Anuário Brasileiro do Setor de Locação de Veículos | 2021

129 2021 Anuário Brasileiro do Setor de Locação de Veículos Brazilian Vehicle Rental Sector Yearbook 2 021 is more promising a year than 2020 for the economy as a whole and for transportation. Believing that Brazil will vaccinate is not the result of utopia, but of the effort to create a business environment that is gradually getting back to normal. The coordination between the federal, state and municipal authorities to control and reduce the spread of the virus is essential both to the success of immunization, and to restoring people and companies’ routines. It is no different for transportation. The recovery of passenger transport – a segment hit hard by social isolation – after a record fall of 80% to 90% in the volume of people transported – depends very heavily on action – a return to school, the return of public workers, and business models that are based on the cost/benefit ratio. We need to apply health protocols for life outside the confinement, and keeping a reasonable distance among ourselves, not forming crowds. This will coherently restore life for citizens and businesses. Transport needs a restored economy and healthy, protected people. It also requires Congress to work to make up for lost time in order to implement tax and administrative reforms. Also, the Themed Committees in the legislative houses need to take a hard look at the analysis, to mitigate the tax burden on the sector. It is worth remembering that before the pandemic, as soon as 2020 began, there was optimism and a forecast for growth in GDP by between 4% and 5%. However, with the virus, transportation had to step up to maintain supply, to prevent a shortage of food on Brazilians’ tables, and protective masks. In the last two months of last year, cargo volumes were very similar to those seen before the virus. E-com- merce offered an alternative and essential delivery sys- tem, growing by 200%, previously unimaginable for Brazil. In addition, commodities – agriculture and ore – have kept roads, railways and ports busy. A lot of companies had to make heavy investments in information technology to track products, among other measures, to reformulate their logistics. In trans- portation, those who first realized the need to update processes achieved record revenue and profitability. Apps are a large market and innovation in mobility has once again demonstrated its importance. Audacity, the ability to overcome challenges and a willingness to learn make transport a successful business. And the pandemic has made this all the more evident. visão que apontava para o crescimento do PIB entre 4% e 5%. Entretanto, a partir da convivên- cia com o vírus, o transporte necessitou provar a sua essencialidade para não paralisar o abasteci- mento, sob o risco de faltar desde o alimento na mesa do brasileiro até as máscaras de proteção, o que precisou ser feito pela via da lei. O setor de cargas, nos dois meses que fecha- ram o ano passado, regressaram a volumes muito semelhantes aos praticados antes da chegada do vírus. Na composição desse cenário, o e-com- merce se destacou com vantagem, acionando um sistema alternativo e essencial de entregas, conquistando índice de crescimento de 200%, até então inimaginável para o Brasil. Além disso, as commodities – agricultura e minério – mantiveram em movimento rodovias, ferrovias e portos. Entre os modais, muitas empresas tiveram que realizar investimento robusto em tecnologia da informação, enveredar pela rastreabilidade do produto, entre outras providências, a fim de refor- mular sua logística. No transporte, quem perce- beu primeiro a necessidade de atualizar proces- sos obteve faturamento e rentabilidade recordes. Os aplicativos despontaram como um grande mercado e a inovação na mobilidade, mais uma vez, mostrou sua importância. Audácia, capaci- dade de superar desafios e disposição para co- nhecer o novo fazem dos empreendimentos do transporte negócios de sucesso. E a pandemia veio dar mais clareza a isso. Economy restored and people protected Vander Francisco Costa Presidente da Confederação Nacional do Transporte (CNT) President of the National Transport Confederation (CNT) © Divulgação CNT