2024 will be an election year in the UK and trade associations are seeking to influence the content of the political parties’ manifestoes. Logistics UK, the trade body that represents the third party logistics providers and large-scale shippers and receivers of goods, published its own pitch called Unleashing the power of logistics to drive growth across the whole economy in January.   At the end of the chapter on the theme of a Fair transition to a green economy , in which it argued for a “co-created logistics roadmap to net zero and the phase-out of fossil fuels”, it slipped in a request for, “The government to work with our sector on plans for road pricing”.

At one level it seems rather odd for a trade association to be so open to the introduction of a new form of taxation on its members’ activities, but the logistics industry in the UK seems to have realised that being taxed for use of the highways network is unavoidable and it’s best to engage with the process. When asked whether his members regarded road pricing as inevitable by the Chair of the House of Commons Transport Committee in October 2021, a representative of the Road Haulage Association (RHA) - which represents the small and medium-sized road hauliers – replied, “Yes, I think so”.

While the UK’s Office of Budget Responsibility has confirmed that “Brexit has had a significant adverse impact on UK trade…”, the North Sea RORO corridor seems to have enjoyed a Brexit dividend since 2016. Trade transported between Great Britain and the European continental mainland has gradually been shifting away from accompanied HGVs on the Short Straits to unaccompanied trailers on the North Sea since the Brexit Referendum in 2016. Quarterly RORO data published by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) shows that the unaccompanied RORO share has reached 39% of the market in Q3 2022 compared to only 30% in Q3 2016.  

Why freight transport matters to public policymakers

MDS Transmodal presented emerging results from the SENATOR project at the RTR Conference 2023 in Brussels (14 – 16 February, www.rtrconference.eu). The conference, held annually, showcases road transport research projects (and their key outputs) that have been funded through the EU’s Horizon 2020 scheme. Attendees were a mixture of academic researchers, consultants, policy makers and commercial partners from across Europe. MDS Transmodal (MDST) was invited to present the Horizon-funded SENATOR project ( www.senatorproject.eu) at a dedicated freight and logistics session (Session 11, which can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-yW-7mQjcI&list=PLk2F4MbGviSEkY3CQFpDRJUMH9eRnirnx).

On 21 and 22 September, MDS Transmodal (MDST) attended the Urban Mobility Days 2022 conference and exhibition in Brno (Czech Republic). Sponsored by the European Commission, the Urban Mobility Days (UMD) conference provides a forum for policy makers, planners and operators to discuss issues associated with sustainable urban transport in Europe. MDST, one of the consortium partners of the SENATOR project ( www.senatorproject.eu ) attended principally to represent the EU-funded project. SENATOR developing a digital support tool for decision making, integration and planning of urban logistics operations. MDST presented a short description of the project at the ’10 pitches’ plenary session ( www.twitter.com/SenatorProject/status/1572882825615114242).

Naturally, most of the focus at the plenary sessions and wider general discussion around the exhibition hall concerned passenger transport. However, urban logistics issues were very much on display, including a dedicated plenary session presenting ideas and solutions from a number of cities across Europe. The SENATOR exhibition stand also attracted a number of visitors. A number of key issues/themes emerged which are currently informing thinking and potential solutions in the urban logistics environment. These included:

• The growth of e-commerce and its consequent impact on the nature of delivery operations in urban areas (parcels, light vans etc..);
• Urban centres needing to re-invent themselves – covering a new retail offer (to challenge e-commerce), being destinations for other activities (leisure, events etc..) and places to live (including sustainable and social housing);
• The ability to deliver freight and remove waste efficiently must be retained (or even enhanced);
• Urban re-invention must include creating attractive environments, including road vehicle free spaces; and
• The need to decarbonise the supply chain, including the use of alternative delivery solutions such as e-cargo bikes.

MDS Transmodal launched its Freight Data Hub at the Modelling World Conference in Birmingham on 9th June 2022. The Freight Data Hub is a new way for the public sector, transport planning consultants and commercial organisations in Great Britain to access high quality and robust freight transport data. It directly addresses the need for “new and better data” on freight that was originally asserted by the National Infrastructure Commission in 2018 and now partially endorsed by the Department for Transport’s Future of Freight: a long-term plan which was launched by Trudy Harrison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport on 15th June.