For Transuniverse Forwarding, Poland has been one of our core markets for many years. “After we changed partner around three years ago, our groupage transports to and from that country saw considerable growth and the service provision improved considerably”, says Tim Van Oyen, traffic operator for Eastern European countries.
In Poland, Transuniverse works with Erontrans. This transport and logistics company from Gdansk is one the market leaders in that country, with a very diverse pallet of products. It has a large cross-dock facility in Piotrków Trybunalski, a very central and a strategically excellent location. “From here, every destination in Poland can be reached quickly, so we can guarantee very tight transit times”, adds Tim.
“We now offer ten departures per week. That is considerably more than with our previous partner. Another bonus with Erontrans is that it has its own truck fleet. This means we can not only build-in a great deal of flexibility, but also scale-up the transports further when demand increases again”, he says. At the start of the pandemic, the transports reduced slightly, but today we are back to pre-corona levels.
The goods that Transuniverse transports to and from Poland are extremely diverse. “It can be anything from textiles to plants, or foam for pillows, and so on. We can also transport ADR goods in thermal vehicles, which is rather exceptional”, says Tim again. Another advantage from the collaboration with Erontrans is their excellent knowledge of what’s known as “SENT” procedures. These provide registration of certain imported tax goods, oils and ADR products – and extra controls – to combat the black market.
A Strong Growing Economy
The fact that there is a considerable in increase in shipments to Poland, is thanks to the fast growth of the economy. The country has been undergoing massive development since the fall of the Iron Curtain. In 1990, on an economic level, it was at around the same level as Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. It has now left those countries far behind and has overtaken countries that were economically stronger at the time, such as Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Prior to 2020, the GDP grew by 4 to 5% each year whereby Poland performed significantly better than most Western-European countries. This growth was thanks to investments from Polish companies; the growth of domestic consumption; the increase in exports; and infrastructure projects financed in part by the EU.
The corona crisis hampered this growth but, at -3.6%, the economic slump in 2020 was less drastic than in many other countries. Experts predict that the economic growth will pick up again this year with 4.6% and with 4.5% in 2022. Potentially the growth could even head towards the 6% mark.
Facts & Figures
- Surface area 312,689 km² (10 x the size of Belgium)
- Number of inhabitants: 38.53 million
- Head of state: President Andrzej Duda
- Head of government: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki
- Currency: Zloty (PLN); 1,000 zloty = 220 euros
- Capital city: Warsaw (1.7 million inhabitants)
- Major cities: Krakow (759,800 inhabitants), Lódz (708,554), Wroclaw (633,105), Poznan (546,829), Gdansk (461,935), Szczecin (408,105), Bydgoszcz (358,614), Lublin (343,144), Katowice (303,314)
