By Manik Mehta, Munich, AJOTAll the signs at the Transport/Logistics 2011 show of Munich pointed in the direction of a strong economic recovery that was buoying the logistics sector. Indeed, a top executive of Messe Munich, which organized the show, said that the logistics sector was firmly lodged in a “strong growth trajectory”. “The mood in the logistics sector was good even at the last Transport/Logistics fair in 2009 when other industries were passing then through a severe downturn. 2010 witnessed a strong upward surge in the logistics sector. We are very upbeat now. Aircargo volumes today, for example, exceed the pre-crisis levels,” averred Eugen Egetenmeier, the managing director of Messe Munich, told the American Journal of Transportation. Even the recent devastation in Japan did not seem to have any effect on the overall bullish mood at the show. Indeed, disruptions in supplies from Japan were hardly discussed at any of the several fora organized under the aegis of the Transport/Logistics fair, though in private conversations individual airlines did find the situation in Japan “quite disturbing”. The bullish mood at the show, as Egetenmeier pointed out, was also reflected in the increase in the number of exhibitors to 1,890 from 112 countries, an increase of 130 exhibitors over the last event in 2009. The increase in the number of exhibitors came, mainly, from abroad. “We also had more maritime and inland ports exhibiting at the fair, and railway companies too. But the biggest market increase comes from the commercial vehicle manufacturers. This group of exhibitors had dropped out almost entirely in 2009. But now almost all the key producers are back at the show,” Egetenmeier added. Nevertheless, many exhibitors and visitors from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region were unable to come to Munich because of difficulties in getting a German visa. To reach out to such exhibitors and visitors, Messe Munich is organizing the Logi Trans show in Istanbul, Turkey, from December 7 to 10, 2011. The Istanbul event will be an ersatz for those who were unable to come to Munich. “The Logi Trans show was created by Messe Munich as a joint venture in partnership with a Turkish trade fair company. Turkey is a big logistics market inherent with huge business potential. Also, Turkey has a very interesting neighbourhood that stretches from Central Asia, the Middle East through Iran to Pakistan. Visitors from this region, who faced visa problems for visiting Europe, can easily travel to Istanbul, not to mention they would see many cultural similarities with their own countries,” Egetenmeier explained. Germany’s ongoing economic and export boom has provided a strong impetus to the logistics sector. The top ten countries, which accounted for the largest number of exhibitors, were Netherlands, Italy, France, Belgium, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Austria and Russia. Spain and Switzerland shared the 9th ranking equally. Michael Kerkloh, the chief executive of Munich Airport and chairman of the advisory board of Transport/Logistics, also sounded bullish about the logistics sector. He said that the German logistics sector, the largest transport and logistics market in Europe, had suffered a 12% sales downturn in 2009. “But already in 2010, turnover in Germany’s logistics sector had rebounded by 7% to almost 100 billion euros. For the current year, too, further growth of 6% is forecast,” Kerkloh said. Munich airport is bracing to meet the strong growth expected in cargo traffic which jumped 27% to 275,000 tons in 2010. Kerkloh pointed out that this cargo volume was “net volume” and did not include “trucked freight”. The previous record cargo volume was 251,000 tons in 2007. Kerkloh added that the strong growth in Munich airport’s aircargo traffic had continued in 2011. In the first quarter of this year, the airport had handled 70,000 tons of aircargo, up 21% over the year-earlier period. Indeed, March 2011 proved to be what Kerkloh described as a “new al