Analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on selected categories of goods passing through the ports of Genoa and Savona, Italy

The COVID-19 pandemic has had strong economic repercussions on the industrial fabric of many countries around the world, with different degrees of impact depending on the level of severity with which the pandemic hit these countries. Italy has suffered a significant impact on its economy and export volumes have dropped dramatically for some product categories. The objective of this research is to understand how the pandemic has affected some selected logistics flows (i.e., fruit, automotive and machinery) transiting through the ports of Genoa and Savona, and to highlight the mitigation strategies that have been implemented during the pandemic period. The research was carried out analyzing customs and port data, as well as with the support of interviews and focus groups with experts of the Ligurian port sector. Finally, some policy indications are outlined with the aim of increasing the resilience of the supply chains analyzed in this research. These indications should help supply chains to be efficient and effective in forwarding flows of goods to/from ports even in the occurrence of unforeseen high-impact events.