The commercial interchange by sea with the Med Area is worth 40,6 billion euros



Italy covers in Europe a first floor position for that it concerns the commercial interchange with the Med Area. It emphasizes the paper published on the new number of "Porti and the Mediterranean", the semiannual newsletter I yield of the synergy between Assoporti (Association of the Italian Ports) and SRM-Studies and Searches for Southern Italy (center studies connected to the Intesa Sanpaolo Group) of which we bring back an extract.

""Porti and the Mediterranean" - the president of Assoporti has explained, Francesco Nerli - intend to not only represent a reflection moment on the current scene, but especially on the possible launches future scenes, in order to reason on the choices that Italy must make in the marine field also the aim to favor the internationalization, in order to maintain a role of first floor in the Mediterranean economy".

"This job - it has evidenced the general manager of SRM, Massimo Deandreis - confirmation the engagement of SRM in the valorization of the marine transport, economic patrimony of our Country and joins in the widest project than SRM of the "Permanent Observatory on Relazioni Economic between Italy and the Mediterranean", than it is realized in the www.srm-med.com site and that it is proposed to comprise dynamics and the impact of mutual economic relation between the Mediterranean Italy and Countries, dynamic in which the ports they assume an important role, since they inside represent a natural platform of development of the Med Area".

The paper in the specific one it deepens the role of the Italian ports of call in geography of the harbour competition in the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea; and it analyzes to the function and the perspectives of the traffic goods and passengers of the Italian ports, let alone the imminent challenges that the entire marine cluster will have to face in order to pick the opportunities tied to the social changes political that are involving the Countries of the depositors southern and oriental.

The commercial interchange with the Med Area happens exclusively by sea (40,6 billion euros almost, beyond 70%). The marine commerce towards the region is concentrated above all in the Countries of the Southern Med (beyond 20,6 billion euros for 2011, pairs to 50.7%) that is to say Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia; it follows the Area of the East Med (Israel, Lebanese, Syria and Turkey) with almost 17 billion euros pairs to 41.8% and, therefore, that of the Adriatic Med (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia) with about 3 billion euros (7.5%). Between the single Countries involved in the Italian marine exchanges Turkey is marked to the first place, continuation from Tunisia and Egypt, with a quantifiable flow of goods in about 11,3 billion euros.

The new number of the Newsletter includes authoritative testimonies of international the marine scene: Sixte Cambra, Luigi Merlo and Sergio Prete, the presidents of three ports of Barcelona, Genoa and Taranto that inside of the basin play a role of best players.


Porti and the Mediterranean
semiannual newsletter

Maggio 2012

The new face of harbour geography of the Mediterranean and the role of Italy
Maggio 2012

The new face of harbour geography of the Mediterranean and the role of Italy

The recent dynamism of the Mediterranean is in wide part determined from the reorganization of the industry of the marine transport and from the new world-wide geoeconomia. In the context of integration and increase of the European Union let alone of increasing globalization it has been assisted to a progressive strengthening of the main role of the Mediterranean in the guiding ones of marine traffic. The factors to the base of this phenomenon are riconducibili mainly to:

the phenomenon of gigantism of the ships, that it has returned that Trans-Mediterranean the route privileged for the traffics with Far East as, with the exception of the channel of Panama hat, the Suez Canal anticipates characteristic structural compatible with the transit of the large ones portacontainer;

the economic performance of Far East and the emerged Countries of the Africa North and the depositor oriental of the basin that has determined guiding a meaningful increment of the interchange by sea on commercial da/per Europe and between the two sides of the Mediterranean;

¹ Eurostat, Maritime transport statistics - short sea shipping of goods, 2011.

the impulse given from the European Union in the course of the last decade to the Short Sea Shipping, strongly stimulated in order to reduce the congestion on the roads, than today represents 62% of the total of the goods transported by sea by Union¹.

