Leading logistics fair set to spotlight unmanned delivery

The International Autonomous Mobility Economy Expo, a dedicated sub-exhibition of the 19th China (Shenzhen) International Logistics and Supply Chain Fair (CILF), is set to debut between Sept. 24 and 26 at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian District.

As the world’s first expo focused on the autonomous mobility economy, the expo will bring together industry leaders such as SF Express, Cainiao, and Meituan to showcase cutting-edge applications of AI-enabled scheduling, autonomous driving, and unmanned delivery vehicles in smart logistics.

Shenzhen now leads China in both the scale and density of operational, functional unmanned vehicles.

A look back at last year’s CILF in Shenzhen, a major event for the global logistics and supply chain industry. Photos courtesy of CILF

Official data show that by the end of August, more than 800 functional driverless vehicles were running on Shenzhen’s roads, including over 400 autonomous logistics carts. The city currently operates more than 760 autonomous vehicle routes, with regular services on 16 inter-district trunk routes. Among unmanned-delivery orders, fresh produce deliveries account for roughly 20%.

Despite Shenzhen’s average of 118 days of moderate-to-heavy rainfall per year, unmanned vehicles have achieved near-continuous operations thanks to dual-redundancy perception systems, demonstrating their reliability during adverse weather and ability to reduce risks for delivery riders while ensuring timely deliveries.

The 19th CILF, which is expected to attract more than 2,200 exhibitors from over 60 countries and regions and over 300,000 professional attendees, will showcase new perspectives, trends, technologies, business models, markets, and demand in the logistics and supply chain sector.

Participants take part in a seminar during the 2024.

One exhibition zone will be dedicated to road-rail multimodal transport, marking the fifth anniversary of the Shenzhen-run Sino-Europe freight train service.

Over the past five years, a total of 878 trains have used the route to transport more than 85,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo worth over US$3 billion, according to Shenzhen Shenguo Railway Logistics Development Co. Ltd.

Since its launch in 2006, the CILF has become a key logistics and supply-chain event in Asia and a leading platform for innovation and business development in the industry.