ITALY\\\


With near-daily services in both directions, trailer groupage operator


ITAL Logistics increase is


looking to maintain its business in this core market, or even slightly


it, says


managing director Phil Denton. But it is a tough task, in a country where a thousand companies a day were


reported to be


going bust in 2012 and whose economic and political stability hasn’t been helped by the latest indecisive election result. Customers routinely ask for 90 days’ credit. Many freight operators have


gone out of business, including some quite large ones, and it remains a very difficult market. “In 2008, when the crisis first hit, we upped our sales activity at ITAL,” Denton explains. “With a number of other operators going out of business, there were companies looking for a replacement carrier and they needed to be able to find us.” In a cut-throat market, it did mean reducing profit levels to a minimum, but the strategy seems to have paid off, Denton says: “Everyone is trying to save a


penny here and there and the number of customers that are now completely loyal to one carrier is diminishing.” He adds: “It has, of late,


become extremely competitive, financially. As everyone wishes to save money, some major players are obtaining business with the remit ‘get business, whatever the revenue’.” There is a danger, though,


that this could make certain routes financially unviable. Nevertheless, “there are a large proportion of companies who want the personal service that


smaller companies like


ourselves can provide. We have to hope that this continues and that the desire to shave every penny off the freight bill does not overtake us. “So it’s quite a pressured


market, but we are maintaining quite a good level of business and so are our partners, ITX Cargo,” Denton says. Ital’s philosophy is, “if it has an Italian post code, we go - and come from – there” Denton explains – and that even extends to the Italian islands. Interestingly, there is a fair bit


of traffic to Sicily and Sardinia – the former has a large chemical industry – and even some business to smaller islands like Lipari, which also has a chemical plant.


ITX Cargo is Milan-based


and has an additional office in Verona, about 150km to the east. Likewise, ITAL’s main point in the UK is Manchester but it also has third-party facilities in the Midlands and the South and it loads trailers to and from each point. “Southbound, we make


around 8-10 trailers each week, primarily groupage. I would say six or seven are bound for a radius of 100km of Milan, two to three for the Veneto region (near Venice), and the odd couple go further south, as far as the country will allow.” Northbound, there are around five trailers each week from the Veneto region, 8-10 from the Milan area, and a few more from “anywhere and everywhere”. There are two schools of thought on how best


to serve


Italy – either appoint a single partner who can feed traffic to and from the rest of the country through their main hubs, or appoint different partners for each region. Denton considers: “There are advantages to either approach but I think having one partner is better because it makes it easier to combine cargoes. If you have to put your cargo for, say, Rome on a separate trailer you might not be able to fill it. We also have the advantage that we are the sole representative of our partners.” If there are different partners, it can be hard to define where one carrier’s area ends and another begins and disputes can sometimes arise. ITX can serve most of the


country on a next-day basis from Milan – even as far as Sardinia. ITAL specialises in dangerous


goods; Phil Denton is one of two in-house Dangerous Goods safety Advisors (DGSAs) and around a quarter of the company’s traffic comes into this category southbound. This is a useful niche market for Ital, although


hazardous


goods regulations and customer policies mean that it can be hard to carry other categories of traffic, especially foodstuffs.


Cleaner, greener distribution


Highly efficient timed, next day and economy deliveries


Cost-effective rates for full, half and quarter standard and Euro pallets


Comprehensive track and trace with online proof of delivery


Daily European deliveries Bespoke logistics solutions


However, specialising in


the DG segment has been a factor in keeping ITAL’s business reasonably buoyant, Denton large


considers: percentage


“With a of fellow


companies backing away


from the tumult of legislation that DG carries, we do pick up support from fellow industry companies as well as direct from the chemical sector directly.” ITAL considers itself only


Issue 3 2013


27 Keeping afloat in a stormy market


really involved in the road sector, and all of its traffic is driver-accompanied. “We do transport some by rail, and infrequently by sea, but the edge that we have is that we provide a quicker service than


the other modes.” Rail can offer cost advantages, but only if origin and destination are close to the terminals; if the haul to and from the railhead gets to much over 100km, it tends to be no cheaper.


Our goal is to help you reach your goal


Pall-Ex provides efficient and cost-effective palletised freight distribution services throughout the UK and Europe.


0808 144 2808 www.pallex.com


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