France will enforce the 40-ton rule for cross-border traffic with Belgium
France has announced that they will start enforcing a European rule that limits cross-border traffic within the EU to 40 tons, despite the allowance of 44...
British freeports may negatively affect Dutch seaports
The Dutch Institute for Transport and Logistics (Kennisinstituut voor Mobiliteit, KiM) investigated the case of the British freeports to be developed as places of settlement. Freeports...
Rail traffic situation in Germany
There have been many disturbances in the railroad sector recently. Due to the strikes in Germany, the planning of transport for shippers was difficult for days,...
EUROCONTROL study on climate change risks for European aviation
A new report carried out by Egis and the UK Met Office on behalf of EUROCONTROL assesses how existing weather trends have impacted aviation in recent...
New Silk Road no longer needs subsidies
The pandemic taught a lesson that the success of the New Silk Road does not rely on the Chinese subsidies, or any other subsidies for that...
Inland transport of dangerous goods: EC to authorise certain national derogations
Please click here to access the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1436 of 31 August 2021 amending Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council...
Strike in Germany is hampering EU supply chains
Godfried Smit, ESC Secretary General, talked to RTL Z news. Strike in Germany is hampering EU supply chains. Many companies have no alternative mode for transport....
PLATINA3 survey on greening challenge
The EU-funded PLATINA3 project intends to provide targeted coordination and support activities to promote inland waterway transport (IWT) in Europe. Inside the project, a specific task is...
First ENTRANCE Live Webinar
The first webinar within the European ENTRANCE project took place live on 22nd June 2021 with the European Investment Bank (EIB). Two experts of the EIB,...
New eTOLL road user charging system in Poland for goods and passenger transport
In June 2021, Poland introduced a new tolling system (eTOLL) for all vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Mass of more than 3.5 tonnes. This included goods...
Relaunching rail freight for green growth
French rail freight sector, shippers and industry, unite to express their deep concern about the financing and the implementation of a national strategy that truly embodies...
The European Commission’s response about the traffic disruptions at Brenner corridor
The European Parliament asked the European Commission about the restrictions on the free movement of commercial vehicles in transit through Austria and Germany. The Commission communication...
Updated overview of FTA and other trade negotiations
DG TRADE provided an update of the current status of Free Trade Agreements and other trade negotiations. For more information, please see here.
Digital Container Shipping Association launches Adopter Programme
Programme enables stakeholders to publicly demonstrate successful adoption of DCSA standards Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 29, 2021 – Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), a neutral, non-profit...
Expensive transportation of cargo translates into expensive or not available goods
ESC talked to Bloomberg about the effects that the high shipping costs have on consumers. « At the retail level, vendors are faced with three choices:...
Electronic freight transport information (eFTI) developments
Joint position paper on "Achieving an interoperable electronic freight information exchange system in Europe" was supported by Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. This...
Challenges in the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
On May 26, the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) organised a public hearing on the implementation of the EU-UK Trade...
Suspending commercial policy measures concerning certain products originating in the US
The European Commission published Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/866 of 28 May 2021 suspending commercial policy measures concerning certain products originating in the United States of America...
Briefing on Eurovignette directive
On June 3, EU Transport Ministers met to discuss the Eurovignette directive. The representative of the Portuguese Presidency began the discussion by providing an update on...
Driving bans for trucks in Europe
The calendar of official public holidays and the table of driving bans in Europe in 2021 is available here.
ENTRANCE Live Webinar on EIB Funding mechanisms
Are you looking for funding sources that allow you to launch your innovative product on the market? The ENTRANCE project is designed to mobilise financial...
Joint Press Release: Transport workers, operators and shippers unite to lift global standards on driver treatment
Brussels, Geneva and London, 20 May 2021 – the Global Shippers Alliance (GSA), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF),...
ERA webinar: How rail freight helps achieving climate goals
20 May 2021, European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) is organising a free webinar: How rail freight helps achieving climate goals. ERA will present the second...
European Coordinators discussed the progress of the TEN-T Core Network Corridors
On 10 May 2021, the TRAN Committee of the European Parliament invited the European Coordinators in charge of the TEN-T Core Network Corridors to discuss the...
2021 Sustainability Survey is open
Modern Supply Chain Management practices are facing severe criticism for their impact on the environment. How the industry responds to these challenges is critical. Ti, in...
Maritime high rates
A further spike in container spot rates, particularly for Mediterranean ports, continues. Ocean carriers are said to be preparing big increases in short-term rates as cargo-rolling...
“SUEZ CANAL: what else for global shippers?”
Global Shippers’ Alliance organised a webinar to discuss the Suez Canal blockage and consequences of this event. For the presentations and the recording of the event,...
Research and Innovation Days 2021
The European Commission has published the programme of this year's Research and Innovation Days taking place on 23-24 June. The European Research and Innovation Days is...
