The Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have changed the operating environment for freight transport, but the industry has quickly and nimbly adapted to keep goods moving.

In Finland, import growth was very strong in the first half of 2022, and according to Pellervo Economic Research PTT imports of goods and services will grow by approximately 5.6 per cent this year, the figure for 2021. According to Finnish Customs the value of imports in August 2022, for example, increased by 37.3 per cent from August 2021.

The largest group of products imported to Finland was machinery, equipment, and means of transport, which included power machines, engines, telephones, radios, and televisions. A lot of foodstuffs are also imported since Finland's northern location means not all food can be grown here, or it would be prohibitively expensive. That is why many fruits and vegetables as well as coffee, tea and cocoa are imported.

The operational manager of Steveco Logistics, Pauliina Lindholm, confirms that imports have been growing in recent years.

"Covid did not seem to greatly affect the amount of cargo coming to Finland," she says in reference to developments in recent years. The situation in Russia, on the other hand, has had a greater impact as cargo traffic has dried up due to sanctions.

However, Lindholm believes that the positive trend will continue going forward. The volume of transport is influenced by consumer demand on the one hand and the needs of industry on the other.

"I am confident that a sufficiently diverse customer base and solid experience in transporting a wide variety of cargo will ensure business in the future as well,” she predicts.

Experienced personnel, reliable subcontractors

According to Lindholm, Steveco's position is solidified by its highly experienced personnel and established and reliable subcontracters. The services can always be scaled and tailored according to the customers' current needs.

"Recently, of course, it has become an increasingly important part of our work to be very clear about sanctions regulations, among other things. At times, we’ve had to make a daily check of new regulations that need to be taken into account."

Eckes-Granini Finland is pleased with its Steveco cooperation

Eckes-Granini Finland Oy Ab, operating in Turku, is the juice market leader in Finland and is part of Europe's leading juice products group Eckes-Granini Group GmbH, whose head office is located in Germany. The company has been making beverages from berries and fruits for over 150 years. About a third of the juices sold in Finland are made in Turku on Finland’s southwest coast. The company's other products are manufactured in the group's production facilities in different parts of Europe. Its best-known brands include Mehukatti, Marli, God Morgon, Granini, Brämhults and Tropic.

Eckes-Granini Finland's current cooperation with Steveco began in May when the juice company needed to quickly transfer some of the production of its single-portion juice cartons in Finland to the parent company's Lithuanian production facility. Since the market for these products is in Finland, it was also urgent to find a way to transport the products from Lithuania as competitively as possible, but without risking delivery reliability to Finland.

"We had other options, but we ended up cooperating with Steveco mainly because they had a cost-effective alternative to offer," says purchasing and logistics manager Harri Juntunen from Eckes-Granini Finland.

"Furthermore, Steveco had experience in this kind of project-based work, which was also important so that there would be no surprises.

Textbook cooperation

According to Juntunen, Eckes-Granini Finland's cargoes are transported from Lithuania by trucks via Tallinn to Finland and to Turku, from where they are then distributed to different parts of the country in the same way as the juices made in Turku.

"This cooperation was organized surprisingly smoothly," Juntunen says approvingly, as he underscores the significant changes in the world during this last year.

"We agreed to start cooperation in May last year, and the first loads were on the road already in June. Everything has been textbook quality,” he says.

Services individually tailored for each customer

Marko Tuokko, the sales manager responsible for Steveco's cooperation with Eckes-Granini Finland, says that the agreement with Eckes-Granini Finland was signed relatively quickly.

"The length of time needed to start working with a new customer varies a lot," he says.

"Sometimes we start transporting loads the very next day, while especially with large customers it can take much longer."

According to Tuokko, forwarding is an extremely competitive business, and Eckes-Granini Finland most likely had several offers from other forwarding companies.

”We tendered the most suitable service package for them." He says that it is easier for customers to trust professionals who know how to handle the transport even in exceptional times and in fast-changing situations. As a company that has been operating for a long time, Steveco is exceptionally experienced in this.

"Plus we have a very established and reliable network of subcontractors."

The situation in Ukraine creates uncertainty

According to Tuokko, the situation in Ukraine has meant new uncertainties in the forwarding industry. This was seen especially last spring when there was a lot of uncertainty about continuing rail freight through Russia and even contradictory information that changed daily depending on interpretations of the sanctions.

The situation in Ukraine has also affected trade in Ukrainian products and the opportunities for Ukrainian drivers to continue driving.

"The number of Ukrainian drivers has declined since the country's production and exports have fallen.” Tuokko points out, however, that the effects of the war have not been uniform. “There have been changes for the better as well as for worse among our customers.

"However, the changes have not been revolutionary. Where for some cargo volumes have decreased, for others the volumes are up. It is clear that such historical events affect the transport industry," he sums up.

Text: Mika Horelli