Road freight transport is expected to grow by 20% in 2022, with an estimated turnover of 45 billion euros. This is one of the conclusions reached last spring during the XLV General Meeting of Astic (International Road Transport Association), which was also attended by OnTurtle. The event is establishing itself as a professional meeting to analyse and offer new perspectives in the world of professional transport.
Present and future of professional transport
The XLV General Meeting of ASTIC in 2022, which took place on 26 and 27 May in Santander, is an important business meeting designed to analyse the challenges of the sector for the promotion promotion of a road transport with the five senses. From OnTurtle, as a reference partner for the movement of goods through Europe, we were active collaborators of this special edition, which recovered its face-to-face format after being previously suspended due to the pandemic.
The sessions was attended by personalities from the sector such as Marcos Basante, President of the Association, Inés Cardenal, Director of Communications and Legal Affairs of the AOP, and Francisco Martín, President of the Port Authority of Santander. The event was opened by Miguel Ángel Revilla, President of Cantabria, who congratulated the sector for “their conduct during the pandemic, and the work and effort they put in during such a hard time”. He also emphasises the importance of “facilitating mobility and intermodal transportation” and underscored the “moment of concern for the state of transportation and its lack of workforce.”
The final point was made by Jaime Moreno, General Director of Land Transport of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.
Present and future of professional transport
During Astic’s XLV General Meeting, interesting figures were also highlighted for the transport sector, which is currently in the midst of a change of cycle. On the one hand, the participants highlighted the importance of the new regulatory framework, following a historic agreement that organises and responds to some of the most controversial demands for the improvement of transport conditions. A strategic sector for the country’s economic activity, since Spain is the fourth most connected country in the European Union to roads, which carry up to 95% of the country’s goods. It is estimated that 75% of Spanish exports are also transported through this channel.
On the other hand, the focus was also on technological and energy transformation and a drive towards a greener and more efficient future. Indeed, digitisation remains one of the present and future challenges for transportation, especially in relation to data analysis and artificial intelligence.
Other challenges for the future that were put on the table include continuing to move towards intermodality, responding to the unstoppable growth of e-commerce, which grew by 21% in Spain in 2021 alone, and the ongoing tensions in the global supply chain.
