SIMIC

"We can expect supply chains to become more complex, and customers will place greater premium on factors such as reliability and flexibility, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Chee Hong Tat.

"These trends are not necessarily bad for Singapore, which competes on superior connectivity and quality of service, rather than low cost," he said.

Terminal operator PSA International reported the group's international volumes rose 3.7 per cent year on year to 50 million TEU.

Said PSA group CEO Tan Chong Meng: "2021 continues to give us the opportunity to reset and reform. The way companies and consumers engage, transact and collaborate has evolved at lightning speed.

"PSA will continue to invest and innovate on solutions to improve supply chain transparency and create smarter resource efficiencies," he said.

While Singapore's economy had contracted by 5.8 per cent last year, international trade volumes recovered in the second half, helping the city-state to "stay resilient", said Mr Chee.

Singapore was looking to intermodal connectivity, cheaper than air freight and faster than sea freight.

Mr Chee said Singapore had set up specific intermodal solutions for chilled meats and to handle the uptick in e-commerce cargo with Batam, Indonesia.

"High-value, time-sensitive cargo from Batam, are first transported by sea to our port, before being trucked to the airport to be flown to other countries," he said.

"The entire shipment process occurs within a single day. This also enables Singapore-based companies to leverage on cost efficiencies through extended production bases in Batam," said Mr Chee.