This is the third Report produced by Alexbank and SRM to monitor the dynamics of the Suez Canal, one of the most important maritime and logistical nodes in the world.

SRM and Alexbank intended to analyse, in particular, the impact that the severe Covid-19 pandemic has had and is having on maritime and global trades as well as the way these have affected the dynamics of the Canal. It is clear that Suez has shown remarkable resilience to the effects of the pandemic, exceeding 1 billion tonnes of cargo in 2020 and with 18,829 ships transited. Even in difficult economic times, it has remained a strategic hub for traffic in the Mediterranean, still accounting for 12% of world traffic (7-8% of oil traffic).
The Canal is important for the Egyptian economy and it is equally important for Italian ports, especially Genoa, La Spezia, Trieste and Gioia Tauro, as a key point along the main sea route for trade between Italy and Asia.
In March 2021, the case of the Ever Given, a megaship of over 20,000 TEUs which ran aground in the Suez Canal blocking passage for several days, clearly demonstrated that the dynamics of international maritime trade are highly dependent on this strategic crossroads.

This is the first report released by the “Global Shipping Think Tank Alliance”, of which SRM is part.

The book mainly focuses on the impact of Covid-19 on the shipping industry and the development of the regional shipping industry, highlights practices, policies and challenges in the digital era, and provides suggestions for global port and shipping industry.

This is a collection of 7 presentation-based chapters and one new chapter. Its contributors are GSTTA members from Shanghai International Shipping Institute (China), Korea Maritime Institute (Korea), and World Maritime University (Sweden), Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (Germany), Maritime Economy Observatory (Italy), Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands), PolyU Maritime Library and R&D Center (Hong Kong, China). They wrote on the COVID-19’s impact in their respective fields and on how their institutes and/or their governments and industries have responded to the impact.

In particular, the article written by SRM is focused on: COVID-19 Results of a Brief Investigation: the Logistics and Maritime Italian Operators’ Sentiment. 

This working paper initiates a series of reports aimed at monitoring one of the most important sectors in Italy and it opens with an international outlook over the most significant effects that the coronavirus has caused on shipping and port logistics. Then, a series of estimates is proposed on the significant impact of the phenomenon on Italian maritime trade (import-export). The report concludes with the results of a Survey on the effects of COVID-19 carried out by SRM through some questions addressed to a sectoral panel made up of the main national players from associations and ports. It is a survey with interesting implications that addresses current problems and needs alongside possible solutions to a future recovery.

The report is available in the English and Italian versions.

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Much has already been said and written on the Belt and Road Initiative, especially following the Chinese president’s visit in Italy in March 2019, which provided the opportunity to sign a Memorandum of Understanding including several collateral agreements ranging from infrastructure and transport to exchange of data and know-how and included trade agreements and partnership projects in the fields of research and industry.

Before discussing the core of this paper, it seems necessary to briefly outline the reasons that led to the initial design, development and expansion of the BRI, which is already encompassing more than 100 countries and seems bound to involve many more.

This paper is extracted from the SRM’s 6th “Italian Maritime Economy” Report .

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The global containership fleet grew by 5.7% to reach 22 million TEU at the end of 2018, according to Alphaliner figures. Forecasts see a further increase in Cellular Fleet capacity to reach almost 24 million TEU in 2020. A glance at historical data on orderbook gives us some ideas about the trend in global activity (or throughput) in the container transport sector; carriers’ mood about the present time and their expectation on future activities.

The research is available only in the English version.

This paper is extracted from the SRM’s 6th “Italian Maritime Economy” Report .

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This paper provides an overview of the global situation of maritime transport of vehicles with data and information on the volumes, routes and port-logistic activities connected to these.

To this end, it will be illustrated which strategies carriers are deploying in order to face the new challenges of the market while keeping efficiency at the centre of their attention. Based on these data, some forecasts will be elaborated on trade flows and routes along which this kind of traffic is currently concentrating.

This paper is extracted from the SRM’s 6th “Italian Maritime Economy” Report .

The report  is carried out by SRM with the collaboration of the Port Network Authority of North Tyrrenian Sea.

The research analyses Automotive industry at Italian and international level, with a reference to the overall import-export and maritime market that the port of Livorno serves. In the second part, the study focuses on the maritime transport of vehicles – in particular new cars – and the role of terminals in the automotive supply chain.

This paper is available only in the Italian version.