Logistics plays vital role in Levelling Up agenda, according to new report

Tuesday 07 June 2022

Logistics UK today (07 June 2022) supported the launch of a report investigating The Impact of Logistics Sites in the UK, commissioned by Amazon and produced by Frontier Economics. The launch was held as part of a Logistics of Levelling Up round-table held at the House of Commons and sponsored by Ben Everitt MP, Member of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, as well as senior representatives from Amazon UK, business group Logistics UK and Frontier Economics.

Discussions at the meeting centred around the role of the sector in driving economic recovery and the opportunities it offers for levelling up. As outlined in the report, logistics is a growing industry at the heart of all economic activity across the UK; according to the latest data, the number of people working in logistics has dramatically increased from 675,600 in 2012 to 1,250,000 in 2021.

Speaking at the launch, John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager at Amazon explained: “The logistics industry plays an absolutely critical role in this country, and we believe it can also play a major role in the levelling up agenda: creating jobs, supporting small businesses, and connecting remote communities to economic success. 

“A key finding of the research is that two-thirds (63%) of logistics managers today do not have a university degree. This demonstrates that the logistics industry is powering social mobility. Our sector does not just create jobs, it creates rewarding careers, with opportunities to advance, that are accessible to those who may not have found their place in formal education.”
 

Phil Roe, President of Logistics UK, commented: “Unlike other sectors, the logistics industry has a unique position as a provider of a wide range of job opportunities – at varying salary and skill points – across the entirety of the UK, and thus has an integral role to play in the UK’s levelling up agenda. Logistics needs to be included in all future plans for urban and rural developments, to maximise the impact it can provide to all parts of the economy, and Logistics UK is calling on government to ensure logistics is considered as an integral part of future national and local planning strategies.”

For more information, or to view the report, please visit: https://logistics.org.uk/campaigns/research-hub/reports/the-impact-of-logistics-sites-in-the-uk

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With COVID-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods.