Logistics critical to success of government's growth strategy, say business leaders

Wednesday 26 February 2025

The leaders of 30 major UK businesses have signed a letter to Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP, urging him to ensure that the logistics industry is made a cornerstone of the government’s Industrial Strategy, which is set to be published in the coming months.

Led by business group Logistics UK, the 30 businesses, which include Amazon, Heathrow Airport and Tesco Stores, are urging Mr Reynolds to acknowledge the critical role that effective supply chains play in all parts of the economy, including the growth-driving sectors already recognised by the government. The business leaders are clear that making the transportation of goods more efficient is fundamental to growth across the whole economy, and that the logistics sector must therefore have a voice in the development of future economic plans by being represented on the new Industrial Strategy Council.  

“Nothing in the economy moves without logistics: it provides our hospitals, schools, factories and shops with everything they need, everywhere, every day,” says David Wells OBE, Chief Executive of Logistics UK which co-ordinated the approach to Mr Reynolds, “Our sector must be recognised as a key partner in the government’s economic and business growth plans. Otherwise, the plan for growth will be set up to fail before it even starts. The government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper rightly introduces the concept of ‘foundational sectors’ that provide critical inputs and infrastructure to our growth-driving sectors, and the case for recognising logistics as such a sector is undeniable.

“Effective logistics is the foundation of any successful economic activity, whatever the industry,” he continues. “To create an industrial strategy that does not improve the efficiency of the movement of goods would be a huge, missed opportunity, and throttle growth in other sectors.

“The efficiency of logistics and the growth potential of the economy are completely intertwined. The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index has seen the UK fall from 4th to 19th over the past decade, due largely to congestion and delays on our roads, friction at our borders, and a long-term lack of investment in our transport infrastructure. This puts the brakes on growth across the whole economy. But if we can reverse that trend, by making the right investments, then logistics can be a powerful force for growth. Indeed, Oxford Economics has found that getting the policy and infrastructure environment right for logistics would unlock up to £8 billion a year in productivity-led growth. With Logistics UK on the Industrial Strategy Council, we would be able to advance a partnership between government and business to deliver growth across the whole economy.

“Recognising the important role that logistics must  play as a foundational sector in the forthcoming Industrial Strategy, with a voice on the Industrial Council, will enable our sector to achieve the maximum impact possible for the country, and ensure that we are all focused on driving the growth we know is possible for the UK, its businesses and its long term prosperity in the coming months and years.”

Signatories to the letter sent to Mr Reynolds this week are:

ADM Milling (UK) Ltd – Managing Director, Ashley Fuller

Amazon Logistics – Vice President, Kerry-Anne Lawlor

Ceva Logistics – Managing Director Contract Logistics UKIN, Huw Jenkins

DHL Supply Chain UK&I – CEO, Saul Resnick

DP World – Executive Vice President - Northern Europe, Mark Rosenberg

Evri Ltd – CEO, Martijn de Lange

Freightliner Group Ltd. – CEO, Tim Shoveller

Grid Smarter Cities – CEO, Neil Herron

GXO – Managing Director UK and Ireland, Gavin Williams

Heathrow Airport – Chief Executive, Thomas Woldbye

Howard Tenens Limited – Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Hartles

Indurent – Chief Executive Officer, Julian Carey

Kuehne + Nagel UK Ltd – Managing Director, Pamela Quinn

Logistics UK – Chief Executive, David Wells OBE

Maersk Logistics and Services UK Ltd – Managing Director, Gary Jeffreys

Maritime Transport Ltd – Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Tom Williams

Nestlé UK – Head of Logistics, Richard Hastings

Owens Group – Group Managing Director, Huw Owen

Palletways (UK) Limited – Managing Director, Robert Gittins

Port of Dover – Chief Executive, Doug Bannister

R Swains & Sons Limited – Finance Director, Stuart Rigby

Royal Mail – Chief Executive, Emma Gilthorpe

Rudolph and Hellmann Automotive Ltd – Chief Executive Officer, James Hamilton

Scania (Great Britain) Limited – Managing Director, Chris Newitt

Segro – Managing Director UK, James Craddock

Tesco Stores Ltd– UK CEO, Matthew Barnes

The Malcolm Group – CEO, Andrew Malcolm

TIP-Group – Managing Director for the UK & Ireland, Mike Furnival

Uniserve Group – Group Chief Commercial and Operating Officer, Gary Cobbing

Wincanton – Chief Executive Officer, James Wroath

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. 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.