Transportation and Logistics Market Insights—Austria

Austria’s economic growth is primarily driven by the rising private consumption and the improving transport infrastructure. The country's geographical location favors trade with countries in Northern Europe and helps attract foreign investors. A key long-term factor that will contribute to the enrichment of the Austrian economy is the constructive partnerships between trade unions, the government, and companies. Austria is a member of the European Union and the European Monetary Union and has multilateral and bilateral trade agreements with several countries. The government has taken initiatives to streamline regulations, promote competition, and encourage entrepreneurship to support growth. The country is working on technology-oriented transport systems to become a key participant in smart mobility - mobility as a service (MaaS). Technology advancements, skilful ICT professionals, the Cooperative Intelligent Transport System (CITS), and the use of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in warehouses are the key transformational trends in Austria.

Digitization will be the key factor driving the transportation sector. The major automotive ecosystem participants are investing in infrastructure development. Tech start-up companies are launching innovative products; however, only a few companies combine the old industrial knowledge with the new IT skills.

Austria consistently scores high on the Logistics Performance Index, and it continues to invest in technology and infrastructure. It is strategically positioned as a bridgehead to South East and Eastern Europe. Over the last few years, Austria has been investing in hydrogen fuel cell and electric mobility R&D. Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) services are based on networked communication between vehicles to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I). Austria will continue to be an important participant in the European logistics market. Increased competition from participants in Eastern Europe is a challenge; however, several steps such as driving cost reduction in logistics, developing integrated logistics solutions, and leveraging Big Data to deliver intelligent logistics solutions are being pursued.

Scope:
The aim of this insight is to research and analyze the key developments and trends related to economy and trade and the freight and transportation and logistics and warehousing sectors in Austria.

Objectives:
• To provide an overview of the key factors driving Austria's economy and trade
• To analyze the role of the transport and logistics sector in driving the country’s economy
• To identify the initiatives undertaken by the government to improve efficiency and reduce logistics costs
• To furnish a detailed analysis of the advancement in digital technologies
• To provide an in-depth analysis of how the traditional value chain is transformed as a result of technology advancements, e-Commerce growth,
regulatory changes, and investment
• To identify the emerging opportunities as a result of economic and technology transformations and how they are expected to change the
competitive environment