E-commerce and information and communication technologies are forecast to increase rapidly. However, the implications of this growth for transport are unclear. Hence, the OECD organised this seminar jointly with the ECMT, with an aim to analyse the interaction between e-commerce and transport, and assess the implications of the growth in e-commerce for transport and transport policy.
The two-day seminar consisted of five sessions. The first four sessions consisted of presentations and panel discussions, with the focus on:
The concept and general overview of e-commerce.
The effects of e-commerce on logistics.
The impacts of e-commerce on long-distance transport, including impacts on transport modes and the configuration of transport activities.
The impacts of e-commerce on local transport and on urban distribution networks.
The fifth session discussed possible implications for transport policy arising from e-commerce.
The seminar had a wide range of representation, both from industry and government. Around 130 participants from 24 countries attended the Seminar, and contributed to the intensive and open discussions.
Main conclusions and recommendations for governments included:
There is still great uncertainty concerning developments of e-commerce, especially in B2C. Governments need to realise that e-commerce may result in increased freight transport demand, if necessary measures are not taken.
Systematic monitoring of the positive and negative impacts of e-commerce is needed. Governments should bear in mind several possible scenarios and be prepared to take necessary actions, but should achieve comprehensive understanding before embarking on policies.
In order to assess effectiveness of measures which aim to achieve public goals, governments need to give room for experimentation, and share the information acquired with all parties.
Many issues concerning e-commerce and transport are not new issues but are existing issues which have been magnified by developments in e-commerce. Governments need to provide transport and information infrastructure, promote efficient use and management of transport resources, and harmonise their regimes and regulations.
Governments need to re-examine whether their existing regulations are still appropriate for the new distribution systems necessitated by e-commerce.
Although the seminar succeeded in achieving a better understanding of e-commerce and its impacts on transport, participants recognised the need for further study, while acknowledging that future transport policies need to be more integrated and undertaken in a wider context.
