TURKEY\\\


Intermodal transport is playing an increasingly important part in British forwarder Davies Turner’s traffic between the UK and Turkey, says partner representative Craig Slatter. With Davies Turner’s local partner Ekol Logistics running its own ferry service with 25-trailer capacity ferries from Hydarpasa on the Asian side of Istanbul to Trieste, Italy and with train connections available the following day from there to either Cologne or Mannheim, only the last leg of the journey from Germany to the UK need be by road – and Davies Turner is considering options for a rail option for this section too. Freight using the intermodal


service can make Istanbul to the UK in a respectable seven days, about the same as it takes by truck without resorting to special measures such as multi-shiſt drivers or double-manning, says Slatter. It does though depend on choosing the right day of the week as Ekol’s ferry service operates thrice-weekly. As well as offering substantial carbon savings for customers wishing to improve their green credentials, the intermodal option also offers consistency – Turkey’s land borders with Europe can become heavily congested, especially during the freight peaks of Friday and Saturday or when passenger car traffic is especially heavy such as holiday time. Weather can also be a factor on the east-west all road routes, especially in winter. Not all the routes are to motorway standard and some of them cross high mountain passes that can get snowed up in winter. The all-road option remains,


of course, and Ekol’s extensive network of depots in countries en route such as Greece, Romania and Hungary means that drivers can be exchanged where necessary to keep the truck on the move. Ekol Logistics is in the process


of gaining Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) accreditation, Slatter continues. This will bring the added benefit of being able to load and seal trailers at its own premises, rather than having to do it at the city’s two customs terminals,


something that has not generally been possible in Turkey before. As well as dodging the queues at the customs terminals themselves, it avoids having to travel into some of the most congested parts of the city, giving a significant time-saving. In many ways, the biggest


problems encountered on the run to Turkey are not the long distances over mountains and seas, but getting from one side of Istanbul to the other, a journey that can sometimes take several hours. Turkey is one of those countries


where the recession never really seemed to happen. It has benefited from European retailers’ decisions to source at least a portion of their stock nearer to home and reduce reliance on China. “There’s less risk for retailers, combined with greater speed to market,” Slatter explains. In some cases, Turkey has become the main source of supply, he adds: “Turkey is becoming more competitive with Chinese prices.” Clothing, car parts and foodstuffs dominate east to west traffic flows to the UK. Unfortunately, there is much


less export traffic from the UK back to Turkey, a pattern that has increasingly asserted itself over the past


few years. Any excess


vehicles from the UK can though be reloaded on the Continent where there is much more scope for eastbound loads. Greater Istanbul, arguably


Europe’s largest city, if it can be counted as such (a large part of the metropolitan area lies on the Asian flank of the Bosphorus) accounts for the lion’s share of trade and Davies Turner’s services. But there are exports from the likes of Izmir, Manisa, Mersin and Iskenderun, some of which are routed via Istanbul to be combined with other loads or direct. There is a ro ro service from Mersin to Trieste. Davies Turner has also noted


an increasing trend for some west European retailers to route their imports from the Far East via Turkey and using the latter country as a consolidation and distribution point for Europe. Turkey is developing


a very sophisticated logistics


infrastructure – some of the sheds are the equal of or even surpass most of those in Europe, with many specialist centres for goods such as textiles. And Turkey’s own retail sector is growing too. Shopping malls are


springing


up like mushrooms all over the country, and major


retailers, including British ones are moving


Issue 8 2013 - Freight Business Journal


Davies Turner takes to the water, and the rails


into the country so it can make sense to come to Turkey first, pull off the volume that is required locally and then move on west. The country is also turning into a major distribution point for Russia and the former Soviet Union. Ekol has recently opened a facility in Ukraine. Turkey has always been a staging- post


for other countries in the


Near and Middle East. Some of these, such as Syria and Iran are largely off-limits at the moment


33


but others, such as the relatively stable northern region of Iraq, are reviving.


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