TURKEY\\\


Customs and practice in a quirky market


Turkey is a large and growing market, but it has its quirks says David Weston, sales and marketing manager at the UK arm of one of the country’s biggest operators, Barsan Global Logistics. Customs clearance influences


the pattern of services to a much greater extent than in an EU country, for example. Unlike the UK, it is not possible to clear all goods on a Turkey-bound groupage trailer on arrival at the border or at some other inland


point. Usually, consignments destined for Istanbul usually need to be cleared there; those for Izmir in Izmir and so on. This means either that all the goods loaded onto the truck in the UK all need to be going to the same place in Turkey, or the truck will need to physically visit one customs location and then continue on its journey to the next. “Our aim would always be to


consolidate all consignments for one customs location on the


Prospects remain


promising says UK forwarder


UK independent freight forwarder Davies Turner’s freight on the Turkey trade lane has continued to grow, says chairman, Philip Stephenson. But the imbalance between northbound imports and southbound shipments is becoming ever greater - despite recent Sterling weakness against the Euro which might have been expected to boost British exports. Moreover, exchange


rate


volatility since the Brexit vote, “has also impacted on our costs but as a company we have continued to honour our freight agreements with clients despite some unavoidable internal cost increases which we will continue to review in the New Year.” Stephenson hopes that


Brexit may generate more British exports but this has yet to materialise in practice. Turkey will remain a major supplier to the UK market


regardless of uncertainties which may yet culminate in a British association agreement with the EU similar to that which Turkey negotiated with Europe some decades ago. “We have developed this


trade lane for our branches in both Britain and Ireland with Turkey as an established and trusted supplier to retailers/ wholesalers, components importers and online traders, big or small, providing good quality, quick repeats and value for money in long or short production agreements - a win win for UK retailers with less risk and better cash flow. “Above all Davies Turner’s


joint services with this key market provide shippers with supply chain security thanks to our competitive, responsive fast and reliable services.” There is however more need


than ever to develop better cross-trade connections with third countries to achieve


same vehicle, but oſten that’s not possible,” says David Weston. While it is possible to clear a


consignment in a different city from where the consignee is located, consignees naturally want to have the clearance done locally, using their local agent. “If a consignee wants the goods cleared in a specific location, then we have to go there,” says David Weston. With full load or larger consignments, there is obviously


more balanced traffic flows. Improved multimodal infrastructure and more ferry links as well as more frequent and reliable block train services are essential. In the UK, Davies Turner completing a project


is


to double capacity at its main Scottish hub, as well as building a 145,000sq ft logistics warehouse at Bristol with enough additional land to double this in due course. These are freehold design and build investments financed through the company’s own reserves. Meanwhile Davies Turner’s partner


Turkish Ekol has


invested in its own multimodal infrastructure, with more train departures and destinations as well as the latest new-build ferry.


Stephenson says that


the development of its own port and customs facility in Turkey, coupled with purpose- built warehousing “will change the face of logistics and international transport within the Istanbul region and beyond, taking countless trailers off the congested road network, and hopefully speeding up local transit times.”


Issue 1 2017 - Freight Business Journal


more flexibility about where clearance can take place, but groupage is trickier. Also, certain customs offices


in Turkey deal with specific commodities or industries. The regulations also change from time to time. Fortunately, Barsan


has


are complications enough in international transport.” Going into the UK, things are


a


wide spread of offices across Turkey – 32 at the last count, and it also operates over 450 of its own trucks and trailers – mostly 90 cu m-plus high cube megas, so it has plenty of flexibility. “Everything is driver-


accompanied,” adds David Weston. “We don’t do ‘drop and swaps’ – we like to keep things as simple as possible, because there


much more flexible; everything is cleared in Dover. Turkey has a customs union agreement with the EU, which simplifies matters greatly. Another


issue that makes


Turkey a market apart are visas. Drivers from outside the country struggle to obtain them, which means that most haulage in and out of the country is by its own nationals. “If ever it did open up, it would


lead to a massive change in the market,”


says David Weston.


While it’s unlikely that British drivers would be used in any


19


numbers, there are plenty of drivers in countries en route like Bulgaria. Another impediment to


smooth operation is Istanbul’s fearsome traffic congestion. Barsan’s UK managing director, Olgun Hesapci says that a third bridge across the Bosphorus has recently opened, bringing to an end the daily curfew on trucks crossing the water that operated for several hours each weekday (16-22.00 from Asia to Europe and 04.00-10.00 from Europe to Asia) but traffic “grows to fit whatever they build” so conditions haven’t greatly improved. It can still take a few hours to get from one side of the city to the other.


Ekol takes two thirds stake of Trieste terminal


Ekol Logistics has acquired a 65% of its Trieste, Italy port and rail terminal operator Europa Multipurpose Terminals. At the same time, Ekol’s new ro


ro terminal in Yalova, Turkey is due to be inaugurated in early 2017. Planned investments in


Trieste will allow two separate ro-ro operations to be handled simultaneously, while train loading capacity will increase to 10 round trip services a day. Currently providing services


to Turkish and Greek vessels, the Trieste terminal will add countries such as Israel and Egypt to its portfolio in the coming years, says Ekol while current annual capacity of 110,000 units on vessels and 70,000 by train in 2016 is due to rise to 140,000 units by vessel and 100,000 units by train in 2017. Ekol Logistics and Yalova ro-ro terminal chairman Ahmet Musul


said Ekol had solidified its position by acquiring the majority of Europa Multipurpose Terminals, adding: “We are sure to make a leap by proceeding with a such a seasoned team in port operations. I am confident that we will convey the experience we gain to Yalova ro-ro Terminal, scheduled to open in beginning of 2017.” The new port is expected to


remove 100,000 trucks a year from the city’s highways. Ahmet Musul is also chairman


and majority owner of ferry operator, Alternative Transport. Ekol created Alternative Transport three years ago, as its specialised ro ro arm. Around 65% of the carrier’s


traffic are Ekol shipments –with the rest from the general market, said a company spokeswoman. Ekol had a strong desire to offer intermodal solutions, she said.


Currently it operates 46 weekly dedicated block trains), sea with the delivery of the sixth ro ro ferry and, of course, road with a fleet of 5,500 own trailers. She said: “Ekol wants to be the


leader in intermodal transport in this part of the word, and also the company’s strategy is to own assets as it is a good advantage for customers and it gives Ekol a competitive edge.” Ekol entered three new


countries this year – the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Iran and it now has its own companies in 14 markets. It is also developing its network in countries where it is already established with, for example, new branches in Poland, Spain and Romania and more are in the pipeline, with planned investments in Slovenia, Slovakia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.


Air carrier mulls London freighter


Turkish Airlines is planning to increase its wide-body frequency from two to three times a day


FORWARDER’S FORWARDER TO/FROM TURKEY


Call DGS for all your Turkish transport needs. Experts in their fields and neutrality guaranteed.


Belvedere Office : 0208 311 9111 Dover Office : 01304 201 007 Dublin Office : 00353 1 855 1720 sales@dailygroupage.com


out of London Heathrow and is working on a freighter service, says the carrier’s cargo senior vice president, Şeref Kazancı. He told FBJ: “Currently we move main- deck cargo through Maastricht. However we plan to operate twice weekly A330 freighters from Heathrow or Stansted in the medium-term.” The UK is one of Turkish


Cargo’s most significant export and import countries in Europe. Currently, in addition to the wide- body services at Heathrow, it also operates three narrow-bodied services out of Heathrow, two narrow bodies out of London


Gatwick and Manchester, 10 narrow-bodies a week out of Dublin, nine narrow bodies out of Birmingham and five narrow bodies a week out of Edinburgh – a total of roughly 600,000kg a week to and from the UK as a whole. Main commodity types are pharma, mail, fish, vegetables, e-commerce products and textiles. Further afield, route network developments could Hanoi, Taiwan, Kong,


include Bahrain where, Kazancı


Beijing, Hong and


Bangkok hopes, new


regular services will be started soon.


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