All news & events

Marc Huybrechts, President of CLECAT, participated in a Round Table panel debate at the TOC Container Supply Chain Conference in Rotterdam today discussing some major issues that are central to the container weighing and more in particular about who bears the responsibility for weight accuracy of containers.There is general consensus that the inaccuracy of weight declaration in the unit load industry compromises safety and efficiency. The way how to implement changes that are appropriate and proportionate is more controversial. CLECAT is of the opinion that adding further specifications to the existing SOLAS weighing requirements for the transport of containers by sea will lead to a dis-proportionate burden for the industry.

CLECAT has joined the Clean Shipping Network as a supporting member. The Clean Shipping Index is a benchmarking tool to evaluate the environmental performance of ships and carriers and is used during procurement of sea transport by a network of large cargo owners and freight forwarders. The Clean Shipping Index covers the major emissions from ships such as CO2, NOx, SOx and also emissions to the sea by waste, on board use of  chemicals in antifouling, lubricants, refrigerants and cleaning agents. The database can be accessed through www.cleanshippingindex.com.

CLECAT is pleased that the Commission has finally made its policy proposals on Ports public. CLECAT welcomes the publication of the proposal for a Regulation establishing a framework on market access to port services and financial transparency of ports. The legislative proposal is accompanied by a Communication entitled: 'Ports: an engine for growth.'Ms Nicolette van der Jagt, Director General of CLECAT says: "The proposal calls for modernisation of EU ports and financial transparency which is an important step in the right direction."

In anticipation of the debates on the 4th Railway Package taking place in the Transport Committee of the European Parliament next week, CLECAT has briefed MEPs on its position on the Commission proposals. CLECAT calls on the EP not to tackle any of the elements of the Package separately, but to ensure that they will be implemented as a package, to create the real internal market for rail services that will bring greater efficiency and a greater degree of innovation.

Following statements from the Commission earlier this week, CLECAT calls on Vice-President Siim Kallas to do his utmost to ensure that its policy proposals on cabotage reflect the goals for a European Single Transport Area. Recognising that the political will may not be ready to accept a move to full liberalisation, CLECAT continues to call for a gradual and flexible opening of the road cabotage market which is accompanied by further harmonisation of social legislation and enforcement procedures. The fact that the Commission calls for more time certainly does not mean that its mid- and longer term goals are abandoned; the Commission has clearly said that the current cabotage restrictions go against the spirit of a European Single Market which guarantees the rights of all citizens to work, travel and trade freely.

The iCargo project is organising a workshop on logistic data infrastructures in Munich, Germany, on the 4th of June. The workshop will deal with the challenges, potential solutions and busness models that are associated with logistic data infrastructures. CLECAT is a consortium partner of the iCargo project. The project acts on the assumption that logistics represents a vital link between the economies in Europe and is fundamental to conduct business in today's international supply networks. At the same time novel ICT infrastructures offer unprecedented capabilities to capture, analyze and exchange data across the supply chain. Through the intelligent use of information, the potential of global logistics networks can be maximized, reducing the underutilization of logistics resources and the ecological as well as economical impacts of this underutilization.   CLECAT recommends all members and interested parties to register for and participate in the event.   More information on the agenda and how to register is available here.

CLECAT has published today a guide entitled ‘Calculating GHG emissions for freight forwarders and logistics services'. The guide is a practical tool for freight forwarders and logistics service providers that seek to make use of the recently published CEN standard(1) in order to determine their environmental footprint and seek ways to reduce it.CLECAT is convinced that this standardised calculation methodology will benefit industry, facilitate communication on the results and enable comparisons of energy consumptions and GHG emissions of different transport operations realised by companies.

The European Freight Forwarders' Organisation, CLECAT, has welcomed a decision from the Italian Regional Administrative Court regarding the controversial system of the minimum safety costs governing the national road transport sector in Italy since 2008. Following appeals from a number of Italian associations representing industry, freight forwarding and logistics, who argued that the system is not compliant with EU competition law, the Court decided last Friday to refer the case to the European Court of Justice.  CLECAT and its members are hopeful that the European Court will judge that the national law is not compatible with the cornerstones of the internal market, in particular the free circulation of enterprise, right of establishment and freedom to provide services and with the EU competition rules (art 49 and 56, 96, 101 TFEU).

The TOC Container Supply Chain Europe exhibition and conferences attract over 2000 industry professionals from more than 30 countries, including senior executives from throughout the container supply chain: shippers, 3PLs/NVOCCs, shipping lines, ports, terminals, inland transport, finance and other stakeholder groups.

CLECAT, the European Association for forwarding, transport, logistic and Customs services, is disappointed by some of the small print concerning the full implementation of mutual recognition for the USA’s and European Union’s trade security programmes.  Details on the implementation recently published by DG TAXUD of the European Commission - “US-EU Mutual Recognition Decision, Frequently Asked Questions” - confirm that freight forwarders and customs brokers which are AEO-accredited will not benefit from the reduced risk scores under the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA).