Britain’s logistics afloat ‣ WorldCargo News

The oldest conveyor of commerce around the UK is still the second most important. In terms of freight weight-distance, coastal and inland waterways are second only to the dominant force of road traffic. Chris Lipscomb, Director of Operations at Logistics UK, recently addressed the status of the sector at a Westminster reception.

They've been called the quiet giants of logistics, and rightly so, serving the 135 populated islands of the United Kingdom. From ports large and small, coastal freighters, ferries and inland barges ply their trade. They collectively handle between 35 and 45 billion tonne-kilometres annually.

According to the government's Department for Transport, only road transport, in all its forms, conveys more (167 billion tonne-kilometres in 2023). Much vaunted rail, trails in third place, carrying just 16 billion tonne-kilometres in the same year. There's a sense of recognition for the underplayed hand of waterborne freight from Chris Lipscomb, Director of Operations at Logistics UK, the sector-wide representative body. "Increasingly, logistics is understood to be an enabler of growth and economic resilience across all areas of the economy," he says. "It's key to the delivery of the UK government's ambitious housing and clean energy targets, as well as acting as the foundation for all economic activity.

The logistics networks that businesses and consumers rely on every day have developed over centuries. One part of the sector that symbolises both the rich history and the exciting future of the industry is coastal and inland waterways." Britain has a legacy of canal, river and estuary ports, dating back several centuries, and many locations are active and familiar to modern-day mariners.

Wisbech (on the River Nene), Gloucester (Severn) and even almost moribund Perth (Tay) may all surprise casual observers with their shipping facilities. Wisbech, for example, handles almost one million tonnes of cargo annually. It was in the pages of WorldCargo News recently, when the neighbourhood council, who administer the jetty, refused permission for the sea-going barge Terra Marique to come alongside with a huge electrical transformer [1], much to the displeasure of Wynn's - the operators of the barge and the hosts at the Westminster event.

Importance of Water Freight

Chris Lipscomb / Photo: Logistics UK

"Britain's waterways helped power the Industrial Revolution," explained Chris Lipscomb. "Canals were built to link ports to cities and to move the coal and steel that powered the economy.

Canals connected communities with the goods they needed before motorways and railways even existed." This includes the pioneering Manchester Ship Canal. If plans come to fruition, a development designated Port Salford (promoted by Peel Ports and backed locally) may see the canal take new significance, not least since the development is intended to be 'tri-mode', capable of handling marine, road and rail traffic. Inland waterways and coastal shipping were the foundation of the UK's logistics sector, said Chris.

He said the sector now contributes GBGBP170 billion annually to the economy and employs 2.7m people, making the whole business of moving goods by far the biggest employer in the UK. Ports and inland waterways are playing their part. "Today, inland waterways move more than forty million tonnes of freight a year, with the River Thames handling over half of that total," said Lipscomb. The UK's domestic coastal shipping industry moved around 76mt.

According to Logistics UK, inland and coastal shipping both take pressure off congested roads, reducing carbon emissions, and serving as a vital alternative for the transportation of heavy, bulky, and critical goods - unless you live in Wisbech.

The Policy Opportunity

"Water freight often remains overlooked in policy, investment, and planning," says Chris Lipscomb. "If the UK government is serious about improving productivity, decarbonising transport, and ensuring resilience in supply chains, the country must make full use of every transport mode available, including the opportunities presented by rivers, canals and estuaries." Lipscomb took the occasion of attending Parliament to reiterate the call from Logistics UK. He appealed to the government to set a clear growth target for water freight, just as has been set for rail freight. "Improvements to the grants system are needed to support this, as the current approach is too complex and too limited," he said. "Industry needs smarter, more accessible support to unlock private investment in infrastructure like wharves and terminals to improve links for waterways to other parts of the wider logistics system."

Lipscomb was critical of the current system of approvals for developments, including those for infrastructure. Certainly, you need only review the online service of WorldCargoNews.com to read about numerous designated Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges being developed around Great Britain (albeit not without local opposition in most cases). The recently published UK government ten-year infrastructure strategy makes scant mention of waterways, beyond a vague commitment to clean them up.

Hardly a resounding endorsement of waterborne trade. "Planning reform is also crucial if water freight growth is to be enabled. 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. If we can safeguard access, invest in infrastructure, and incentivise modal shift to diversify the options available for those moving goods, inland waterways and coastal shipping can help power a greener, more resilient UK economy."

Looking to the Future

To support its freight-centric agenda, Logistics UK is launching a report later this summer. It will explore the untapped potential of waterborne freight in the UK.

The representative body says it will set out recommendations for how government and industry can support modal shift to water. "Our members believe that there is a real opportunity for water freight to grow and help support the government's growth agenda," says Lipscomb. "With decarbonisation at the top of the agenda, water freight offers some of the lowest emissions per tonne moved. Domestic logistics by water is not only part of the country's industrial past.

It is an essential part of a sustainable logistics future." Lipscomb argues that specialist logistics, including the movement of heavy and abnormal loads, will be vital to delivering the UK government's Clean Power Action Plan, which aims to increase the UK's energy output by more than 20% by 2030. "To enable that role for water freight to ramp up, our sector needs greater certainty so it can invest with confidence in the tools to do the job - certainty on infrastructure, planning and logistics decarbonisation, and work to cut through the thicket of regulations that inhibit the efficient use of UK waterways."

Logistics competitiveness

The UK's economic growth, argues Lipscomb, is being jeopardised because the UK's global competitiveness in logistics has declined. In 2013, the UK ranked fourth in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index.

By 2023, it had fallen to nineteenth. Lipscomb defends the industry and says external factors are to blame. "Logistics businesses across the UK are among the most efficient and innovative in the world," he says. "They are being held back, according to the World Bank, by underinvestment in infrastructure, congestion, and increased friction at our borders. The good news is that with the right policy choices, the right investment priorities, and the right partnerships between government and industry, we can turbocharge our supply chains to drive growth across the whole economy."

Global analysts Oxford Economics estimated in 2023 that reducing the barriers to effective logistics in the UK could unlock up to GBGBP8 billion per year in additional productivity-led growth. "It is time for the government and industry to act together because the foundations of growth don't appear by chance," says Lipscomb. "We are calling for a step change in how logistics is understood, supported and prioritised in national policymaking." Logistics UK's report later this year is likely to signal where it believes the government needs to focus its attention. Drafts show the body seeks the government's industrial strategy to recognise logistics as a foundational sector, critical to the UK's economy.

It wants a unified national approach in forthcoming infrastructure and transport strategies to tackle congestion and improve connectivity. All that should be alongside a collaborative logistics decarbonisation plan, skills reforms to build a future-ready workforce, and a trade strategy that reduces border friction. "In each of these areas, we in logistics are ready to be partners, working alongside government and our customers to drive growth, clean energy and opportunity, concludes Lipscomb. "Every product, every supply chain, and every local economy depends on logistics, and logistics depends on smart investment and joined-up policy across all modes. Water freight has been part of Britain's success story for centuries.

With the right support, it can play a bigger role in our success in the decades to come." *This story first appeared in the July/August print issue of WorldCargo News

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References

^ refused permission for the sea-going barge Terra Marique to come alongside with a huge electrical transformer (www.worldcargonews.com)
^ Log in (www.worldcargonews.com)