The freight sector is one of the UK's largest industries and plays a crucial role in the economy, contributing £124bn gross value add (GVA) to the UK economy in 2019, which represents 10 per cent of the contribution to the UK non-financial business economy. There are 2.7 million employees in the wider logistics industry, working in 192,525 enterprises, of which nearly all are SMEs [1]. The industry is seen as a strategically important enabler of other businesses of all sizes and sectors. Technology is increasingly being adopted to support the whole logistics sector in every aspect whether in the office, in vehicles, in goods handling or in warehouses. The following sections discuss each type of mode of transport.

Chapter Contents:

• 7.1 The state of the UK freight and logistics sector
• 7.1.1 Freight in the UK
• 7.1.2 UK road freight
• 7.1.3 UK rail freight
• 7.1.4 UK water freight
• 7.1.5 UK air freight
• 7.2 Supply chains in the UK
• 7.2.1 UK commercial vehicle fleet profile
• 7.2.2 Changing delivery patterns (Internet shopping, etc.)
• 7.2.3 Night vehicles and night-time deliveries
• 7.2.4 The UK van market growth
• 7.2.5 Warehousing
• 7.3 Safety and security
• 7.3.1 Compliance schemes
• 7.3.2 Incident prevention on the Strategic Road Network
• 7.3.3 Drivers' hours
• 7.3.4 Driver fatigue
• 7.3.5 Lorry parking
• 7.4 On-site parking
• 7.4.1 Utilisation
• 7.5 Facilities and price
• 7.6 Off-site parking (e.g. parking in laybys and industrial/retail parks)
• 7.6.1 Appropriate parking
• 7.6.2 Criminal activity
• 7.6.3 Estimation of additional parking required
• 7.6.4 Bad weather driving
• 7.6.5 Environmental challenges
• 7.7 Freight regulations and standards
• 7.8 Technology for today and tomorrow?
• 7.8.1 The Internet of things and 5G
• 7.9 Conclusion
• References

Inspec keywords: small-to-medium enterprises; transportation; logistics; personnel; financial management; freight handling

Other keywords: wider logistics industry; freight sector; UK economy; SMEs [1]; UK freight; UK nonfinancial business economy; logistics sector; gross value; UK's largest industries; strategically important enabler; 2.7 million employees

Subjects: Financial management; Financial computing; Business applications of IT; Economics; Goods distribution; Production management