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The changing face of European logistics

[ January 16, 2019   //   ]

Real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has released a new report – The Changing Face of Distribution: The Shape of Things to Come’ – identifying a number of important new transport corridors in Europe that it says will emerge between now and 2030.
They include the Post-Brexit UK corridor, when the UK’s maritime, road and rail networks officially cease to be part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) North Sea-Mediterranean corridor, UK supply chains will be increasingly domestically focused and Brexit is expected to increase the logistics industry’s reliance on UK ports.
At the same time, a new short-sea shipping route is being established between the ports of Cork and Dublin in Ireland and Zeebrugge and Antwerp in Belgium. It’s likely that the small capacity of Zeebrugge port will redirect demand for space to nearby Ghent, Belgium, or even Zeeland, Netherlands, the report suggests.
It also states that Europe’s primary distribution corridor, from the Benelux countries to northern Italy and dubbed the logistics ‘Blue Banana’ due to its distinctive shape, has transformed into multiple corridors in response to EU expansion and new motorway additions.
Europe’s logistics corridors are set to evolve further due to increasing freight volumes, transport costs, labour shortages and road congestion. Major change is also being driven by eCommerce and new technology.
Report author Lisa Graham, adds: “. Traditional long-haul transport is reaching breaking point and it’s crucial that all parties work together to ensure the seamless flow of goods into, out of, and across Europe is maintained. Brexit and other external factors are adding pressure on logistics stakeholders to come up with long-term solutions. This is partly why we are seeing an emergence of new logistics corridors, as the EU invests in Europe-wide infrastructure and new technology to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
“By examining key areas for potential evolution, we can see which of these are positioned to take advantage of future distribution patterns. Transportation currently represents around half of total logistics costs and this will rise further if the industry stands still due to motorway congestion, labour shortages and increasing regulations for carbon dioxide emissions.”

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