The Heart of World Logistics Passes Through Turkey
The Silk Road, also known as Turkey’s central corridor, connects Turkey and China through Central Asian countries and the Caspian Sea. This line is positioned as an economic and safe route on the East-West axis. With its 2200 years of history, the “Central Logistics Corridor” continues to make its mark on world trade. Despite wars, natural disasters and deadly epidemics, the historic “Silk Road” is still standing. Civilizations and countries along this route have changed and eras have followed one another, but the East-West logistics route has never wavered.
Anatolia is the World’s Largest Geographical Logistics Hub
Underlining that “Anatolia”, which stretches like a bridge between East and West, is the world’s largest geographical logistics HUB, Dr. Akın Arslan, Chairman of the Board of TIRPORT, said: “No matter whoever wants to exclude Turkey, the Red Sea crisis has shown that the most optimal transportation is always the middle logistics corridor passing through Turkey. This is true for air, road and rail. For intermodal transportation, the port where it will meet the sea route is in Turkey, which is surrounded by seas on three sides and holds the gateway to the Black Sea. Turkey’s population is 90 million, at the foot of Europe, which has 750 million inhabitants, the most qualified and prosperous population in the world, where everyone is trying to sell goods. A truck leaving Turkey can deliver its products to the very edge of Europe in just 5 days. As long as it is not kept waiting at customs crossings due to license plate restrictions etc. Turkey is also the most ideal “NearShore” production center for Europe.”
1/3 of the world’s total production takes place In South Asia
According to end-2023 data, China alone produces 28.4% of the world’s total production. South Asia, together with China, accounts for 1/3 of the world’s production. In other words, 25% of the goods going to the west come from the east. And 30% of production in the west is dependent on production in the east. Pointing out that approximately 15% of the world trade by ships takes place through the Suez Canal, Dr. Akın Arslan, President of Tırport, continued his speech as follows: “An estimated 15% of global trade, worth 1 trillion dollars annually, passes through the Red Sea. A security problem on this route represents a volume large enough to change the balances. As a matter of fact, the security problem in the Red Sea in recent weeks has increased freight prices on the one hand, and on the other hand, it means an additional 10 days of travel. This situation causes an increase in all commodity products due to increased costs.”
“Soon Production-Nearshore” Became a Priority During the Pandemic
For the last 40 years, global production has been taking place overseas in China and South Asia due to cheap labor, energy and raw material prices. However, during the pandemic, “nearshore production-NearShore” has gained great importance and has become one of the priority issues of countries. Dr. Akın Arslan reminded that the production of critical products in or near the country has gained vital importance in the pandemic, and noted the following: “For example, the pandemic process has shown that a production dependent on China and South Asia also poses threats to the sustainability of welfare in other countries, including Europe and America. In this process, especially the domestic and nearby production of critical products has become vitally important. As I have stated on every platform, Turkey has the potential to become a “nearshore production-NearShore” center in its geography, especially in Europe. Another issue is that if China continues to grow at this rate, it could surpass the US economy in size by the early 2030s, exceeding 30 trillion dollars. Realizing this reality, the US continues to take increasing measures against China since 2018.”