and business. The conference brought together representatives from the maritime, road, and rail transport industries but also from the agricultural sector and a number of other cooperating segments of the business community.
The Minister of Economic Development and Technology assumed honorary patronage of the conference. The event was partnered by the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Honorary partners of the event were: The General Inspectorate of Road Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Road and Bridge Research Institute and the Poznan School of Logistics. The media patrons were Obserwator Logistyczny and Polska Press.
