The British International Freight Association (BIFA) will have a significant present, with staff from the secretariat as well as its regional consultants all being on the trade association’s exhibition booth at Multimodal 2019.

The show provides a great place for industry networking and meeting potential new clients and since the registration opened last month many high-profile shippers have already confirmed their attendance.

The trade association for UK freight forwarding and logistics companies will be using the event to set out some of the important work that it is carrying out on behalf of its members that are facing significant challenges to their provision of freight and logistics services for international trade, at present.

Robert Keen, BIFA Director General, says that whilst issues surrounding the ongoing Brexit saga are likely to be major talking points at Multimodal 2019, there will be plenty of other matters about which BIFA members are concerned on which the trade association is working hard.

“Driver shortages are playing out in higher input costs and threats to the longer term stability of the market.

“Ongoing e-commerce growth is leading to volatility for all operators in the Last Mile sector.

“Fuel costs remain a continuing risk of doing business in the logistics industry, and the last year saw significant rises in the cost of fuel as well as tolls, which has squeezed margins for our members that are active in the European trailer services sector.

“The shipping sector is considering how it will handle the low sulphur fuel regulations which are due to be imposed on the shipping industry in 2020, and it would appear that their plans will lead to spikes in rates.

“I’m sure that all of the above issues, and many more, will be in the thoughts of visitors to Multimodal 2019 and our members will want to know what actions BIFA is pursuing on their behalf.”

BIFA will also be using the event to showcase its increasing involvement in the world of recruitment and training.

On Day Three, which is dedicated to attracting talent to the logistics sector by showcasing the exciting careers, long-term prospects and up-skilling opportunities within the sector, Carl Hobbis, BIFA training development manager, will be chairing a seminar that specifically addressed the issues involved in attracting, retaining and developing talent in transport, logistics and supply chain.