Impact of Logistics Trends on Freight Transport Development in Urban Areas

Tomislav Letnik, Katja Hanžič, Giuseppe Luppino and Matej Mencinger ()
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Tomislav Letnik: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Katja Hanžič: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Giuseppe Luppino: Institute for Transport and Logistics—ITL, Viale Aldo Moro 38, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Matej Mencinger: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: City logistics is subject to constant development, generated by new logistics trends and high customers’ expectations. With the aim of creating an effective, acceptable, and sustainable city logistics policy, it is therefore essential to understand logistics trends and their expected impact on the development of urban freight transport in the future. In this paper, we explore and compare the expectations of public authorities, business, and academia regarding the short-, medium-, and long-term impacts of different logistics trends on urban logistics. Following a literature review, the expert survey was used to assess the expected impact and time horizon. According to the respondents, “e-commerce”, “automated vehicles”, “electric vehicles”, “grey power logistics”, “omni-channel logistics”, and the “desire for speed” will have the greatest impact on urban freight transport in the future. An interesting observation concerns some differences of opinion between public and private stakeholders. In general, the business community believes that the identified trends will have a greater impact on urban logistics in a shorter period of time, while public authorities believe that the mentioned trends will have a less strong impact on urban logistics in a longer time scale. This shows the need for more active collaboration between them in the policy-making process.

Keywords: logistics trends; urban freight; policy making; stakeholders’ perspective (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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