Approaches to Assess the Impact of Global Trends of International Logistics Companies’ Activities

Abstract

Transportation holds an important position in the context of global economy and international business, as its use is necessary to create interconnections and new processes within various economic systems. The following factors are to be taken into account in order to increase demand for transportation services: economic growth, increase in production and sales, rise in profitability, globalization, integration of international markets and emergence of new approaches to logistics itself. There is a need to increase efficiency and competitiveness of transportation services. The parties involved in the process have to solve the problems concerning their technological, technical and commercial interaction. To provide the organizations engaged in transportation with an opportunity to perform their functions in a qualitative manner, there is also a need to form market segments of transportation services. The steady growth of foreign trade between countries, the increasing influence of global economic processes on the activities of firms provide for the logistics companies to seek the ways to cut costs and to build up competitive advantages. The analysis of export and import statistics shows an increase in foreign trade between the European and Asian countries which makes it necessary to draw attention of logistics companies to new, “faster” transport corridors. The Northern Sea Route is now under close scrutiny by many countries, even outside the pool of circumpolar states. The authors developed certain stages of assessment of the impact of global trends on the activities of international logistics companies within the framework of the problem under study.