Marseille-Fos: A vital link in the supply chain for France and Europe

All the port stakeholders are mobilised for the continuity of activities.

The Marseille-Fos port community is still up and running to ensure the continuity of its essential operations and duties, which include transporting merchandise and docking ships, to maintain the flow of goods to France and Europe.

Dockworkers, forwarding agents, carriers and logistics specialists are all on deck. These activities are even more crucial against the extraordinary backdrop of a pandemic that has grounded regular airliners and forced air freight to resort to chartered flights.

Marseille-Fos has been a haven for cruise ships and ferries confined to port since March 17 and, now more than ever, the port is working tirelessly to maintain the continuity of maritime merchandise transport.

"All our services are operational. Forwarding agents are operating. Ground, river and rail transportation are all operating," noted Hervé Martel, Chairman of the Management Board of the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille. Both private companies and government agencies have made organizational adjustments to comply with health and safety guidelines.

"Logistics is a priority sector, on par with healthcare, law enforcement, national education and food processing. Drivers and stock handlers are doing an extraordinary job. They are essential links in the chain of solidarity whom we should all thank at 8:00 pm. Logistics are critical in maintaining economic activity in our country, for all sectors. Manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and warehouse managers must remain open – even partially – because otherwise we risk a breakdown in the chain. Logistics are truly essential for coming through this painful period," adds the Chairman of LAM France, Stéphane Salvetat, who also heads up the forwarding agents' union for Marseille-Fos.

"Forwarding agents play a strategic role"

Several entrepreneurs in the transportation and logistics industry who were drawn to the region in recent years by Provence Promotion also echo this sentiment.

"Forwarding agents play a strategic role ‒ they help feed people," says Joris Staes, who acquired the Eurofret business in Marseille in April 2017 with the assistance of Provence Promotion.

Beyond the traditional flows of containerized goods, general merchandise and bulk goods are also operating normally. Since March 28, 2020, the reopening of the locks at Sablons has jump-started river traffic, helping to support the transportation of goods. This robust recovery in the flow of solid bulk goods is noteworthy, especially for grains, a key component of the food processing industry.

CFC Transport, whose relocation to Saint Martin de Crau in 2017 got a boost from Provence Promotion, spoke about the reorganization of its operations. "The epidemic and confinement measures put a stop to specialized retail and the construction industry, but we intensified our collaboration with LPR, the pallet leasing company that supplies the mass retail sector," explains Philippe Curel. The manager of CFC Transport has managed to keep 22 drivers on the payroll (seven of whom are supporting charter contracts).

Ceva: mask logistician

Some professionals in the transportation and logistics business are involved in the delivery of masks and medical supplies. For example, Ceva Logistics, which became a subsidiary of CMA CGM in 2019 and transferred its international headquarters to Marseille with the help of Provence Promotion, oversaw the carriage of 4 million surgical masks from China for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. The shipping company also donated 100,000 masks to the French government. They were immediately made available to the Île-de-France regional health agency for distribution throughout France. Thus the CMA CGM Group made a show of solidarity and helped out in the national effort to defeat the epidemic. "As a company, we must stand up to protect our employees and, more broadly, to do our part in the fight against this epidemic, working alongside the government and healthcare professionals," proclaimed Rodolphe Saadé, CEO with CMA CGM.

Transpare, a maritime start-up housed at ZeBox, the shipowner's business incubator, is putting its digital platform to work to help deliver medical supplies (masks, respirators, hydro-alcohol gel, etc.) and essential goods. Transpare is offering its expertise free of charge to organizations that have import or export needs.

A hub of international transport and logistics expertise

Logistics and maritime transport are one of the six industries of excellence in Aix-Marseille-Provence that are promoted internationally by Provence Promotion. Each year, new companies are drawn to the region, which has one of the highest concentrations of logistics know-how in all of Europe.

Over the last three years (2017 to 2019), a total of 26 transport and logistics companies from France and 9 foreign countries have opened sites, generating 926 new jobs in the Bouches du Rhône area with the support of Provence Promotion.

> Video of Hervé Martel, speaking about the continuity of operations at the Marseille-Fos port