As part of SIL Barcelona 2026, the Spanish Shippers’ Council (SSC), the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) and the Global Shippers’ Alliance (GSA) organized the conference “Global Supply Chains in a Context of Regional Tensions”, a forum dedicated to exploring the key challenges currently facing shippers and logistics operators in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment.

The session was moderated by Jordi Espín, Secretary General of SSC, and brought together a distinguished panel of industry experts. The event opened with a keynote presentation by Marta Torrents Fenoy, who provided a strategic overview of the legal and operational challenges affecting supply chains in today’s global landscape. This was followed by an insightful presentation from Godfried Smit, Secretary General of the European Shippers’ Council (ESC), who shared a European and international perspective on the evolution of global trade and the implications of growing regional tensions.

The subsequent panel discussion featured Mariuxi Chávez, Arturo Fernández, Mónica Viloria, and Ramón J. Pérez López, who shared their experiences and perspectives on how companies are adapting their logistics strategies to respond to an increasingly complex and volatile environment.

Throughout the session, participants examined critical topics including the impact of geopolitical conflicts on international trade flows, the growing vulnerability of global supply chains, evolving regulatory frameworks, and the need for organizations to strengthen their operational resilience.

One of the central themes of the discussion was the strategic role of data and digitalization in supply chain management. Speakers highlighted how visibility, data ownership, information control, and data-driven decision-making have become essential factors in maintaining competitiveness and improving adaptability across supply chains.

The conference underscored the importance of fostering collaboration between shippers, logistics operators, and institutions in order to anticipate risks, share knowledge, and build more resilient, efficient, and future-ready supply chains.

SSC would like to thank all speakers and participants for contributing to such a valuable and insightful discussion, as well as ESC and GSA for their collaboration in making this event possible.

On Thursday, January 29, we had the pleasure of attending, as the Spanish Shippers’ Council (SSC) – Transprime, the Board of the Port of Barcelona, in a particularly relevant and enriching session.

Our Secretary General, Jordi Espin Vallbona, presented in detail the Shipper of Trust Certificate (CCR), explaining what it is, what it entails, and why we firmly believe it represents a key element for the future of transport and logistics.

Through the CCR, we promote a clear vision: “Trust as the new currency.” Trust, ethics, resilience, and responsibility are no longer optional values, but central elements for building solid, sustainable supply chains ready to face current and future challenges.

It was a true pleasure to share this reflection within the framework of the Board, as well as to listen to the different voices of the port and logistics ecosystem in a well-structured session with highly valuable contributions.

We sincerely thank the Port of Barcelona for the invitation and the warm welcome, as well as all the speakers and participants. Without a doubt, it was a very interesting, inspiring, and rewarding day, reinforcing the importance of continuing to work together for more responsible logistics.

We continue.

We have goods trapped—captive—within the swarm of blockages on the rail network. This causes those that still move by road to overlook the option of using the train, because neither the necessary capacity nor the adequate service is available. And when they decide to move by road, they face a serious blockage on the country’s main artery, the AP-7 southbound, forcing them to improvise and find alternative routes where no one dares to confirm anything: neither when, nor how, nor by which path the goods will arrive. Every day, drivers, planners, logistics managers, and operators have to find impossible solutions to deal with the disorder they encounter.

We rely on a logistics network managed by highly talented people with a strong vocation, who do the impossible to keep things flowing despite facing a complex operational framework generated by decisions—or inaction—of regulators, governments, administrations, and infrastructure managers. Ideas are projected from a laboratory far removed from reality, resulting in operational daily life that is hardly acceptable.

The daily movement of goods reflects the industrial vitality of a country, the bloodstream that keeps its productive economy alive. But who cares about that? Goods are inconvenient. Goods do not speak, do not complain, have no rights, and do not vote—unlike people. Does anyone take the side of goods? They bother us when they travel by truck on the highway, and also in the city. Trucks must always be moved aside to prioritize private vehicles, yet we expect products to arrive on time and be available on store shelves when needed. How do we reconcile this contradiction?

We need a national pact to protect goods, recognizing them as assets of industrial interest even while in motion. A pact that becomes a pillar of the new sustainability—not only environmental, but also social, ethical, and resilient—so that, together with drivers, the flow of products can move continuously, and goods stop being the scapegoat where all inefficiencies and externalities generated by political systems and infrastructure managers accumulate.

We also need the creation of continuous freight corridors. It is necessary to define strategic transport axes that cross the territory and receive priority attention, with reliable operational solutions, so that in the event of any disruption the default response is never to stop them. These corridors must ensure the continuity of the flow, just as private vehicles are managed, with temporary lanes opened in the opposite direction during return operations. For example, the AP-7 could have a southbound operational lane using the uphill lane: even if traffic is slower, the flow would not stop, avoiding the chaos in information and road conditions experienced by drivers and planners. Likewise, in situations of protests or blockades on main roads, freight drivers must be able to exercise their right to circulate and not be treated as expendable, left on shoulders or parking areas until allowed to resume work. Drivers are responsible professionals who accompany goods to their destinations and suffer, together with them, this constant waste of logistical effort, translating into lost hours and high economic costs.

It is also essential that trucks move onto the train. Rail highways along strategic transport arteries are an urgent necessity to relieve road congestion and save thousands of hours of unproductive driving. Continuing to postpone this scenario is to consciously accept a deficient rail system.

Through the global association of industrial companies that contract transport (GSA), we have promoted the Global Manifesto (Bill of Cargo Rights), a document establishing the principles and guarantees that must protect goods so they can continue generating wealth in the territories they transit, without being penalized by the logistics system itself. Just as manufacturing companies that contract transport voluntarily certify ethical, sustainable, and resilient logistics practices through the Shipper of Trust Certificate (CCR), it is necessary that policymakers and managers take note that governing and managing also involves assuming commitments, accrediting them, and guaranteeing real, ethical, and verifiable operational transparency.

On 19 November, we participated in an event organised by BCL – Barcelona-Catalunya Centre Logístic at the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, focused on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the logistics sector.

The session brought together companies and organisations that presented real transformation projects linked to clean energy, innovation, training, climate action and strategic partnerships, clearly demonstrating that sustainability and competitiveness progress in parallel across the logistics value chain.

On 13 November, we participated in the regular ESC (European Shippers’ Council) Transport Councils meeting, a forum that brought together various European-level organizations to share experiences, best practices, and jointly reflect on the main challenges currently facing shippers across Europe.

The session enabled a highly valuable exchange of success stories and constructive discussions around key issues such as weights and dimensions, the Shippers of Trust initiative—the European designation of the Responsible Shipper Certificate (CCR)—the latest developments regarding ETS, customs cooperation, the Clean Corporate Fleets proposal, and the future of Combined Transport.

These Transport Council meetings continue to consolidate their role as a strategic platform to strengthen the voice of shippers before European institutions, foster cross-country coordination, and move forward towards a more responsible, sustainable, and efficient transport system.