In total, 2,162 exhibitors from 62 countries took part in the biggest logistics trade fair worldwide. The number of visitors increased by nine percent to more than 60,000 from 120 countries.
Those are the resulting numbers the organizer reported at the end of the four-day trade fair. The exhibition space also grew – to 115,000 square meters. According to the organizers, new exhibitors included China Railway Container Transport, DP World, Heathrow Airport, Kerry Logistics and Maersk. 17 national joint stands also presented themselves. Next to Germany, the top ten exhibitors were the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, France, Austria, Spain, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Poland and China. "Networking – digitally and across all borders – was the dominant topic of the Transport Logistic 2017", Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of the Munich Trade Fair, explained.
The digital future was also included in Federal Minister of Transport Alexander Dobrindt's (CSU) opening address: with digitization, logistics stands before the most exciting innovation phase of the past decades and gains continued importance. Logistics providers agree with this opinion. "Every business must also become a software-company, because software is a key factor," Ryan Peterson, Head of Flexport, explained. According to Bernd Schwenger, Country Director Amazon Logistics, it should furthermore not be called 'supply chain', but 'demand chain': "The customer must become the focal point. The greatest challenge hereby is the last mile."