Fedespedi's quarterly economic outlook, focusing on international freight transport trends, highlights the resilience of Italy's international trade amid a challenging global landscape. Alessandro Pitto, Fedespedi's president, underscores Italy's role as an economic powerhouse despite a sluggish global container traffic growth of just +1.7% in the first nine months of 2023. Italy's exports, boasting over 3% growth in the same period, indicate the country's potential to enhance logistical efficiency. The quadrimestral reports delve into various economic indicators such as GDP, international trade, and Italy's import-export dynamics, shedding light on shipping trends, air cargo traffic, and Alpine transit routes. The latest edition also addresses the ramifications of the geopolitical crisis in the Red Sea since December 2023, impacting international maritime trade routes. Italy's industrial activities experienced a downturn in 2023, with production declining by 2.5% from January to October compared to the same period in 2022. This decrease is attributed to declines in manufacturing (2.1%) and extractive activities (5.3%). Despite this, Italy's exports witnessed a positive trend, growing by 3.1% in the first ten months of 2023, offsetting the subdued economic cycle. In contrast, imports decreased by 9.9%, influenced by falling commodity prices, particularly oil and gas.
The global container traffic, excluding transshipment and feeder activities, remained stable at 173.8 million TEUs in 2023, with a marginal decrease of 0.8% in container exchanges from January to October. However, October 2023 marked a positive turning point with a notable performance (+9.3%), although the crisis in the Red Sea may impede this progress. Air cargo traffic, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), saw an 8.3% increase in December 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. Yet, the economic downturn and reduced international trade exerted pressure on Italy's domestic air cargo, declining by 1.6% from 2022. Notably, Milan Malpensa experienced a 6.8% decline, while Rome Fiumicino saw a 35% growth. Alpine transit routes witnessed a modest 0.9% growth in heavy vehicle traffic on Italy's motorway network in the first nine months of 2023. However, transit through major Alpine passes, including Swiss crossings such as Gotthard and Sempione, experienced a slight reduction from 4,973 million heavy vehicles in 2022 to 4,816 million in 2023 (-3.2%).