Council approach on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods
The Council meeting (Transport, Telecommunications and Energy) will take place on 3 June 2021 and will focus on the Proposal for a Directive of the European...
Cerame-Unie shares ESC’s concerns about current disruption in global trade due to container shortage
16 April 2021, Brussels - The ceramic industry is being affected by the unprecedented surge in freight transport prices and calls on the European Commission to...
Hop on the Connecting Europe Express
The Connecting Europe Express, one of the European Year of Rail 2021’s most emblematic initiatives, is being presented on the 29th of March during the official...
15 Member States call for rail modal shift
Transport ministers from 15 European Union Member States adopted a joint position paper to call for the EU Commission to launch an initiative in favour of...
Commission approves €3.7 million Polish aid to promote shift of freight transport to rail
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an individual aid measure to promote the shift of freight transport from road to rail in...
US: the Federal Maritime Commission is investigating the activities of ocean carrier alliances
The Federal Maritime Commission met virtually and in closed session on the 7th of April 2021 to discuss developments in the ongoing Fact Finding 29 investigation...
Ultra Large Container Vessels: “Too large to call”
Following the blockage of the Suez Canal for almost a week by the large container vessel of Evergreen Lines ESC advises to reassess the situation together...
Revision of the Eurovignette Directive: trilogue
On the 23rd of March 2021, the European Parliament, Council of the EU, and the European Commission met for a second trilogue to discuss the revision...
Shippers urged the Commission to take action in disturbed maritime market
Last week, European Shippers’ Council voiced shippers’ position on unreliability and peaking prices in the maritime container transport at the meeting organised by the European Commission. ...
ESC and CLECAT address the EC regarding the transalpine transit situation
ESC and CLECAT sent a letter to Ms Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, to express their concerns about the ongoing difficulties...
Cross-border movement between France and Belgium by trucks weighing 44 tons
Following an order of the European Commission to fully transpose the directive 2015/719 modifying the weights and dimensions directive 96/53/CE, there will be a modification in...
New IRU survey shows driver shortages to soar in 2021
IRU's annual driver shortage survey has revealed that, despite reduced demand due to COVID-19, there is still an alarming shortage of drivers. Surveying 800 road transport...
Brexit: customs guidelines
French customs published guidelines in English to explain to foreign operators the modalities of crossing the border in order to allow the fluidity of the traffic...
Commission welcomes European Parliament’s approval of InvestEU
The European Commission welcomes the European Parliament's vote confirming the political agreement on InvestEU reached in December 2020. The InvestEU Programme will provide the EU with...
Combined Transport delivers Paris Agreement aims
Zero-Carbon Combined Transport is when electric trucks deliver the containers to electrically powered transshipment terminals and the cargo is then loaded onto electric freight trains. This...
Platina3 has officially kicked-off!
The Platform for the implementation of a future inland navigation action programme PLATINA3 has officially kicked-off. This project aims to improve impact and broadening stakeholder engagement...
BOOSTLOG Launch event!
The BOOSTLOG project, a 3 year project funded by the EU through HORIZON 2020, will look into successful implementations of results from EU funded R&I projects...
Joint Statement on Recovery and Resilience Facility: Transport keeps us going forward
ESC together with the other stakeholders call on Member States and the European Commission to ensure that the transport sector receives adequate consideration in the National...
Less strict rules for use of take-off and landing slots
To support the transport sector during the pandemic, MEPs revamped rules for the use of airport slots to prevent ghost flights and extended the validity of...
DG MOVE – Trans-European transport network: revised guidelines
The European Commission's DG MOVE has published a consultation on 'Trans-European Transport network (TEN-T) - revised guidelines.' EU policy on transport infrastructure aims to facilitate transport...
ICONET project – simulation model ready for evaluation !
In the ICONET project, a simulation model has been developed to evaluate some of the operating parameters of Physical Internet networks. The model is available to...
ENTRANCE project kicked off !
How can Europe boost the uptake and upscaling of innovative transport and mobility solutions? On January 14th, 15 organisations from 7 different European countries, coordinated by...
BREXIT webinar, 15 February 2021
ESC is organising a webinar on Brexit on the 15th of February, 10h00-11h30. The objective is to discuss the basic elements of the Brexit deal with an...
Shippers and Forwarders meet DG Competition
As a follow up to the letters that ESC and CLECAT sent to DG Competition, the two associations discussed the situation in the maritime container market...
ICONET ALICE – ESC Collaboration workshop
As the ICONET project comes to an end, ETP ALICE and ESC are jointly organising a collaboration workshop. The key question to address is the following:...
ESC and Ecumene provide feedback for the European Maritime Transport Report
European Shippers’ Council and Ecumene Ventures provided its comments for the European Maritime Transport Emissions Report (EMTER). The first edition of the report will be published...
