Upply publishes its first financial overview of the freight transport industry, based on the 2020 results of the main groups operating internationally. The objective is to show the economic importance of the sector and the impact of the pandemic on the different categories of operators.
Since it was set up in 2018, Upply has been bringing transport and logistics professionals an instant global view of road, maritime and air transport prices, using data science and professional expertise.
The year 2020 showed how important this combination is for good supply chain management and investment choices in a sector which is highly sensitive to outside factors. From the spring on, the Covid-19 pandemic led to massive disruption of services and capacity shortages in international transport. Road transport, too, suffered heavy operational disruption. All this led to a sharp rise in air and ocean freight rates, while road transport, which is traditionally less volatile, experienced a more moderate progression. Subscribers to our Upply Compare and Analyze application have been able to follow transport price movements closely, helped by our market analysis articles. We wanted to complete our review of 2020 by publishing a financial panorama of the world's leading transport groups. It makes use of revenue-based classifications by type of activity.
A key economic sector
By delving into the annual reports and statements of the leading groups in the sector, we wanted in the first place to observe the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the activity of transporters and transport organisers in volume and value terms. We aim, too, to show the economic importance of a sector which is sometimes forgotten in public policymaking or seen solely in terms of the nuisances it can generate.
We hope that this financial panorama will bring a useful insight into your business activity. Given the scale of the task, some of the choices we have made have been necessarily subjective. We explain them in our methodology or in the classifications themselves. If you want to know more or talk to us, we will be happy to take advantage of your expertise.
Enjoy the read.
Anne Kerriou and David Thebault
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