FS group and MSC sign a MoU to create synergies in logistics

FS group and MSC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Geneva. The agreement was signed on September 14th by FS Group CEO Luigi Ferraris and Mercitalia Logistics CEO Gianpiero Strisciuglio, MSC Group Chairman Gianluigi Aponte, and Giuseppe Prudente, Chief Logistics Officer of MSC and President of MEDLOG.

The concept behind this MoU is to look into intermodality, and more synergy between sea and rail, for a more reliable and sustainable logistics chain. The MoU will first check for opportunities and mutual interest to implement a commercial and operational partnership and develop a combined maritime business.

FS’s Polo Logistica companies, starting with Mercitalia Logistic, and MSC Group companies, including MEDWAY and MEDLOG, which respectively deal with rail and road transport, intermodality and logistics, will be responsible for implementing the MoU. This operating cooperation has already taken its first steps forward in the past weeks with the launch of a partnership at the Gioia Tauro port terminal on shunting services and rail transport between Gioia Tauro and Interporto Padova.

Areas in which the synergies between the group companies will be assessed and may be developed are of terminal management, either backport areas and in-land ports, national and European and management of the network of trains and intermodal railway services, which could also benefit from the sharing of assets (like locomotives) for greater flexibility and quality, again operating in both the national and European markets, which is now considered the new domestic market.

Luigi Ferraris, CEO of the FS Group, said “The signing of this MoU with a Group of such great international relevance as MSC, strengthens the Polo Della Logistica’s strategy as a system operator and consolidates its presence along the logistics chain, placing rail transport at the centre of the development, over distances of more than 300/400 km. It is in fact an objective of our Industrial Plan to double the current share of goods transported by rail within a decade, also thanks to increasingly effective connections of our ports and terminals to the national network and European rail corridors”.

Giuseppe Prudente, Chief Logistics Officer at MSC and President of MEDLOG, added “This partnership fits into the framework of a long-standing collaboration between the MSC Group and the FS Group. Our group, through MEDLOG and MEDWAY, has a strong presence in Italy and Europe. The partnership with the FS Group plays a crucial role in the development of our business, both for port and in-land terminals and for testing new gateways. In this view rail transport is a modal shift, it represents a new example for the development of freight transport in Italy, for smarter and more sustainable logistics both for the environment and for workers.”