ZV conffirms importance of the “New Silk Road” for Austria
The Austrian association for forwarding & logistics (ZV) has great expectations to the logistics focus of Austria’s new federal government. “I am pleased that our demands to improve the domestic logistics location have found their way into the new government program. For the first time, it has been possible to explicitly anchor central logistics issues in it,” states ZV President Wolfram Senger-Weiss in a press release.
An urgent requirement of the ZV is to create space for new logistics area and to regulate dedications nationwide. The priority treatment of this topic can be found in several places in the government program.
Another important requirement that has found its way into the government program is the broad gauge extension with a so-called “dry port” in the metropolitan area of Vienna. Wolfram Senger-Weiss sees this as a historically unique opportunity for the domestic business location. Now it is time to decide quickly and to ensure financing.
Also the “New Silk Road” can be found in the government program as a priority theme. The logistics industry has long been calling for a clear strategy on the part of the government. Only those who cooperate can help to shape it, says Oliver Wagner, Managing Director of ZV Spedition & Logistik. Neighboring countries such as Hungary or Germany are already working intensively on the “New Silk Road” topic.
Logistics is crucial for the competitiveness of the export-oriented Austrian economy and gains importance because of the turnaround towards e-commerce, reads the ZV press release. 11,000 logistics companies in Austria directly employ 160,000 people and, according to a survey by the Institute for Industrial Research (IWI), generate sales of EUR 34 billion per year.
The ZV is the independent and transport-mode neutral representation of interests at national, European and international level, with a strong member service component. The core of the association is its nine departments. These range from land transport Europe, sea freight and air freight to green logistics and law and insurance, where current industry topics are developed by experts from the member companies on a voluntary basis.