If until a decade it makes the ports of the southern depositor had a marginal role in the marine services deep-sea, the development of the terminals of transhipment before in Egypt and then in Morocco it has marked the income of these countries in the management of the container traffic. Such change has favorite the meaningful increase of the ports hub of the Mediterranean that between 2005 and the 2011 has recorded an increase of 44% in the container enlivened total.

The income of these ports in the scene has determined a change in the competition inside of the Mediterranean that has been increased determining also important modifications in classifies of the ports of call container, as it is evidenced from the figure that follows:

Diagram 1 - Market shares in the Hub of the Mediterranean. I confront 2005-2011

Fonte: SRM elaboration on data Harbour Assoporti and Autorità, 2012

From the figure evince that the relative situation to the hub of the Mediterranean is a lot changed between 2005 and 2011, to sfavore above all of Gioia Tauro and Algeciras, that they have lost 10% and 4% of own market share. There is then from signaling the situation of Damietta that has lost in the period under investigation 5%, but its performance in 2011 (- 38% regarding 2010) has suffered of agitations of the population Egyptian that has determined the slow down of the activities and, quite, for a period the closing of the port to the traffic. Instead Port Saïd, Malta and Valencia in the seven analyzed years have increased the volumes of their handlings of 134%, 79% and 66%.

In particular the ports of the side South of the Mediterranean have increased own market share from 18% to 30% above all to discapito of the Italian ports of transhipment that they are passed by 28% to 16%.

These last ones, than from the geographic point of view cover an obvious advantage, risk the marginalization for the delays, regarding the competitors, in terms of railway connections and services of logistics in the retroportuali areas and for the presence of a system constituted from ports I am diffused and of small dimension not adapted to attract the flows of goods in container.

The competitive context of the Mediterranean will presumablly see in the near future to increase the weight of the ports of the southern depositor for which ulterior infrastructural investments are previewed. According to how much declaring from the competent authorities, the total value of the previewed works that they would have to be completed within 2015, exceeds 8 billion euros, and will involve an increment of the ability to handling of estimable transfer between the 4,8 and 10 million the TEU. In the detail:

the greater investments (5 billion euros) are destined to the realization of new terminals container in the port of Tanger Med, than the ability to transfer of 650.000 TEU would have some to increase;

the new terminal container of the port of Enfidha in Tunisia, that it previews a total investment of 1,4 billion euros, will have ability to transfer of 1,3 million TEU. It is, moreover, previewed the widening of the port of Tunis-Rades, with an investment of 198 million euros;

in Egypt, besides the widening of the terminal container of the port of Port Saïd (395 million euros, with an incremental ability to transfer of 3,5 million TEU), will become operating the new terminal container of Alexandria, than, with an investment of 860 million euros, it will be able to enliven 420,000 TEU².

In such context Europe, if it wants to try to couple own markets to the Asian economic area - that it records rates of growth to double figure and is gone asserting more and more which market of export (and not more solo than import) - must be equipped of connections “from and towards” the world, in a position to brokering efficiently produced and goods. The European ports are, in such sense, it I unwind crucial of interchange between the western economy and Far East; therefore, to greater reason, it they are the Mediterranean ports, that they can count on a competitive advantage legacy to a geographic position that, in terms of transit Time, guarantees an feeding of the European markets from Suez absolutely competitive regarding that generated from the ports of call of Northern Europe.

Besides the infrastructural participations, the development of the ports of the Africa North is stimulated also by the reforms that the Countries of the area have placed in being in order to return the administrative procedures tied to the marine transport thinner let alone those environmental ones that they turn out less restrictive regarding how much previewed in Europe, increasing ulteriorly the attractive ability to the area for the institutional investors. The effects of the harbour labor law cannot be underrated that a average cost of the job regarding European Countries³ more low previews for these regions, let alone the facilities in terms of concession, operating costs (personal, energy) and fiscal (anchor duties and towing). The perspectives of increase of the area moreover turn out also important they in order to attract the great international marine operators, recalled also from the more and more frequent offshorings of the takeovers of some between the more multinational important. For such advantages, the ports on the side African of the Mediterranean, represent therefore, an alternative to the competitors European that probably is able to not to assure the same efficiency, but are economically more convenient, for the great companies of navigation.

