VIEWPOINT
Changes in the container shipping industry during the past two decades have prompted UNCTAD and MDSTransmodal to undertake a second revision of methodology to calculate the LSCI and PLSCI datasets. This revision will be applied on 15 March 2024 to the data release for the first quarter of 2024 (Q1/2024) and both data series since 2006.
MDS Transmodal (MDST) carried out a commercial vehicle traffic survey in November 2023 as part of a programme of work to develop a freight strategy for Chester city centre. It follows from the survey of businesses which investigated the perception of businesses regarding the delivery and collection of freight in the city centre, much of which has been pedestrianised with a time window for access by vehicles in the morning and evening. This commercial vehicle traffic survey of the morning peak for deliveries between 07.00 and 11.00 in the heritage city centre showed that 76% of vehicles were light goods vehicles, 18% were (generally small) HGVs, 6% were waste collection vehicles and 1% were bicycles being used for food deliveries. Just under 3% of all movements were by zero emission vehicles (including bicycles).
While there is an urgent need to provide additional parking facilities for both HGV and LGV drivers, new sites should be appropriately located so that they can best serve the operational requirements of the sector, but also conform with planning policy and minimise their environmental impacts. This has now been confirmed by a recent planning decision relating to a proposed lorry park in the Cotswolds.
SERVICES
Other Modes
Inland Waterways
To date this has been a minor sector in freight transport services but nonetheless important in particular geographical contexts. If you are an infrastructure provider then we can help to size the market; if you are an operator or potential operator we can help to assess feasibility of operations.
Our main services cover:
- Economic and commercial feasibility studies for new domestic waterborne freight services and related infrastructure.
- Needs assessment for planning purposes for ports and distribution sites located adjacent to waterways.
- Collection and analysis of waterborne freight statistics on behalf of government.
- Providing strategic policy-based advice to the public sector on the potential of inland waterways to transport freight traffic.
Air Freight
While air freight represents low volumes of cargo compared to international freight movements as a whole, it is generally of very high value, is regarded as being more urgent and justifies the air freight rates which are much higher than other forms of freight transport. As a consequence, air freight tends to be insensitive to the level of road transport costs overall and, as most general air freight requires a transit time of only 3-5 days, air freight can be consolidated (and customs-cleared) at one airport and then driven long distances to secure the lowest possible air freight rate. There are different types of air freight service depending on whether the bellyhold space of long haul passenger planes is used, or dedicated air freighters long haul, and there are freight integrators that operate specialist networks for air freight using their own facilities at a series of key hub airports. Postal services also form an important part of the air freight market.
MDS Transmodal’s wider understanding of the whole freight market enables studies of the air freight sector to be put into context with the alternatives. Our services cover the following:
- Establishing the current competitive position of any airport or range of airports; geography, facilities, size of aircraft that can be accommodated, hinterland surface connections.
- Estimating the size of any national market and assessing the policy environment.
- Estimating the size of any regional freight market as a whole and identifying where air freight could have opportunities.
- Conducting consultation with stakeholders.
Urban freight and city logistics
Freight transport activity in urban areas has a significant impact on air quality - and therefore on human health - on road congestion, on levels of noise, on the condition of highways infrastructure and on the safety of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. At the same time, the freight and logistics industry plays a key role in the economic life of cities by distributing goods to retail outlets, delivering mail and parcels, making deliveries of office supplies and removing waste and delivering construction materials to development sites. The key issue is therefore how industry and the public sector can work together to maximise the economic efficiency of urban freight transport while minimizing the environmental and social impacts. Our services cover the following:
- Urban freight and logistics policy development for cities and regions.
- Urban freight data analyses and traffic forecasts.
- Feasibility studies for sustainable distribution services to and from urban areas.
- Analysis of supply and demand for warehousing and distribution parks in and adjacent to urban areas.
- Need, policy and transport cases on behalf of developers for rail- and water-connected distribution parks adjacent to urban areas.
Why MDST?
Uniquely among firms of transport economists, MDS Transmodal combines its databases and modelling techniques with an in-depth knowledge of freight transport and logistics to analyse the impact of change in the policy or market environment on all modes of freight transport.