In addition, the Group’s results benefitted from a reversal in the volumes at Eurogate Tanger not only recovering from previous years but, for the first time ever, breaking the one million TEU threshold.
Medcenter Container Terminal (MCT), the “MEGA HUB” in Gioia Tauro, recorded, for the second consecutive year, a double digit growth with customers benefitting from reliable performances and state of the art infrastructure already capable to operate ULCCs. Cagliari International Container Terminal (CICT), despite the economic and political situation in the North African target market increased its activity confirming the strategic dual-role of Med transhipment platform and gateway for local Sardinian cargo.
La Spezia Container Terminal (LSCT) and Terminal Container Ravenna (TCR) benefitted from growth in both regional containerized cargo flows, largely export driven but with some improvement in imports as the economic recovery endeavours to take hold, in the strategic North Tyrrhenian and North Adriatic markets. Adding to this the positive result of Salerno Container Terminal (SCT), Contship Italia Group’s valued customers were able to achieve competitive advantages for their global supply chain through the Contship network, with vertically integrated solutions and continuous investments to further guarantee and size up to the challenge of future business and customer service network requirements.
Contship Italia Group Intermodal solutions (operated by Sogemar and Hannibal) achieved a slightly softer full year result even if the current domestic market trend has been partially compensated by the more positive results of the international combined transport sector. The Group’s DRY PORT in Milan-Melzo increased its rail activity with over 5,500 trains handled in 2013. Developments in this modern rail hub will continue in 2014 with the objective to further improve rail capacity supporting the competitiveness of both domestic and international rail transport markets. Oceanogate Italia operated over one million train kilometres in its second year of activities, firmly establishing itself as a reliable link in the global supply chain.
“2014 will continue to be affected by high level of uncertainty – said Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello, Contship Italia Group President – and we are expecting further complex dynamics in the business of our valued clients whose revenues must be restored to sustainable levels in order to safeguard the increasing level of investment. This must be considered as a key objective for the global supply chain, as clearly, cost reduction in absolute terms, in network costs, port and terminal expenses, has its’ own tipping point. Our businesses continue to be under pressure from this expectation whilst at the same time we are, ourselves, impacted by the cost of investment, energy and labour costs, something that must be acknowledged in the supply chain”.