Insights - March/April 2018 - 33

INTERNATIONAL INTERMODAL NEWS

Intermodal activity in Europe and North America is shown on this display

Spotlight on European
Intermodalism
IANA contributed to an exhibit
produced by its European sister association, the International Union for RoadRail Combined Transport (UIRR), in the
European Parliament building during the
week of January 29. The exhibit titled
"Intermodal Transport in Europe and
North America: What can we learn from
each other?" depicted a case study of
an intermodal transport operation in the
European Union side-by-side with one in
America.
Differences and similarities were
highlighted alongside with explaining
key concepts and circumstances of
intermodal transportation. The exhibit
was motivated by the desire to inform
European legislators and member state
governments about intermodal transport, which offers a superior alternative
to long-distance road haulage in terms
of carbon footprint, energy efficiency,
safety and security. Modal shift, to
reduce the 76 percent prevailing market
share of road haulage in European land
transport, is seen as key for achieving
the climate change mitigation aims of
the European Union.
The ceremonial opening of the
exhibit took place on January 30. Former
IANA Chairman and C. H. Robinson's
Director of Intermodal, Phil Shook led the
delegation consisting of several members of IANA.

Speakers
Shook emphasized the need for
intermodal participants on both sides
of the Atlantic to exchange their best
practices and thus learn from one

another. The
relentless
pursuit of
ever-improved
services
is the only
guarantee for
the continued
success of
intermodal in
both North
Shook
America and
Europe.
EU Transport Commissioner Violeta
Bulc highlighted in her speech the
role collaboration of transport modes
embodied in intermodal will have to
play in the drive to decarbonize and
to drastically reduce the pollution
and congestion caused primarily by
road transport. She underlined the
need for regulatory solutions that
make the joint functioning of a high
number of diverse actors to fulfill a
single transport assignment, which will
focus on digitalization. The exhibit was
designated the first freight event of the
Commissioner's Multimodal Year 2018
initiative.
Ranking member of the European
Parliament's Transport Committee,
Wim van de Camp, welcomed the
inauguration audience by declaring the
institution's strong preference for more
intermodality and his personal support
to pass the proposed amendments
to the Combined Transport Directive.
Efficient insertion of non-road modes
of transport, such as rail, inland
waterways and short sea shipping, into
land transport is strongly desired by the
European Parliament.

Dick Verdickt, senior advisor to
Belgian Transport Minister François
Bellot, conveyed the firm support of
the European Council and the Belgian
government to intermodality.
Ralf-Charley Schultze, UIRR's
president,
stated that
learning from
each other in
a globalized
world must
also be
global. This
is why UIRR
reached out
to its North
Schultze
American
counterpart, IANA. In European
transport, regulation and the states
continue to play an accentuated role.
Therefore, the sector alone cannot
master the challenges that it faces.

Longshore Contract Talks
Resume; Parties Express
Contract Hopes
The early March announcement
about the resumption of contract
negotiations between the International
Longshoremen's Association and
United States Maritime Alliance was a
leading international intermodal news
development.
The labor and management groups,
whose contract at East and Gulf Coast
ports expires on Sept. 30, 2018, issued
a joint statement in March that followed
three months after initial negotiations
were halted. During early December, the
parties met briefly before negotiations

March/April 2018 | Intermodal Insights

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