Policy win: Government launches new strategies around growth, infrastructure and trade  

Modern Industrial Strategy  

Logistics UK was delighted to see that the logistics sector was recognised as crucial to UK competitiveness in the Modern Industrial Strategy, which focuses on supporting eight high-growth sectors, many of which rely on complex, multi-leg supply chains and specialist logistics services.  

It includes a dedicated section on freight and logistics, recognising its importance to the UK economy and competitiveness. It also references Oxford Economics’ report, commissioned by Logistics UK, on the link between logistics performance and UK productivity, and commits to working with industry on a new plan for freight and logistics later this year.  

Ahead of the strategy’s publication, Logistics UK had been calling for freight and logistics to be included as ‘foundational’, and was therefore disappointed, given our perspective that nothing moves, and the economy won’t perform without the industry. Yet the government’s commitment to develop a new freight and logistics plan later this year provides an opportunity to further make this case and demonstrate how critical logistics is to growth.  

Logistics UK engaged extensively with government and Parliament ahead of the strategy’s publication to press for sector recognition. This included hosting Minister for Industry Sarah Jones at our inaugural Annual Conference; coordinating a letter from the CEOs of 30 major UK businesses to Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds; holding a cross-party Parliamentary drop-in to brief MPs; convening a roundtable in Parliament to highlight how logistics underpins the government’s growth-driving sectors; briefing the government’s Industrial Strategy Advisory Council; and providing data and insight based on information members have shared. 

Looking ahead, Logistics UK is calling for our sector to be central to new measures announced through the strategy, including the Supply Chain Centre, grid connection reforms, and the development of greater flexibilities in the Growth and Skills Levy. 

Trade Strategy  

The new Trade Strategy includes commitments to digitalisation of trade documents to reduce border friction and ease administrative burdens. It also states that the government has an “intention to deliver” the Single Trade Window. More broadly, the strategy acknowledges the significance of goods trade to the UK economy, and the extent to which manufacturing – particularly in agri-food – relies on the smooth and timely import of raw and intermediate goods through complex global supply chains. To monitor and respond to supply chain risk, the strategy states that a new Supply Chains Centre and Economic Security Advisory Service will be established. 

 Following persistent calls to reduce border friction, Logistics UK welcomed the focus on reducing border friction for goods trade and is urging ministers to go further on the Single Trade Window, making the case that it would save businesses more in costs than it would for the government to deliver it. In terms of further improvement for industry, the business group is calling for greater acknowledgment of the importance of well-connected international gateways for trade.  

10-Year Infrastructure Strategy  

The new 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy set out long-term plans to deliver and improve infrastructure, and drive growth – representing a significant shift towards long term infrastructure planning. This managed, long term approach has potential to increase investment in logistics infrastructure, compared to more short term or politically driven decisions as seen in more recent years.  

Positively, the strategy recognises the importance of the logistics sector and acknowledges that transport connections are crucial for enhancing productivity, enabling firms to buy and sell goods efficiently and fostering competition that boosts productivity. Importantly, on freight and logistics, it also states that connections to ports, airports, freeports and investment zones enable firms to import and export goods and asserts that transport improvements can enable efficient movement of freight at each stage of the journey.  

Key parts of the strategy relevant to the logistics sector include an initial £590 million of funding for the Lower Thames Crossing, plus confirmation that a funding model for the scheme is being developed. The strategy also commits £24 billion of capital funding up to 2030 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads, with this including £1 billion for a new Structures Fund that will repair major structures like bridges, flyovers and collapsed roads.  

Logistics UK will continue to engage with government, meeting with key stakeholders and spreading the message that nothing moves without logistics and how it is critical to growth. 

Published On: 10/07/2025 14:30:00

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