Logistics 'undervalued' in EU 

The logistics industry "is largely undervalued" by both policymakers and the public, Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL, told journalists ahead of the second EU logistics summit on 4 November.

Appel regrets that the majority of political, regulatory and legislative stakeholders still see logistics "in the limited sense of good transport, warehousing and special process solutions, rather than recognising the macro-economic relationships". 

Meanwhile, logistics is the largest industry sector with "a trillion in revenue," far ahead of the automotive and chemical industries, he said, adding that its status as Europe's biggest employer makes it "the backbone of the EU economy".

To accelerate growth, Appel believes the EU should leverage the sector's potential by completing the internal market for road cabotage, creating a competitive rail market and cutting red tape. 

This autumn, the Alliance for European Logistics (AEL) tabled a series of recommendations  for the future EU transport policy regarding logistics. The alliance, which gathers various industries increasingly dependent on logistics under a single banner, was established a year ago at the first EU logistics summit (EurActiv 06/11/08). 

Its members BASF, CEVA Logistics, Deutsche Post DHL, IVECO, Group Carrefour, Air France KLM Cargo and Michelin seek to boost the sector's profile in EU decision-making and make logistics more seamless.

EU lacks holistic view of sector

In particular, the alliance is calling on the European Commission to adopt a more coherent approach to policymaking affecting the logistics industry. 

It argues that while a separate logistics unit has been set up at the Commission's transport department, the EU executive still continues to conduct policy "from a modal approach which often overlooks logistics".  

The sector calls for enhanced coordination between the Commission's transport, industry and enterprise, internal market, environment and trade departments, as well as logistics groups and suppliers and consumers of logistics services. 

According to AEL, such cooperation would help to offer a more holistic view of the sector and help implement policies that take into account "the entire value chain of transport and logistics services, with all actors involved". It would also prevent narrow discussions on legislative initiatives on CO2, infrastructure or Eurovignette,  for example, Appel argued.

The alliance is particularly keen to see the creation of a high-level EU stakeholders' group. It also suggests establishing a "logistics think-tank" in the European Parliament to allow in-depth discussions "across party and committee lines".