Float freight idea
DESPITE the downturn, a new report today says logistics developments, including Teesport’s £300m deep sea container terminal, offer significant investment opportunities.
Real estate consultancy group DTZ, which has a base in Newcastle, said while facing low levels of logistical activity at present, ten locations around UK ports and inland water offer significant investment opportunities with the return to future growth in logistics. These include PD Ports’ Northern Gateway scheme which is due to open in 2012.
DTZ said over the past decade there has been a growing trend to get more freight off the UK’s crowded roads and out of the air, onto coastal freighters and inland waterways. This is being driven by a combination of factors including cost, Government legislation and incentives, and the environment. The logistics industry, hit by reduced demand in the recession, needs to find methods to reduce costs and narrow margins.
Nick Atkinson, industrial director at DTZ, said expansion of port capacity and the development of port-based distribution parks and planned waterway upgrades could allow waterborne freight to expand its share by 5% to around 30% by 2030.
