In Shanghai more than 250 logistics executives and government officials gathered together with Schneider National, a leading global logistics provider and The Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech to explore the theme Driving the Global Economy through China.

Delegates at the three-day conference predicted continued unprecedented growth in both marine and land transportation volume in coming years.

This is a fairly easy prediction to make. The bigger question is how China is going to deal with it?

Shanghai is the world’s largest port in total tonnage and is ranked third in container traffic. U.S.-China marine trade is expected to increase 12 to 15 percent annually, and by 2010, 35 percent of the world’s containers will be shipped from China.
China has built more than 20,000 miles of expressways over the past 20 years but speakers at the conference generally agreed that the development of China’s logistics industry has lagged behind.

Liu Zhi, general director for Industrial Policy at China’s National Development and Reform Commission, put it very clearly: ‘Modern supply chain management is needed to consolidate resources and optimize the efficiency of the circulation of goods in China.’

The easiest way to check the efficiency of logistics and transportation is to check them as a percentage agains the gross domestic product, the GDP. China runs 18 to 20 percent; the United States eight to 10 percent.

Qian Yongchang, former Minister of Transportation and current chairman of the China Communications and Transport Association said that because of this, ‘China’s 11th Five-Year Plan gives top priority to the development of the logistics industry.’

Chris Lofgren, president and CEO of Schneider National, said, ‘China’s logistics industry has clearly reached an inflection point, where advances in both infrastructure and the demands of the market require a higher level of cohesion among global players in the supply chain.’