FM Logistic, one of France’s biggest independent logistics services providers, recently launched its first-ever European combined transport service between France and Poland. In an interview with RailFreight.com, its European Multimodal Development manager, Sylvain Philippe, discussed the company’s move from an ‘all-road’ freight transport strategy to one focused on the complementarity between truck and train.
Some of FM Logistic’s warehouses were equipped with railheads as far back as the 1990s but the gradual reduction and then absence of rail solutions for palletised freight meant the group’s activity in the mode was put on hold. Customers are looking for alternatives to road transport in order to meet decarbonisation challenges and growing economic constraints linked to environmental regulations. In addition, capacity issues in road transport, for example, driver shortages, are making combined solutions essential to ensure continuity and performance in transport, Philippe explained.
“In recent years, we have renewed our focus on rail and this has gathered momentum in light of the growing interest from customers in combined transport solutions and more broadly, in carbon-free transport. Multimodal solutions are now systematically included in tender specifications and are the subject of specific studies to identify transferable freight flows. The subject is even addressed upstream during warehouse implementation projects,” he said.
Domestic debut
FM Logistic made its first significant move into combined rail-road freight transport in September 2024 with the launch of a French domestic service linking Paris area, north of France and the south-east of the country. It mainly connects Paris-Valenton to Avignon and there are currently three to four containers in round trip per day. It has also started up routes from Miramas and Arles in south-east France to Lille and Dourges in the north. In addition, since last summer, it has run trains from the Paris region to Toulouse in the south-west.
“Since its launch, these services have performed very well and there is a clear benefit in terms of the environmental impact and the reduction in CO2 emissions. Operationally, apart from having to cope with some exceptional weather conditions, they have been running without any interruptions. The regularity and punctuality of the trains is in line with that of 100% road-based solutions.”
Launch of northern France-Poland corridor
Turning to FM Logistic’s new European combi service between northern France and Poland, Sylvain explained that the company started with two to three units (container or semi-trailer) in roundtrip per week. “In collaboration with our customers, we are gradually increasing the offering to four or five round trips per week and in some cases are operating daily.”
FM Logistic began with a direct connection to Krzewie, in central Poland and has since extended the geographical coverage to include the cities of Kutno (also central) as well as Gliwice (south), Poznan (west) and Gdansk (north). The company is also looking at solutions via Duisburg, in Germany and on directly to the Lyon region.
Journey times between Poland and northern France can range from 3-4 days to 5-7 days, depending on the day of departure. For example, a departure on a working day, from France on Tuesday evening can allow for arrival in Poland on Friday morning. FM Logistic mainly transports palletised consumer goods on the ‘corridor’ including ambient temperatures food and non-food commodities and also some products subject to dangerous goods regulations.
‘Partnership-based approach’
FM Logistic collaborates with various combined transport operators. In France, its partners include Froidcombi and T3M while it is also developing projects with other recognised players on routes where they offer unique or high-performance services, Sylvain said. At European level, FM Logistic works with rail operators such as Germany’s Contargo, part of the Rhenus Group and Poland’s PCC Intermodal and Clip Group.
“This partnership-based approach is a fundamental pillar of our ‘Act with Partner’ strategy. We regularly discuss and explore solutions that we can implement together with numerous players. This is essential because, beyond the challenges of competition, the potential of carbon-free flows is immense – they still only represent 9 to 15% of transport flows in France – and require a collaborative and complementary approach to maximise their development.”