The leaders of 30 major UK businesses have signed a letter to Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP, urging him to ensure that the logistics industry is made a cornerstone of the government’s Industrial Strategy, which is set to be published in the coming months.
Led by business group Logistics UK, the 30 businesses, which include Amazon, Heathrow Airport and Tesco Stores, are urging Mr Reynolds to acknowledge the critical role that effective supply chains play in all parts of the economy, including the growth-driving sectors already recognised by the government. The business leaders are clear that making the transportation of goods more efficient is fundamental to growth across the whole economy, and that the logistics sector must therefore have a voice in the development of future economic plans by being represented on the new Industrial Strategy Council.
“Nothing in the economy moves without logistics: it provides our hospitals, schools, factories and shops with everything they need, everywhere, every day,” says David Wells OBE, Chief Executive of Logistics UK which co-ordinated the approach to Mr Reynolds, “Our sector must be recognised as a key partner in the government’s economic and business growth plans. Otherwise, the plan for growth will be set up to fail before it even starts. The government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper rightly introduces the concept of ‘foundational sectors’ that provide critical inputs and infrastructure to our growth-driving sectors, and the case for recognising logistics as such a sector is undeniable.
“Effective logistics is the foundation of any successful economic activity, whatever the industry,” he continues. “To create an industrial strategy that does not improve the efficiency of the movement of goods would be a huge, missed opportunity, and throttle growth in other sectors.
“The efficiency of logistics and the growth potential of the economy are completely intertwined. The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index has seen the UK fall from 4th to 19th over the past decade, due largely to congestion and delays on our roads, friction at our borders, and a long-term lack of investment in our transport infrastructure. This puts the brakes on growth across the whole economy. But if we can reverse that trend, by making the right investments, then logistics can be a powerful force for growth. Indeed, Oxford Economics has found that getting the policy and infrastructure environment right for logistics would unlock up to £8 billion a year in productivity-led growth. With Logistics UK on the Industrial Strategy Council, we would be able to advance a partnership between government and business to deliver growth across the whole economy.
“Recognising the important role that logistics must play as a foundational sector in the forthcoming Industrial Strategy, with a voice on the Industrial Council, will enable our sector to achieve the maximum impact possible for the country, and ensure that we are all focused on driving the growth we know is possible for the UK, its businesses and its long term prosperity in the coming months and years.”
