Oliver Sellnick, UIC Freight Director, chaired the second day of this conference focusing on freight operators in Europe. Panelists included among others Geert Pauwels, Freight Group Coordinator SNCB Logistics, Lord Tony Berkely, President ERFA, Alan Gibson, Managing Director of ERS, Raimund Stür, CEO of TX Logistik, Krzysztof Sedzikowski, President of the Board of CTL Logistics, Dr. Christoph Wolff, Member of the Board DB Schenker, Heiner Rogge, General Secretary CLECAT, Harald Rotter, Managing Director HHLA Intermodal, Matej Augustin, Director General ZSSK Cargo, Oskar Kalmus, Member of the Management Board EVR Cargo, and Jan Komarek, Director General SZDC. Oliver Sellnick concluded the day by summarizing the discussions:

Operators

– can follow different strategies, but consolidation of market players appear to continue to progress
– should position themselves for the recovery now by improving processes, developing competitive products and making costs structures more flexible
– should focus on the business of your customers instead of talking too much about price
– need more stable access charges for infrastructure
– can consider leasing as a means to increase flexibility and to manage cashflow