Politics of the governments north Africans, then, to entrust the development of the ports of call to international operators have increased safety of the attainment of the previewed traffics, thanks to the mix between pure terminalisti, you already anticipate in the possible complementary markets, and the companies of navigation, that they so turn out stimulated to carry their traffics in these ports. They cite between the other APM Terminals (harbour operating arm of Maersk, the main company to the world) and Eurogate Tanger (consortium participated from the French CMA CGM, the Moroccan company of state Comanav and from a quota minority of italosvizzera MSC, second shipping the linens to the world) that they operate in the port of Tanger Med; APM is present in the Mediterranean area also to Port Saïd, Hutchison Port Holding to Alexandria and El Dekheila, DP World to Algeri in jointventure with the Harbour Authority.

In the table that follows the first 10 ports of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea are listed that in the 2011 they have enlivened beyond 26,7 million teus.

Table 1 - Top ten of the ports of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (Teu)

	Port	2008	2009	2010	2011	11/10/12	11/08/12
ES	Valencia	3.602.000	3.654.000	4.206.937	4.327.000	2.90%	20.10%
ET	Port Saïd	3.186.589	3.300.951	3.627.813	3.800.000	4.70%	19.20%
ES	Algeciras	3.327.616	3.043.268	2.810.242	3.602.631	28.20%	8.30%
TR	Ambarli	2.262.000	1.836.000	2.540.000	2.686.000	5.70%	18.70%
M	Marsaxlokk	2.330.000	2.260.000	2.370.000	2.360.000	-0,40%	1.30%
IT	Gioia Tauro	3.467.824	2.857.440	2.852.264	2.305.000	-19,20%	-33,50%
BUT	Tanger Med	920.708	1.222.000	2.058.430	2.093.408	1.70%	127.40%
ES	Barcelona	2.569.477	1.797.156	1.948.422	2.033.549	4.40%	-20,90%
IT	Genoa jib	1.766.605	1.533.627	1.758.858	1.847.102	5.00%	4.60%
GR	Pireo	433.582	664.895	878.083	1.680.133	91.30%	287.50%
	Total	23.866.401	22.169.337	25.051.049	26.734.823	6.70%	12.00%

Fonte: SRM elaboration on data Harbour Authorities, 2012

In this context, the objective of I throw again of Italy which strategic axis of the traffics inside of the Mediterranean is possible because there are the foundations, not only geographic but above all commercial. Italy has confirmed the first commercial partner of the region having preceded Germany and France: the interchange of our Country with the Med Area in 2011 has been pairs to 29 billion euros in export and 28,7 billion in import: these flows almost happen exclusively by sea (40,6 billion that is beyond 70%) and not only along routes deep sea but also on those short sea⁴. Our Country counts little less in order than a fifth (18%) of the total commercial interchange between the EU and the Countries of the Mediterranean area.

Industrial cooperation, exchange of know-how-how, deepening of the financial and inter-bank relationships underlie an ulterior development of the economic relations of Italy with the Mediterranean area.

Of great interest it becomes therefore the deepening of the marine commercial interchange of Italy with the Countries that appear on the Mediterranean in order to characterize which are the areas towards which there is greater intensity of exchanges and the interested produced ones. The analysis aggregates the data in three areas: the southern Med that groups, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco Tunisia; Med oriental who collect Israel, Lebanese, Syria and Turkey and adriatic Med that aggregates Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia.

The marine commerce towards the Med Area represents 16.8% of the total transport that Italy has by sea with the remainder of the world and, as evince from the diagram that follows, is concentrated above all in the Countries of the Southern Med (beyond 20,6 billion euros for 2011, pairs to 50.7%). It follows the Area of the East Med with almost 17 billion euros pairs to 41.8% and, therefore, that of the Adriatic Med whose marine interchange with our Country is pairs to about 3 billion euros (7.5%).

