Pall-Ex, an international groupage transport network, recorded a 22% increase in the number of transported loads last year.
The results refer to the number of shipments carried out by Pall-Ex in all European countries where the network operates: the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal, Italy, Romania, France, and Poland. In some countries, the growth was significantly higher.
Pall-Ex Iberia, a network launched in 2011 and operating in Spain and Portugal, achieved particularly good results. The network’s turnover in that region increased by as much as 50%, and the number of transport companies affiliated with the network also increased by 20%. Following the launch of the network in France and Poland last year, the number of international shipments in those markets also increased by 20%. Pall-Ex Iberia expects to maintain this growth this year. Plans assume that the number of transported loads will increase by 32%, and the group of regional network partners will grow by 15%. The data is particularly interesting as the Spanish market is largely similar to the Polish one – there is also a high fragmentation of transport companies there.
The good results of Pall-Ex are, on one hand, the effect of growing demand for groupage transport, and on the other, the consolidation of transport companies within the network. An example of this is the acquisition by the Romanian Pall-Ex of TCE Holding, one of the largest logistics operators in that market. The Romanian network is the first Pall-Ex branch in Central and Eastern Europe. Over the last 2 years, it has transported over 100,000 pallets.
– In Poland, the network, which was launched in September last year, is recording month-on-month growth of over a dozen percent. The trend of minimizing costs associated with, for example, inventory accumulation continues; customers are ordering smaller batches of goods, and more and more companies are outsourcing all logistics processes, which positively influences the development of the market – explains Karolina Gil, Sales Director at Pall-Ex Polska.
Forecasts for this year are even better. Pall-Ex wants to increase the number of shipments by launching regular international connections, as well as by expanding its partner network. Currently, the company has 21 regional partners in Poland, and this year it wants to sign cooperation agreements with at least five more independent transport companies.
– Despite many concerns about the economic situation, the transport industry performed quite well last year. Everything indicates that this year will be even better, especially for carriers specializing in groupage. Economic sentiment is improving, and the e-commerce market is developing dynamically, which affects the structure of shipments and the demand for the transport of small batches of goods – argues Karolina Gil.