News / Opportunities for 'nimble' forwarders as new routes open

Geopolitical fragmentation is generating a host of opportunities for nimble forwarders, as shifting trade dynamics lead to the emergence of new trade routes and sizeable growth across intra-Europe and once parochial lanes.

As documented by The Loadstar over the past 12 months, there has been an explosion in demand for ocean freight space on Africa-Latin America lanes, albeit from a low base, but multiple forwarders have said pockets of expansion were popping up everywhere.

One eastern European forwarder pointed out that they had been handling increased calls for shipments along the International North–South Transport Corridor connecting India and Iran to Europe and Russia via Central Asia and Azerbaijan.

Hegelmann Multimodal’s COO, Julija Petravica, told The Loadstar she was also seeing movement away from the traditional east-west axis towards multimodal and ocean freight north-south transits.

“This is a significant route for Baltic states now,” she added, noting there was also an increase in goods moving from Europe into Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan by rail – routes along which volumes surged as shippers looked to avoid goods going through Russia.

Several forwarders highlighted Eastern Europe as the region to watch, with the EU keen to expand its options amid the uncertainty of geopolitical relationships with its traditional trading partners, China and the US.

Stressing that this did not mean that trade was falling drastically with either of the world’s two superpowers – “more moderating” – one forwarder told The Loadstar that there appeared to be an appetite for a reliable supply chain.

After nearly three decades of a mostly stable global trading environment, “fragmentation” provided alternatives when they are needed, said the source, “which appears increasingly frequently”.

Group7 MD Gunther Jocher said he too was seeing “significant” growth in intra-European transport, “especially Eastern and Southern Europe as a gateway to near-shoring in North Africa”.

“We have always been very active in these sectors, but last year we significantly expanded our expertise here to be able to cope with the growing demand from our customers,” Mr Jocher added.

“New tradelanes are emerging; the cards have been re-shuffled. It is exciting and thrilling to explore where the trends are heading, to identify new partners, and to forge partnerships that will be relevant in the coming decades.”

All the forwarders The Loadstar spoke with said “nimble” forwarders had an opportunity “to get in on the ground floor” as the new tradelanes emerged, suggesting that those with ambition would be best placed to develop as many new relationships as possible.