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Logistics UK launches the UK Logistics Network project


The latest thought leadership report from Logistics UK, launched at an event in Parliament this week, maps critical supply chain infrastructure and identifies the cost of underinvestment in the sector.  

“The UK Logistics Network” report, by Logistics UK and leading transport economists MDS Transmodal, finds that the annual cost of congestion on the Strategic Road Network for HGVs increased by almost £1 billion between 2015 and 2024. The report has been published while the government is developing the UK’s new infrastructure strategy. 

Using the new research findings, Logistics UK is pressing the Treasury and the Department for Transport to identify the UK’s Logistics Network formally and use this information as the basis of a 30-year infrastructure strategy.  

Identifying the national freight network, the key routes used by logistics operators, was first proposed in the previous government’s Future of Freight Plan with the aim of driving efficiency and integration.  

According to Oxford Economics, the government could boost the economy by up to £8 billion a year by 2030 through productivity-led growth with the right policy environment and strategic investments for the logistics sector.  

“The UK Logistics Network” identifies a complex network of interconnected key logistics corridors, focussing on the flows on key road and rail routes, what generates them and how they connect ports, airports, urban and industrial centres. It sets out that a lack of capacity on these corridors leads to bottlenecks that impair operational efficiency and growth, particularly where freight must compete for space with passenger transport, such as rail freight on the West Coast Main Line and road freight across the Pennines, around London and between the towns and cities of the Midlands.  

Logistics UK Chief Executive David Wells OBE says, “Our new report serves as a starting point for a conversation between government and business on how to identify the UK Logistics Network and create a long-term vision that addresses strategic capacity challenges, while positioning the UK as a leading green economy.  

“Underinvestment has left the UK’s current logistics network ill-equipped to handle increasing freight volumes, leading to inefficiencies that affect the productivity and growth prospects of the entire economy. A critical underlying issue has been the relatively low level of investment in transport infrastructure over the past decade.  

"For example, between 2016 and 2019, the UK’s annual growth rate in transport infrastructure investment was just 0.7%. In contrast, Germany, one of the UK’s main competitors in the logistics sector, saw its transport infrastructure investment grow by nearly 9% per year over the same period.”  

The new report shows how the UK’s road network is central to its logistics infrastructure, with approximately 81% of domestic freight, by weight, being transported by road. Almost one third of all traffic on all major roads is logistics related, and this rises to 47% of traffic on high-volume routes.  

A similar pattern is seen in the rail sector, with high volume rail freight routes representing just 2% of the network in kilometres but carrying 15% of all rail freight tonne kilometres. The report shows how if speeds on rail routes could be improved by 25%, then operating costs could be reduced by £40 million per year.  

David Wells OBE continues, “With the government developing its Infrastructure Strategy and seeking to grow the economy, our report highlights the urgent need for long-term thinking to enhance the capacity, sustainability and efficiency of the network, which is critical to improving the UK’s global competitiveness in logistics.”  

Full copies of the report can be downloaded here: The UK Logistics Network - Identifying our critical supply chain infrastructure to drive growth

Published On: 14/11/2024 15:00:00

 

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News In Brief

€320m commitment for secure lorry parking across EU

The European Commission has allocated €320 million to develop secure lorry parking areas across the EU to improve driver safety and working conditions. This initiative is being funded under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and marks a significant step forward for the sector following years of advocacy by the International Road Transport Union (IRU).

Jonathan Walker, Logistics UK's Head of Cities and Infrastructure Policy said: "This is a positive announcement. Logistics UK has been campaigning for improvements to address the shortage of lorry parking and driver facilities for many years.

"We need a change in attitudes towards, and increased recognition of the strategic importance of, road freight to the economy if we are going to solve it.

"HGV drivers need to take legally mandated rest breaks and we have been urging governments to ensure driver facilities are an integral part of any road investment scheme. In the same way that office workers need and expect access to clean and safe hygiene facilities during their working days, the essential drivers in the logistics industry which deliver all that the economy relies upon expect and deserve the same basic rights." 

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