Shippers and forwarders call on European Competition Authorities to act
European shippers and freight forwarders have once more alerted the European Commission on the current practices of liner shipper carriers as European supply chains are becoming...
FETEIA and TRANSPRIME alert about new harmful and unethical practices of shipping companies
Maersk announced that they will keep merchant transport under their control in Barcelona Port as from the 15th of January 2021 onwards. This practice is considered as...
CLECAT, EEA & ESC – EU-UK transport of goods needs to be assured
CLECAT, EEA & ESC, representing European shippers, freight forwarders and express carriers, call on France to continue applying the COVID-19 measures in support of air cargo,...
Project Sunrays: COVID-19 vaccines transport
The Covid-19 pandemic showed how important air cargo is. With the distribution of vaccines, air cargo will continue playing its vital role. Project Sunrays was initiated...
Transport Ministers focus on social issues in aviation
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal are joining forces in an attempt to move the European Commission and their fellow-Member States towards...
Taking of daily rest periods by light vehicle drivers in France
The Commission is currently examining whether the new legal provisions introduced by France are compatible with the EU law: the ban on daily rest periods in...
Shortage of container ships in service is unsustainable
The largest problem facing the container shipping today is the lack of empty containers. This is what is causing very high spot rates. ESC addressed the...
Council agrees its stance on road charging reform
The EU is revising its road charging rules (Eurovignette directive) to address greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, congestion, and road infrastructure financing. On the...
EU guidelines on trials of Marine Autonomous Surface Ships
On the occasion of the 2nd International Ship Autonomy and Sustainability Summit, the European Commission together with EU Member States, Norway and with valuable industry input...
Package of declarations and recommendations adopted to help small businesses trade globally
The Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) officially adopted at its meeting on 11 December a package of six recommendations and declarations...
Bilateral reduction of customs duties for the EU and USA
On August 21, 2020, the European Union and the United States reached an agreement on a bilateral reduction of customs duties that facilitates market access for...
Let’s cross Brexit together
“Let’s cross Brexit together” webinar was organised by the Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects and took place on the 3rd of December. The participants...
ICONET project: validating Physical Internet concepts in the Port of Antwerp
The strategic goal of the ICONET project is to establish a “cloud-based Physical Internet (PI) framework and platform”. This platforms builds upon leading-edge technologies in a...
E-commerce and customs declarations
Are you doing business in the e-commerce branch and are you importing goods from outside the European Union – including the United Kingdom? Then you’re facing...
French shippers are raising alarm over the disruption of the maritime market
Since the end of 2019, French shippers have gone through several crisis situations in maritime transport. At the national level there were port and rail strikes...
ESC and CLECAT urge carriers to switch to a ‘new normal’
ESC and CLECAT urge carriers to review their operational and business practices, to ensure a regular flow of cargo and containers, and to respect schedule reliability...
Get ready for Brexit: important information for UK transport
No customs document? No digital pre-registration at the ferry terminal? Then no crossing! Due to Brexit there will be customs formalities in freight traffic with the...
TIACA Digital Air Cargo Forum
TIACA is organising its Digital Air Cargo Forum 2020 on 1-10 December 2020. Every day of the event will be devoted to a specific topic. The topic will...
ESC calls European authorities to look into the actions of vessel operators
European authorities should be concerned about the shipping lines not returning benefits to the market users, as stipulated by the Consortia Blok Exemption Regulation (CBER). Main...
Glyn Hughes to Take the Reins of TIACA as Its First Director General
Miami, 11 November 2020, The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) announced that Glyn Hughes will take the newly created role of Director General. He will manage...
50 Days before Brexit: customs formalities
European Shippers’ Council held its seminar “50 Days before Brexit” on the 12th of November. The speakers presented what customs formalities will be introduced in France,...
Mitigating Risks of Marine Fuel Uncertainty
On 10th of November, European Shippers’ Council together with Ecumene Ventures organised a webinar called Mitigating Risks of Marine Fuel Uncertainty and New Emissions Regulations. The...
Lkw Maut (toll) in Germany: violation of European law
On 28th of October, 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled that the level of German Lkw-Maut is in violation of European law. According to the...
ESC at Smart Ports event
ESC chaired panel session New Boost in Shipping: Shippers & Carriers into a Standard Mode of Understanding at the Smart Ports Conference with the participation of...
TIACA’s survey on sustainability
The entire air cargo industry: shippers, forwarders, airlines, airports, ground handlers, manufacturers, and IT solution providers are invited to respond to a sustainability survey organised by...
Implementation of rail noise ban in Germany: no sanctions during 2020-2021
ESC was calling the European and national authorities for a delay in the implementation of the national legislation in Germany on rail noise reduction. The national...