Logistics goes the extra 65,000km to deliver Christmas dinner

It is not only Santa Claus and his reindeers who will be crisscrossing the globe to deliver the perfect Christmas this year: Santa’s other little elves, aka the logistics industry, will be putting in the festive miles to put tonnes of festive goodies onto Britain’s festive tables.

While it may be true that householders only have to pop to the shops, or book a delivery to get their Christmas mitts on all the festive treats they need, research by business group Logistics UK shows that the industry really does put in the miles to deliver the seasonal treats we all look forward to. In fact,  a typical Christmas dinner, consisting of turkey, with all the trimmings, plus spiced desserts will have been sourced from practically every corner of the globe covering almost 65,000 km in the process – equivalent to 1.5 times round the world (whether passing through Santa’s North Pole grotto or not).

“The logistics sector works around the clock all year but its efficiency means it often goes unseen, with most of us taking it for granted that goods are available when we want them,” said Logistics UK’s Acting Chief Executive Kevin Green. “Working in the background to keep trade moving, it is easy to see parallels between logistics workers and Santa’s Elves – they are both the magic that delivers Christmas.”

Logistics UK’s research, analysed the ingredients required for a traditional festive feast, revealing how far each individual component of the meal has to travel, and when it starts its journey to ensure the only empty plates on the 25^th are when dinner has been eaten.

Logistics UK’s analysis reveals  that the spices we rely on for that traditional festive flavour in Christmas puddings and cakes, such as nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, travel the furthest to reach our festive table, up to 10,000 km. Typically, these items come from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, with lead times between six to 10 weeks, so for logisticians, it is critical to start planning for Christmas early – often in the spring or early summer – to ensure stocks are on the shelves when customers want to buy them.

By contrast, Brussels sprouts travel the shortest distance to reach our festive tables – around 400km – from the UK, Netherlands or Belgium.  Lead times for this festive staple are between one to two weeks to ensure they arrive in the shops in peak condition.

Green continued, “Logistics is defined as ensuring the right goods are in the right place at the right time. This is especially important at Christmas and the logistics sector has been working tirelessly behind the scenes for the last few months so that we can all enjoy the festive foods we look forward to on December 25. Whether it is importing, storing or distributing the items that make Christmas in the UK, or exporting goods worldwide and boosting trade, it is logistics that makes it happen. Nothing moves without logistics and it is logistics that delivers Christmas (with a little help from Santa and his reindeer, of course!).”

How far does Christmas dinner travel?

Source: Logistics UK

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s biggest 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, 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, water 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 visit logistics.org.uk