Lower Austrian forwarders still feel the sustained mutual reprisals with Russia, the Syrian crisis and the stagnant Chinese market. “Our industry is changing, and it is now more important than ever to develop new ideas and to adapt to difficult circumstances,” Alfred Wolfram, Chairman of the forwarding division of the Economic Chamber, says to the news service NÖ Wirtschaftspressedienst.
“Issues concerning world politics make it necessary for us to evolve from organisers of transport to freight forwarders of logistics. This is also why we put so much emphasis on a targeted promotion of young talent. The requirements are changing continuously. Therefore we need well trained staff to face also the future global challenges.”
Bureaucratization is an annoying issue for freight forwarders. “It’s devastating, what is raining down on us,” Alfred Wolfram complained referring to the SOLAS guidelines for the maritime container traffic that were globally introduced in July. “We have to employ a countless staff in the companies, only to deal with bureaucracy, before we can ever even begin our real work.”
Currently, there are 385 freight forwarding companies in Lower Austria, employing 5,700 persons and training 135 apprentices.
