Date: April 24
The "Barometer of Foreign Trade Logistics 2022" carried out in Chile by the Logistics Development Program of the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (MTT) and the Conecta Logística Foundation shows that 47% of the more than 300 companies that participated in the measurement they increased their levels of demand for external logistics services by almost double that in 2021, while only 25% expected an increase. The operators (companies that provide these logistics services) had a projection close to what the Barometer showed, where 46% forecast growth for the year 2022, and 56% declared they had a high capacity to meet demand.
The values are consistent with what was declared by the companies that hire these services, that is, importers and exporters, who assess that the market had a high or medium capacity to satisfy demand 92% of the time. In addition, 80% of importing and exporting companies expect that the demand for these services will remain the same or increase in 2023.
The survey yielded a positive perception of the performance of the logistics sector during 2022, and the dimensions that improved its assessment compared to 2021 were the "Level of digitization of the logistics system" and the "Quality of the shipment traceability system". 75% of the importing and exporting companies stated that they carried out the procedures electronically.
Investment in research and development (R&D) is a way to close gaps in the sector, since it generates opportunities to optimize the use of resources, reduce costs and streamline processes. The survey showed that 29% of logistics service provider companies (operators) invested in R&D projects during 2022, more than double compared to 2021 (12%). Regarding investment in human capital, there was an increase compared to the year 2021, where 46% of the companies that provide logistics services invested in training for their workers.
The "Logistics Barometer" is a valuable instrument for the sector because it allows to know the perception of the actors on the public policies in the matter and to improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of the processes. The Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Juan Carlos Muñoz, highlighted that the sector has challenges to work on more quickly, in terms of foreign trade processes, chain traceability, levels of competition and transparency for the end user, in addition to the emissions reduction. Along the same lines, the Executive Director of Conecta Logística, Mabel Leva, stated that "the results of the Barometer allow us to observe over time the progress made by the sector in components as varied as technological adoption, human capital, sustainability and investment in innovation.
Source: Andina Freight
