Logistics needs to be recognised as a "key foundational sector", says Logistics UK in response to Industrial Strategy Green Paper

Monday 14 October 2024

Responding to the publication of “Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy”, the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, Logistics UK, Deputy Director - Policy, Michelle Gardner says:

“Logistics is one of the UK’s key foundational sectors and must be prioritised as such in the final version of the Industrial Strategy to be published in Spring 2025. All eight of the “growth-driving sectors” picked out by the Green Paper, depend on an efficient logistics sector. As the government starts to get the economy back on track, we need to ensure that the track is in the best condition possible.

“The efficiency of the logistics sector and productivity of the economy are completely intertwined. With appropriate investment, policy changes and the right partnerships with government, the logistics sector could provide a boost of up to £7.9 billion per year to the UK’s GDP in productivity gains by 2030: this must be reflected in the Industrial Strategy and forthcoming trade and infrastructure strategies.

“The Green Paper announces the creation of the Industrial Strategy Forum and Industrial Strategy Council, and Logistics UK would welcome the opportunity to participate in both of these bodies to ensure the UK’s Industrial Strategy, through a focus on infrastructure, innovation, skills, regulatory reform, trade and inward investment, maximises the strategic advantages that logistics can deliver to the whole economy.”

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 decarbonisation, 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. For more information about the organisation and its work, please get in touch - here.