LIVORNO. Interview with Marco Dalli, president of the Port Workers Company. Looking to 2023 and the current year, the top exponent of CILP draws a balance of the activities regarding the automotive sector, which has always been a driving force for commercial traffic in the port of Livorno.
2023 recorded important numbers for the automotive sector. Do the first six months of 2024 confirm this trend?
«Last year the car market in terms of registrations in Italy was characterized by a constant growth trend which at the end of the year marked approximately +19% compared to 2022. Despite this, the total registrations (approximately 1,565,000 ) was still much lower than that of 2019 when it almost reached 2 million. The photograph of the volumes operated in the Livorno airport gives us an image similar to that of the national market; in fact, last year we witnessed an increase in volumes of around 12% compared to 2022, but still very far from those of 2019 (around -14%). In 2023, Cilp achieved very satisfactory results, reaching 380,000 cars moved, with a +18% compared to 2022, a year in which it had already returned above 2019 levels. In the first five months of this year, in Cilp we have a slight decline in volumes operated (-9%) compared to the period January-May 2023, maintaining a monthly average that exceeds 32,000 cars moved”.
Did you have problems finding spaces? Are there enough to park cars outside the port or is there a risk of congestion in the areas?
«The other factor that characterized 2023 was represented by the significant increase in stops in the port yard, connected to the congestion of the port yards and, more generally, of the spaces dedicated to automotive logistics. In 2023 for Cilp the significant increase in volumes operated, associated with the expansion of stops – almost doubled on average – led to temporary congestion situations which were gradually resolved, thanks to the commitment of the Port System Authority and the active collaboration between all the subjects involved in the automotive logistics chain. This year we are fully able to meet the needs of the market, having areas in three different terminals of the Port of Livorno”.
Has the Suez crisis had or is having any effects on automotive traffic?
«It is certainly true that tensions in the Red Sea have also affected the automotive sector. All recent analyzes state that this is precisely one of the areas that has been most affected by the Suez crisis. The players in the sector mainly complain about a lengthening of delivery times, an increase in freight rates and, in general, a greater difficulty in planning for the entire supply chain. In this scenario, the Livorno airport has nevertheless demonstrated an excellent capacity for resilience, maintaining good stability of incoming volumes”.
