London, UK: The UK Warehousing Association has given a cautious welcome to a new report from the Office for National Statistics.
The report, The rise of the UK warehouse and the golden logistics triangle, which is thought to be the first from the Office for National Statistics to focus on the transport, logistics and warehousing industry and its importance for the UK and local economies, considers changes over the last decade and since coronavirus.
It states that 2021 was a record year for new warehouse projects: transport and storage is growing fastest in parts of the Midlands, the East of England and Yorkshire and the Humber, according to the report.
The report says: “The number of business premises used for transport, logistics and warehousing in the UK has almost doubled in the last decade, new analysis shows. As well as the Midlands, home to the “golden logistics triangle”, these premises are now most concentrated in parts of the East of England and Yorkshire and the Humber that were not previously associated with the industry.”
UKWA says that, despite anomalies in the Office for National Statistics report, it chimes with the findings from a recently published report by the British Property Federation and UK Warehousing Association, which showed that the transport, storage and logistics sector is critical to the governments levelling up agenda.
Clare Bottle, chief executive, UK Warehousing Association, said: “While we welcome increased interest in our industry from government, we have some concerns around the integrity of the data. For example, the definition of ‘transport, logistics and warehousing’ in the ONS [Office for National Statistics] report extends to businesses such as taxi firms and other passenger transport operations, which are not usually categorised as part of our sector. Similarly, there are significant omissions, in that the report findings exclude retail and wholesale logistics users, which are major drivers for increased warehousing demand. Warehousing for companies like Amazon, Tesco and DHL will not have been considered in this report, so clearly the overall picture will be distorted.”
Bottle added: “Transport and storage growth is the fastest growing of any industry group, and our sector – along with e-commerce – is expected to continue to grow. Yet there is little or no government support for our sector in meeting the serious challenges of current labour shortages, planning and the transition to net zero,” she said. “We look forward to raising our concerns with the ONS [Office for National Statistics] and working with them – and other government departments – to promote greater awareness of our role in the UK economy, more accurate insights into the sector and better understanding of the challenges we face.”