The course in the time of the interchange turns out, however, altalenante with a decrease in 2011 of 11,3 points percentages regarding the year precedence. Observing the data for single area note, however, as such result is generally imputable to the exchanges with the Countries of the Southern Med that, also as consequence of the political events that have interested such zones, has lived a decrease of beyond balanced, single 27% partially, from the increases recorded in two remaining areas (+12.8% for Adriatic Med and +14.5% for the Eastern Med).

Diagram 2 - the marine commerce of Italy with the Countries of the Mediterranean - Anni 2008-2011

Fonte: SRM elaboration on data ISTAT Coeweb, 2012

If they consider themselves, then, the single Countries, the main partner involved in the Italian marine exchanges is Turkey with a quantifiable flow of goods in about 11,3 billion euros; they follow, with a remarkablly inferior traffic, Tunisia and Egypt. Such situation, however, only partially reflects the scene of the traffics of the last years. If they are observed, in fact, the data of period 2008-2011 evince as until 2010 the Country mainly interested from the same ones has been Libya, but the decrease that this has lived in 2011 (pairs to 77.5% regarding 2008) have implied a change in the total configuration.

The remaining Countries, even though with absolute values often of smaller entities and in spite of the decrease of the exchanges due to the general crisis of 2009, have instead brought back, in the which examined four-year term, an increment of their marine business with Italy; increment that if of Turkey has exceeded 20%.

Diagram 3 - the marine commerce of Italy towards the Med Area: the first 5 partner - Anni 2008-2011

Fonte: SRM elaboration on data ISTAT Coeweb, 2012

A data to evidence, emerged from the analysis of the marine interchange towards the Med Area with the detail of the goods interested, is in association with the sale ability, by Italy, of industrial machinery he is generals who special, to reply of the need of development and technology by the Countries of all and the three areas in which the basin is subdivided: beyond 18% of the total interchange by sea it is relative to this merceologica category. To follow, the oil produced ones (refined are found and not) that in theirs entirety absorbs 32.5% of the total: in this case the exchange of such producing is explained partially with the phenomenon of the re-import, that is draft of producing imported by the Italy because destined to a next phase of working before and then newly re-exported. At last, produced of the textile industry and apparel (11.1%) and those relative ones to the field of metals (10.8%).

The diagram that follows indicates how much as soon as exposed:

Diagram 4 - the marine interchange of Italy towards the Countries of the Med Area: the main merceologici chapters - Year 2011

Fonte: SRM elaboration on data ISTAT Coeweb, 2012



Traffic goods and passengers in the Italian Ports

⁵ The analysis refers to the data of the traffics of the ports available to April 2012.
Traffic goods and passengers in the Italian Ports

The analysis of the traffics of the Italian ports reported to the 20115 shows a substantially stable course regarding the year precedence for the goods and a moderated decrease (- 2.1%) in the segment of the containerized transport that has reached the 9,6 million one teus.

With the data on hand it is not possible to realize a detailed analysis of the single segments of traffic but it can however to assert that regarding 2010 while for the goods solid an increase has been recorded, for the goods liquid a trend is found negative.

With about 46 million passengers transported in the Italian ports an light contraction (- 3% is observed) on the year precedence, but inside this segment the important goes marked increase of the traffic of the croceristi that with about 11,2 million it has made to mark a +19.5%.

The diagram that follows focuses the analysis on the containerized trade putting to confronts the macroareas in which the Italian territory is subdivided: Center, Southern Italy, East North and North the West.

Diagram 5 - Traffic of TEU'S for macroarea. Anni 2010-2011

Fonte: SRM elaboration on data Harbour Authorities, 2012

For handling of TEUS, Southern Italy with about 4,4 million it remains the macroarea in which it is concentrated the most elevated traffic than container in spite of a bending of 10.7%, with Gioia Tauro who, also if down of 18% regarding 2010, confirmation main the hub Italian with about 2,4 million teus enlivened. Also Cagliari (about 603.000) is in light contraction regarding the year precedence, while Taranto with 604.404 teus has shown an increase of 4% regarding 2010. Besides the hub, the other ports of Southern Italy that anticipate a meaningful containerized trade are that of Naples that, with a handling of about 527 thousand teus has shown an light bending (- 1.48%) and Salerno that has exceeded 235 thousand teus showing an analogous performance to that of the year precedence.

