BELGIAN TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS BELGIAN BelgianBelgian advanced BelgianSoftware materials SoftwareIT PLASTICS & RUBBER Belgian BELGIAN Biotechnology SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS belgian innovative f d solutions Belgian BELGIAN BELGIAN Waste& DIGITAL Recycling BANK NG COSMETICS Solutions TECHNOLOGIES BELGIAN AEROSPACE BELGIAN AUDIOVISUAL TECHNOLOGIES BELGIUM MADE DIFFERENT INDUSTRY 4.0 BELGIAN LIFE SCIENCES Chief editor: Fabienne L’Hoost Authors: Wouter Decoster, Lorenzo Van Elsen, Pascaline De Splenter & Astrid Van Snick Graphic design and layout: Bold&pepper COPYRIGHT © Reproduction of the text is authorised provided the source is acknowledged Date of publication: October 2020 Printed on FSC-labelled paper This publication is also available to be consulted at the website of the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency: www.abh-ace.be The personal data communicated during the interviews will not be used by the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency for any other purpose than the current publication, nor will be it transmitted to third parties. The contents of the interviews were approved by the respective companies for use in this publication. BELGIAN TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 PRESENTATION OF THE SECTOR 4-41 1. INTRODUCTION TO BELGIAN TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS 6 2. STAKEHOLDERS 28 2.1 OFFICIAL PARTNERS 28 2.2 TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS PARTNERS 30 CHAPTER 2 SUCCESS STORIES IN BELGIUM 42-67 AIR CARGO BELGIUM 44 EMIXIS 46 FAST LINES GROUP 48 ICO TERMINALS 50 LIEGE CONTAINER TERMINAL 52 PORT OF BRUSSELS 54 SEDIS LOGISTICS 56 SUMY 58 TAILORMADE LOGISTICS 60 VAN MIEGHEM LOGISTICS 62 WEERTS SUPPLY CHAIN 64 ZIEGLER 66 CHAPTER 3 DIRECTORY OF COMPANIES 68-76 3 PRESENTATION OF THE SECTOR PRESENTATION OF THE SECTOR SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO BELGIAN TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS 1.1 Transport and logistics: heavyweight of an open Belgian economy As a small and open country, Belgium has a great degree of goods with a share of 7.1% and the 6th largest importer of interdependence with its neighbouring countries, the EU goods with a share of 6.9%. and the world. This is why, because of its vital facilitating role as a link between economic sectors stimulating The free international flow of goods and foreign trade have business activity and international trade, the transport and always been of crucial importance to the Belgian economy. logistics sector is a cornerstone of the Belgian economy. As By way of illustration, in 2019, exports and imports of goods a matter of fact, regardless of the economic sector, combined accounted for just over 160% of the Belgian GDP, transport and logistics activities can be found transversally with Europe remaining by far our country’s main export and across all types of businesses. In other words, in an open import destination, followed by Asia. As a result of its economy like that of Belgium, transport and logistics are economic openness and its dependence on international heavily dependent on the free movement of goods within a trade, Belgium ranked 3rd on the 2019 KOF Globalization globalized market. Index, which measures the economic, social and political dimensions of globalisation. Belgium’s state-of-the art infrastructure, its geographical location at the heart of Europe and its significant position in This sector study will focus exclusively on the national and global value chains has resulted in the country’s leading international transport of goods – not people – from a point position in international trade and therefore in transport of departure to a point of destination by sea, air, road, rail or and logistics. In this way, according to figures released by inland waterway. Focus will also be on logistics, which, the World Trade Organization, Belgium was the 13th largest according to the European Commission, is “a set of services exporter of goods worldwide in 2019 with EUR 397 billion including planning, organisation, management, execution worth of goods exported and the 14th major importer of and monitoring of a company’s entire material, goods and goods worldwide with EUR 380.6 billion worth of goods information flows (from purchasing, production and imported. This means that Belgium’s trade balance warehousing to added value services, distribution and displayed a surplus of EUR 16.4 billion in 2019. Within the reverse logistics)”. EU that same year, Belgium was the 6th largest exporter of 6 BELGIAN TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS 1.2 Transport and logistics: sector comprises some 186,290 full-time equivalent an economic driving force positions as of November 25, 2019, accounting for a little more than 8% of Belgian domestic employment. As a consequence of its openness to the world economy Furthermore, the number of third-party transport jobs has and its dependence on international trade, Belgium heavily also seen a marked increase, which attests once again to relies on the transport and logistics sector. As a matter of the expertise of Belgian businesses in leading many fact, according to the National Bank of Belgium in a 2017 transport and logistics operations. study, the transport and logistics sector is unquestionably an economic driving force of the Belgian economy with its services generating 7.6% of its GDP and 8% of jobs in the country. 