The following blog was written by Neil Gould on behalf of CILT (UK)'s Freight & Logistics Policy Group.
With UK Logistics Week and Multimodal (Tuesday 30 June – Thursday 2 July) fast approaching, not since COVID has the movement of goods been so critical to the UK economy. Ensuring the continuity of food, fuel and essential supplies amid global instability - reinforcing the importance of resilient and efficient supply chains.
The movement of finished goods and raw materials underpins economic growth - from supporting infrastructure projects and emerging technologies to controlling the cost of food production and distribution. This means efficient, joined-up logistics planning and investment are fundamental to the UK’s future and competitiveness.
Economic Growth
Logistics plays a vital role across the UK economy, yet the UK’s logistics performance has declined notably. In 2014, the UK ranked fourth in the World Bank Logistics Index; by 2023 it had fallen to nineteenth, impacted by Brexit, COVID, congestion and rising logistics costs – a blend of challenges.
Oxford Economics estimates improving logistics performance could increase UK GDP by between £3.9bn and £7.9bn by 2030. But to achieve this, the economic value of freight movement must be fully recognised in infrastructure planning and investment decisions - from ports and factories to urban kerbside delivery.
Employment and Technology
The logistics sector employs around 8% of the UK workforce and has major opportunities to improve productivity via AI, automation and green energy adoption. However, delivering this transition will require considerable workforce retraining and larger appreciation of the importance of logistics as a strategic industry.
The sector has adapted successfully in the past, for example during the technology and operational transformation of the 1980s – proving that evolution is essential and that the sector is well positioned to once again evolve.
Net Zero
Logistics remains one of the UK’s largest contributors to CO2 emissions, while the government’s target is for all new HGVs to be zero emission by 2035. Achieving this depends heavily on investment in energy infrastructure to support the widespread deployment of low and zero-carbon vehicles.
Resilience
As an island nation, the UK faces unique supply chain challenges. Political uncertainty, changing weather patterns and global agricultural pressures all create ongoing risks. Maintaining sufficient storage and distribution capacity is essential to managing future supply chain shocks.
At the CILT UK 2025 conference, we highlighted modern resilience increasingly depends on technology - protecting infrastructure from both cyber and physical threats. Future resilience will rely on robust fallback systems capable of maintaining the movement of goods and services during disruption and testing times.
The CILT(UK) Freight & Logistics Policy Group
Through the Freight & Logistics Policy Group (FLPG), CILT(UK) has launched a major project to improve how freight and goods movement are recognised within planning, appraisal and investment decisions that support economic growth and net zero ambitions – essentially ensuring freight is as important as other economic drivers.
The project is built around three workstreams:
Governance and Processes: Improving visibility of freight impacts and benefits within business cases through practical project-stage checks and continued freight engagement throughout project lifecycles.
Communications: Providing impartial guidance and creating stronger links between planning, infrastructure and policy stakeholders to encourage a more integrated national approach across regions and transport modes.
Data and Modelling: Identifying best practice to create more balanced freight appraisal models that properly reflect the economic value and cost of different cargo types, from aggregates to retail goods.
The CILT(UK) Freight & Logistics Policy Group will be discussing these themes further at the CILT(UK) stand during Multimodal 2026 – make sure you join us.
Neil Gould is a member of the CILT(UK) Freight & Logistics Policy Group (FLPG), which brings together industry experts to support policy, infrastructure planning and investment decisions that strengthen the UK supply chain, drive economic growth and support the transition to net zero.