It follows the North the West that is in increase regarding 2010 (+2.6%) with Genoa and La Spezia that with a volume total of 1,8 traffic respective of and 1,3 million teus, are confirmed second and third national port of call in this segment.

At a distance the East North is found that with a traffic of beyond a million teus it has recorded a meaningful increment (+25%) regarding the 2010 imputable one above all to the increase of the traffic of Trieste (+42%) that has almost reached 400 thousand teus and, in the second place, of Venice (+16%) with beyond 458 thousand teus.

At last the Center that, with beyond 807 thousand teus has recorded an increment of 2.4% regarding 2010, where the traffic container practically is concentrated in the single port of Livorno.

The analysis to 2011 of the data on the traffic of the teus shows a change of national geography of the ports that realize handling of the container, than except Gioia Tauro, is moving along the tirrenico high arc with an interesting performance also of the adriatic depositor for effect of intensifying itself of the traffics with Eastern Europe.

With regard to the destinations of the container, the analysis is based on the data returned available from the Harbour Authorities of Gioia Tauro and Genoa, the two main Italian ports of call in the transhipment: while for the calabrian port of call about a third party of the container they are in arrival or destined towards West Med, East Med, North Africa, the Balkans, Black Sea, for from Liguria port of call % of the teu boarded and disembarked towards the North Africa and the East Med are around 12%.

Diagram 6 - Traffic of passengers for macroarea. Anni 2010-2011

Fonte: SRM elaboration on data Harbour Authorities, 2012

Also for the transport fleeting the concentration in the macroarea Southern Italy is greater that, in spite of a bending of 4.2% regarding 2010, with than the more 27,6 million one transported passengers centralizes beyond the half of the national traffic. The ports of Messina-Milazzo, Naples and Olbia concentrate 79% of the passengers of the macroarea. They follow the Center then, than with about 12,4 million passengers it maintains to a substantially stable course on the year precedence; the North the West that in 2011 has recorded a bending of 6% reaching 4,5 million; at last the East North, the only area that records a positive performance of section (+15%) with 2,5 million passengers.

Diagram 7 - Traffic of croceristi for macroarea. Anni 2010-2011

Fonte: SRM elaboration on data Harbour Authorities, 2012

The exposed diagram over shows the course of the croceristico traffic, in increase on the year precedence with important variations in all the macroareas. The increment of 27.2% regarding 2010 has carried the Center to become the area with the greater concentration of croceristi exceeding quota 3,7 million, with Civitavecchia that confirmation the main Italian port with an ulterior increase of 33% that has allowed it to reach about 2,6 million passengers. Also Livorno has recorded a good performance recording a croceristi increment of 19.5% and 983 thousand. The Southern Italy follows distance shortly that with about 3,7 million passengers has recorded an increase of 17.4%. The good performance of Naples is signaled that has consolidated the leadership in the area and the third position in the rank national having marked an increase of 14% regarding the year precedence and reaching about 1,3 million croceristi. An analogous increase anticipates also according to port of the area, that of Bari, that it has exceeded 587 thousand fleeting.

It then follows Palermo that with beyond 567 thousand croceristi has marked in 2011 a +44%; in Sicily the meaningful increment of Messina-Milazzo (+34% is always signaled) that it has exceeded 500 thousand fleeting. Shortly distance one from the other follows before the area the Northeast with a +21% regarding 2010 and then that North-West (+9%). The first is hauled by Venice, according to Italian crocieristico port, than with about 1,8 million it has marked a +11.1% regarding 2010. The crocieristico traffic of the North the West is subdivided mainly between Savona (about 950 thousand) that it has grown of 21.5% and Genoa (about 800 thousand) that has recorded a bending of 7.2%.