1.3 Key assets Relative importance of logistic activities inside and outside The significant contribution of the transport and logistics the logistics sector, 2017 (in % of GDP) sector to the Belgian GDP and its positive effects on domestic employment are the result of a great number of key competitive advantages that Belgium has to offer, such as geographical location, infrastructure and accessibility. 1.3.1 A Gateway to Europe Thanks to its central geographical position at the heart of world trade flows and the main European markets, Belgium possesses a major asset to conduct logistics activities. A staggering 80% of Europe’s purchasing power lies within a 800 km radius (+- 500 miles) from Brussels. Consequently, Belgium is a gateway to 500 million European consumers. Source: National Bank of Belgium Belgium’s location at the heart of the European Megalopolis or Blue Banana, a term coined by the French geographer Data from FEBETRA, the Royal Federation of Belgian Roger Brunet to designate the densely populated and highly Carriers and Logistic Service Providers, confirm this urbanized space which stretches approximately from London analysis. According to FEBETRA, the transport and logistics to Milan, is the main reason why many multinationals have chosen to establish European distribution centers in Belgium Evolution of third-party transport employment, 2014 in order to reach these consumers. - 2018 (in jobs) 120 100 The European Megalopolis or Blue Banana 80 60 40 20 0 2014 2015 20162 0172 018 Blue-collar White-collar Total Source: Roger Brunet Source: National Social Security Office 7 PRESENTATION OF THE SECTOR 1.3.2 The quality of its multimodal infrastructure 1.3.3 Warehousing and distribution hotspot In addition to this ease of reaching major destinations within Europe’s most desirable logistics locations according to the intra-European market, Belgium’s excellent performance Prologis, 2017 in terms of transport and logistics is undoubtedly linked to yet another precious asset: the abundant transport infrastructures it has, offering endless logistics and distribution options at the center of Europe by road, rail, waterways or multimodal transport. In fact, according to the Belgian Federal Planning Bureau, the densities of Belgian transportation infrastructures by land, rail, and water are among the highest in Europe and greatly contribute to the attractiveness of Belgium as a logistics gateway to Europe. Belgium’s motorway network is the third most dense in Europe after the Netherlands and Luxembourg. When Source: ProLogis comparing the number of kilometers of motorway in Belgium (1,763 km) with the country’s total area (30,689 km2), the extensive coverage of the Belgian automotive network really becomes apparent. Especially in view of the Belgium continues to attract many distribution centers. fact that the longest distance between two points on According to the logistics real estate investment trust Belgian territory as the crow flies is around 280 km. ProLogis Europe’s most desirable logistics hotspots are located in the Benelux region due to its proximity to major consumption centers and its access to the gateways of global trade, its transportation infrastructure, the Historically, Belgium has been a pioneer in the development availability of a qualified workforce and its regulatory and of railway transportation networks in continental Europe. It multimodal environment. The Belgian locations Antwerp- was the second country after Great Britain and the first in Brussels and Liège consistently appeared in the top 10 of continental Europe to open a railway line (between Brussels most attractive logistical areas. and Mechelen in 1835) and produce locomotives. The Belgian railway traffic and infrastructure then expanded rapidly during the industrialization period and, with a total rail network extending over 3,605 km today, is the second most dense in Europe after the Czech Republic. Belgium’s strong position is also reflected in the fact that it is a major player in the production of railway equipment. Thanks to the two major European rivers with their sources in France – the Scheldt and the Meuse – that cross Belgium from South to North and flow into the North Sea in the Netherlands, the density of the Belgian inland waterway network follows the same pattern. As a