The current import and export situation in Italy shows the challenges faced by the transportation industry, and has practical significance for thinking about Italian exports and their prospects from the perspective of mode change.
China is one of the EU's main partners and will become the EU's largest trading partner in 2020. Meanwhile, among EU countries, one of China's main partners is Italy. In 2020, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries exceeded 45 billion euros, of which nearly 13 billion euros were Italian exports to China. Similar to other EU countries, Italy has a trade deficit with China: about 19.4 billion euros in 2020, 18.5 billion euros in January-October 2021 (17 billion in the same period last year) EUR). The current import and export situation in Italy shows the challenges faced by the transportation industry, and has practical significance for thinking about Italian exports and their prospects from the perspective of mode change.
Italy's GDP fell by almost 9% in 2020 against the backdrop of the country's worst-hit coronavirus outbreak. Gross domestic product is expected to recover by 6.3%, based on data at the end of 2021. The country's recovery from the impact of the crisis will also benefit from the EU Recovery Fund, of which Italy will be the main beneficiary. As a result, economic growth accelerated in 2022 and an increase in exports is also to be expected. This current situation can be an additional incentive to accelerate the transition to rail transport.
The peculiarity of Italy lies in the economic imbalance between the north, where the country's main economic engine is located, and the south, which is dominated by agriculture. However, the north is characterized by more rail infrastructure, which is also a factor in favor of modal shifts. The main railway lines run north from Verona, via Austria to Munich, and northeast to Vienna and Maribor (Slovenia). The main container terminals are located near Milan and Verona. Therefore, regions such as Lombardy (the main export area to China), Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Veneto can be identified as cargo bases for expanding Italian exports to China by rail. To a lesser extent, Tuscany and Lazio can be used. Italy is a country where SMEs are widely involved in the international market. In contrast to the capitalist model dominated by large industrial capital, such as the German, Italian economic model, as well as Italian exports, is represented by a large number of medium-sized enterprises.
Italy is a country where SMEs are widely involved in the international market. In contrast to the capitalist model dominated by large industrial capital, such as the German, Italian economic model, as well as Italian exports, is represented by a large number of medium-sized enterprises.
In Italy, rail accounts for about 14% of land freight traffic, lower than Germany (18%), Austria (32%) and Switzerland (35%), but higher than France (10%). Italy, like other EU countries, has set a target to convert 30% of freight traffic over 300 kilometers to rail by 2030 and 50% by 2050. Rail's main competitor is Italy's extensive port network, including the ports of Genoa, La Spezia and Naples, which attract large numbers of shippers. In addition, in the strategy of the Italian National Railways (English name, FS, Group) and its subsidiary Mercitalia, as the country's main freight operator, the development of multimodal transport (Terzo, Valico) connecting the country's ports has a special position.
At the same time, the speed and cost advantages of railway transportation have also promoted the transformation of transportation methods. According to the ERAI website, the volume of goods exported from Italy to China via the Eurasian railway via Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan in 2021 has exceeded the total volume of the previous year by November, but is still small in absolute terms , there is still a lot of room for growth.
Finally, another reason for optimism is that Italy is interested in shifting the flow of goods to the "trans-Eurasian track". Italy is one of the first EU countries to support China's "Belt and Road" initiative, given China's EU-related investments in infrastructure and transport connectivity.