Touch wood, fingers crossed: people are starting to talk seriously about growth in logistics again.
The Logistics Report 2013, produced by the Freight Transport Association in association with PwC, which reviews the state of the logistics sector over the past 12 months, concludes that the logistics industry is getting ready for growth despite the tough trading conditions that companies have been experiencing.
At the same time, the Barclays Job Creation Survey 2013 found that transport and logistics businesses are looking to create jobs over the next 12 months.
The FTA report brings together results from a series of studies by both the FTA and PwC to produce a picture of the state of the industry. It found that in spite of difficult conditions, it was reassuring that many respondents were optimistic that conditions would improve for domestic and international road movements in 2013. It also looks at how the industry was central to the delivery of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to London.
Launching the report, Theo de Pencier, the FTA’s chief executive, pointed out that companies engaged in logistics have put in place groundbreaking practices and pioneering technologies to make their businesses more efficient and competitive, while continuously striving to achieve greater sustainability in their operations.
The confident tone is reflected in the Barclays survey, which revealed that 69 per cent of transport and logistics businesses plan to create new jobs this year – up from 46 per cent in 2012. However, 21 per cent of transport and logistics sector respondents expect to make job cuts over the next 12 months.
Our industry has seen more than enough false dawns over the past couple of years so no-one is going to get too excited by these latest findings. And it would be a brave person who suggested that they signalled anything more than a gradual improvement in the state of the market. Nevertheless, it’s heartening to see some positive thinking in the industry.
Malory Davies FCILT,
Editor
