All news & events

On 25 November, CLECAT held the 2021 edition of its annual Freight Forwarders’ Forum, entitled ‘Building Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chains’. Following the opening session with keynote introductions from Magda Kopczynska, Director waterborne transport in DG MOVE and Matthias Bauer, Senior Economist at ECIPE, on lessons learned from the COVID-crisis, the event brought a lot of debates and insights on issues impacting on the freight forwarding sector.

On 10 November, the European Parliament issued a study presenting the opportunities and challenges for the use and deployment of alternatives fuels infrastructure in the EU for heavy-duty vehicles. The current state of play and future needs are presented in the context of the ambitions of the Green Deal, the proposal for an Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation published mid-July 2021 as part of the Fit for 55 Package and the upcoming review of the TEN-T Regulation.

On 10 November, the European Commission adopted three work programmes for the Digital Europe Programme, outlining the objectives and specific topic areas that will receive a total of €1.98 billion in funding. This first set of work programmes includes strategic investments that should be instrumental in realising the Commission's goals for Europe's Digital Decade. The Digital Europe Programme aims to boost Europe's technological sovereignty and bring digital solutions to market for the benefit of citizens, public administrations, and businesses.

On 8 November, the European Commission published a call for evidence for an impact assessment concerning the EU Air Services Regulation, which sets common rules for air services in the EU, including on operating licence requirements, the freedom to provide services and when it can exceptionally be restricted, as well as how prices should be displayed to consumers.

Mike Wackett from the Loadstar reported yesterday that ocean carriers started to apply discounts and waiver of premium fees for late November and December shipments, leading in a significant decrease of container spot rates on the Asia-North America line: According to the Freightos Baltic Exchange (FBX), spot rates from Asia to the US west coast fell by 26% in the past week, to $13,924 per 40ft, and by 20% for east coast ports, to $15,865 per 40ft.

On 9 November, the Council of the European Union formally adopted at first reading the revision of the Eurovignette Directive. The final text results from the informal deal reached among negotiators from the Council and the Parliament in June 2021. CLECAT welcomes the adoption, which will allow for the transition from time-based to distance-based charging, reducing CO2 emissions. CLECAT hopes the European Parliament will now swiftly adopt the revision of the Directive.

On 10 November, CLECAT joined the Global Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Launched in the framework of the COP26 in Glasgow, the MoU was signed by 15 countries, as well as private stakeholders, including the European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA), of which CLECAT is a member.