Renfe has chosen MSC as a strategic partner for the coming years in its freight area. The public company seeks to increase its business both inside and outside Spain and to this end it has approved in the board of directors held yesterday the proposal to associate with Medlog, the logistics subsidiary of the company considered the first shipping company in the world.
Renfe Mercancías and Medlog will create a joint company so that the railway services of the Spanish operator are included within the logistics chain of the MSC group. The shipping company is a world leader in maritime, logistics and container transport, so the services of Renfe Mercancías would help MSC to offer its clients a comprehensive transport service at origin and destination.
For Renfe, partnering with MSC also represents an opportunity to expand outside of Spain. The Swiss-based shipping company operates 760 vessels that travel more than 300 maritime routes around the world. It has a presence in 155 countries, has 180,000 employees and moves more than 22 million containers every year. The train, according to the board of directors of Renfe, appears to be the “natural ally” of this MSC business.
The joint venture will also allow for increasing the transport of goods by rail in Spain, especially in commercial relations that have origin or destination in the main ports of the Iberian Peninsula. It must be remembered that the Government has just agreed with the European Commission to boost this type of rail transport in exchange for eliminating from the Addendum to the Recovery Plan the obligation to implement new tolls on State-owned roads.
Renfe's highest management body has also valued the alliance with MSC as an opportunity to optimize the company's material resources, increasing their productivity and use. Renfe Mercancías staff will be able to join the new joint venture or continue in the public operator “without any type of detriment,” the company notes.
Renfe's proposal has yet to receive approval from the Government's Delegate Commission for Economic Affairs (CDGAE) and, subsequently, from the Council of Ministers. The public company, however, already points out that, if it receives authorization from the Government, it will be able to improve the results of Renfe Mercancías and, in this way, increase its business both in Spain and internationally.
The selection process for the new partner of Renfe Mercancías began last year, during the period of Isaías Taboas as president, and has allowed Medlog S.A. to be chosen. which has competed with other large international companies under criteria of economic solvency and technical character.
