Growth could flow through UK’s waterways if investment is forthcoming, says Logistics UK

Wednesday 18 June 2025

The UK’s inland and coastal waterways should be seen as core components of modern multimodal logistics and expanding their use to transport more freight can reduce road congestion, lower emissions, improve air quality and enhance regional connectivity. These are the findings of “The UK Logistics Network: Waterborne Freight”, a new landmark report from business group Logistics UK. But, as the report outlines, realising these benefits will require coordinated action across government, industry and infrastructure providers.

The report was launched today (18 June 2025) at Multimodal 2025, to highlight the scale and distribution of waterborne freight flows and emphasise the critical role maritime transport fulfils in supporting national and regional economies.

“Waterborne domestic freight has the potential to improve the efficiency, sustainability and resilience of the UK logistics sector, supporting the government’s own net zero targets” says Logistics UK Head of Infrastructure and Planning Policy Jonathan Walker. “Britain’s waterways have developed over centuries, linking ports to cities and connecting communities with the goods they needed long before motorways and mass railways even existed. It is time that there is coordinated action from government so businesses and the UK economy can realise again the benefits of exploiting this tried and tested delivery network.”

Planning reform is also essential to enable water freight growth, explains Mr Walker: “Too often, vital wharf sites are lost to residential development without recognition of their strategic value to the economy. Protecting freight infrastructure must be embedded in planning policies nationally and locally.”

The report identifies examples of local and regional projects that, with appropriate investment, could enable success: the Port of Leeds has the potential to develop Stourton as a wharf to handle significant volumes of cargo while enhancing the infrastructure along the Manchester Ship Canal, including the development of Port Salford, could support increased freight traffic.

At a regional level, the report highlights the benefits that could be realised by modernising the Aire and Calder Navigation to facilitate freight movement, expanding Southampton Port infrastructure to handle increased container traffic and investing in the Humber Ports to enhance capacity and supporting the movement of biomass and other bulk commodities.

“If the UK government is serious about improving productivity, decarbonising transport, and ensuring resilience in supply chains,” concludes Mr Walker, “the country must make full use of every transport mode available – including the opportunities presented by rivers, canals and estuaries. This is why we are calling on improved government oversight of waterways to ensure freight growth is supported, and for the government to encourage investment by setting a clear growth target for water freight, just as has been set for rail freight.”

A full copy of the report can be found here: https://logistics.org.uk/waterbournefreight-1

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, 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, 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