Colliers warns of ‘perfect storm’ for transport and logistics
The UK’s transport and logistics infrastructure faces an environmental “perfect storm” that will push it to its limits, the head of research at Colliers International has warned.
Walter Boettcher said rising essential and non-essential retail demand could ultimately hamper attempts to reach net-zero emissions.
“From a commercial property perspective, sustainability questions abound about whether and how future growth in consumer spending in general can be adequately accommodated, let alone the inexorable rise of e-commerce,” Boettcher said.
The UK’s transport and logistics infrastructure faces an environmental “perfect storm” that will push it to its limits, the head of research at Colliers International has warned.
Walter Boettcher said rising essential and non-essential retail demand could ultimately hamper attempts to reach net-zero emissions.
“From a commercial property perspective, sustainability questions abound about whether and how future growth in consumer spending in general can be adequately accommodated, let alone the inexorable rise of e-commerce,” Boettcher said.
“Much attention is focused on ‘last-mile delivery’, but the real existential questions have more to do with the sustainability of bulk transport from port quays to inland warehouses and on to urban agglomeration hubs.”
Colliers predicts that an additional 54.5m sq ft of industrial logistics space will be needed by 2025, serviced by more than 38,000 additional heavy goods vehicles daily.
Boettcher’s latest report says the rise of e-commerce is revealing the fragility of supply chains, adding that the UK’s road network “could grind to a halt by the end of this decade” without action.
“The distribution model in place for the growing volume of e-commerce is not without its problems,” he said. “One being that it has a substantial environmental footprint that may equal, if not exceed, that of traditional bricks-and-mortar retailing. Furthermore, the anticipated large-scale repurposing of bricks-and-mortar retail assets into other uses could unwittingly exacerbate the problem and act to undermine the path to net-zero.”
He added: “Without urgent action, it’s highly likely the supply and logistics challenges of today will, in a few years’ time, be remembered simply as minor inconveniences. It’s a scenario that, if left unchecked, could paralyse the UK economy for a substantial period and block an already uncertain path to net-zero.”
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