Overview
Factors such as global competition, labour costs, recycling technologies and environmental restrictions, force companies to implement new logistics and manufacturing systems.
Most of these new systems (e.g. off-shoring) have negative impacts, as they induce additional freight transport. However, on the other hand, they are implemented as they have positive effects such as cheaper production processes (e.g. due to economies of scale) or even environmental benefits (e.g. due to recycling).
The objective of this study was:
- To give an insight into new logistics and manufacturing trends;
- To assess the impacts on economic and environmental sustainability;
- To provide scenario-based recommendations for European freight transport policy, considering both economic and environmental sustainability and;
- To improve existing tools (TRANSTOOLS, I-O tables) used for impact assessment and cost-benefit analysis.
This was done by analysing status and trends of external factors (world trade, policy and legislation, transport system, technology) and performing case studies in crucial economic sectors. These case studies analysed new best practices of logistics and manufacturing systems, where CO2 emissions are considered an important design criterion. These microeconomic results will be used to improve TRANSTOOLS and I-O tables.
Based on these results, a scenario analysis followed to estimate the possible impacts of these new best practices on European environmental (criteria: freight transport's carbon footprint, products logistics and manufacturing carbon footprint) and economic sustainability (criterion: economic growth). Storylines were developed and the likeliness, chances and risks were estimated. Lastly, the transport policy costs and benefits were assessed for the different scenarios. This led to recommendations for transport policy for the reduction of transport emissions without negative impacts on the other sustainability criteria.
Funding
Results
The LOGMAN project provided three sets of recommendations from logistics trends, CO2 assessment and transport policy perspectives.
Globalisation has completely changed the supply chain for goods and freight and has led to the implementation of new logistics and manufacturing systems. Although, these trends have benefits, including environmental advantages from recycling and cheaper production processes, a negative impact is felt in terms of an increase in transport CO2 emissions. As a result, while CO2 emissions from other sectors are declining, emissions from the transport sector are increasing. Currently, the transport sector is responsible for roughly 20% of the GHG emissions in the EU27.
Against this broad background, the project outcome was therefore, a set of scenario-based recommendations for European freight transport policy, as well as an illustration of global trends in production, transport and environmental sustainability from a supply chain perspective. These objectives have been met through four steps:
- Identification of the external factors that affect logistics and manufacturing;
- Sectoral scenario analysis based on the current trends to identify the key industries for further examination;
- Case-study approach for the examination of the logistics trends utilised in these key industries and finally;
- An extensive scenario analysis to analyse the logistics trends.
The predominant approach of the LOGMAN project has been to employ a microeconomic perspective on assessing the impact of the current global economic trends on freight transport and to suggest ways on how transport policy should react. Five logistics and manufacturing trends were considered in the analysis:
- Off-/on-/nearshoring;
- (De)centralisation;
- Intermodal transport;
- Transport consolidation and;
- Recycling.
Based on these scenario results and expert group evaluations, measures for policy packages were selected for each of the logistics trends and further investigated on their transport policy implications. The highlights of the project's results can be summed up as follows:
Amongst the logistics trends examined in this project, intermodal transport, transport consolidation, and local recycling were found to have the largest impacts in terms of CO2 reductions.
An increase in sea and rail transport were observed in the intermodal scenario. In order to meet this additional demand, e
Other results
In view of the findings and expert evaluations, the LOGMAN project provided an extensive discussion on the relative importance of the logistics trends in achieving European and global environmental targets without having a negative impact on freight transport.
The project results provide insight in the role of production and freight transport within the context of a global economy. The sectoral view of the project showed the complexities of supply chains that freight transport policy needs to tackle and provided an enhanced understanding of different features of industries and product groups.
Each of LOGMAN's policy recommendations have a certain regulatory risk related to them: government regulators and international agencies may introduce new legislations that affect logistics, manufacturing firms' profits and company strategies, thereby, reducing their compliance. Measures for policy packages were recommended which should help lessen the negative impacts of individual measures.
It has to be noted that many of the policies identified by the LOGMAN project are beyond the responsibility of DG MOVE to be effective. This is an important conclusion of the project. Therefore, cooperation amongst policy sectors of each Member State is needed. This involves in particular, the following policy sectors: research training and development, regional policy, economic and financial affairs, environment, and trade.
Strategy targets
Innovating for the future (technology and behaviour):
• A European Transport Research and Innovation Policy
• Promoting more sustainable development