Brussels,

Logistics and multimodal transport

MOBILITY & TRANSPORT

​The EU transport policy is dedicated to fostering a mode of mobility that is sustainable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly. This vision is realized through the promotion of multimodal transport, which strategically combines different transport modes to leverage their respective advantages and mitigate their limitations.

To this end, the EU is actively working on enhancing the integration and interoperability of various transport modes at all levels of the transport system, advocating a policy of multimodality.

Additionally, recognizing the importance of meeting user needs within the transport chains, the EU emphasizes the necessity of efficient logistics services. Collaborative efforts with stakeholders are underway to establish a supportive environment for logistics services within the EU.

​This approach aligns with the overarching goals of the EU transport policy to ensure mobility that not only meets functional requirements but also adheres to sustainability, energy efficiency, and environmental respect.

Logistics

​Logistics plays a crucial role in supply chain management, encompassing the organization and management of goods' flows across various stages, including purchasing, production, warehousing, distribution, and the disposal, reuse, and exchange of products. It also involves providing value-added services. Nowadays, many enterprises opt to outsource logistics activities to third-party logistics providers. It's estimated that long-term contractual relationships in logistics, known as contract logistics, represent 16% of the global logistics market, while express, courier, and parcel services are instrumental in the e-commerce delivery sector.

A study on the EU logistics market highlighted that logistics operations, excluding in-house activities, amounted to €878 billion in 2012. The EU logistics sector, according to the World Bank's "Connected to Compete" logistics performance index, is a strong performer globally, with the top largest logistics service providers based in Europe and six EU Member States ranking in the global top-10 logistic performers. However, performance varies within the EU, with Germany leading globally, while the EU average stands at 3.56 out of 5, compared to the US at 3.92 and Japan at 3.91.

The 2007 Communication on the Freight Transport Logistics Action Plan outlined activities to enhance the EU's transport logistics operations framework. Stakeholder discussions and the Logistics Conference 2013 revealed that logistics costs in the EU account for about 10-15% of product final value, with an estimation that half of these costs could be saved by overcoming certain barriers. These include high administrative burdens, inefficient transport chains, inadequate transport infrastructure, and the incomplete internal transport market.

Targeted areas for improvement include:

1. Administrative Burden: Customs procedures are a significant barrier for cross-border transport, especially for efficient and fast logistics. Digitalization initiatives like single windows and the 'reporting-only-once' principle are being advanced by the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF) to streamline administrative processes.
2. Infrastructure: The new TEN-T framework has tripled its budget to focus on enhancing trans-shipment facilities, addressing missing links, and establishing a network of multimodal transport corridors for efficient large-volume freight movement.
3. Transport Services Performance: As open and competitive markets usually offer better and more affordable services, completing the Single European Transport Area remains a key policy goal.
4. Internalization of External Costs: Addressing the high negative externalities predominant in road transport, which accounts for 70% of activity and over 70% of total negative externalities, is crucial. Harmonizing carbon footprint measurement can enable transport services benchmarking in terms of environmental sustainability, alongside streamlining business processes and operations.

Multimodal and combined transport

The negative impacts of transport, including pollution, climate change, noise, congestion, and accidents, significantly affect the economy, health, and well-being of European citizens. With freight transport, particularly road freight, expected to rise substantially (around 40% by 2030 and just over 80% by 2050), the EU transport policy is pivoting towards reducing road transport in favor of less polluting and more energy-efficient modes.

​To encourage multimodal transport solutions, the EU has implemented four types of actions:

1. Internalizing External Costs: Implementing the 'polluter pays' principle, this action aims to ensure that the social and environmental costs of transport are reflected in pricing, sending clear signals to users, operators, and investors.
2. Investing in Infrastructure: Targeted investments are being made to enhance the interconnectivity of single modal networks, facilitating smoother transitions between different modes of transport.
3. Enhancing Information Accessibility: Improving the availability of information related to traffic, infrastructure capacities, and cargo and vehicle positioning to optimize transport operations.
4. Supporting Intermodal Transport: Direct support is provided for intermodal transport through initiatives like the Combined Transport Directive (Council Directive 92/106/EEC), which promotes combined transport (intermodal transport with a strictly limited road leg). The directive eliminates authorization procedures and quantitative restrictions for combined transport operations, clarifies the non-application of road cabotage restrictions on road legs, and offers financial and fiscal incentives for specific operations. 

Additionally, the Combined Transport Directive is reinforced by other EU policies and directives, such as the Weights and Dimensions Directive (EU) 2015/719, which allows heavier intermodal load units to be moved by road when used in combined transport operations. Financial support is also extended to combined transport-related projects.

In 2017, European Commission published a Proposal for a  Directive COM(648) for a Refit of the Directive (EU) 2015/719 to further increase the competitiveness of combined transport compared to long-distance road freight and therefore strengthen the shift from road freight to other modes of transport.

On 7 November 2023, it published another Proposal for a Directive COM(2023) 702, amending the Council Directive 92/106/EEC and amending Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 as regards calculation of external costs savings and generation of aggregated data. Read the European Parliament briefing.
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The new rules augment existing support for intermodal transport with:

1. EU-wide Exemption: A regulatory exemption from national driving bans across the EU.
2. Member State Obligations: A requirement for Member States to assess and enhance national policy frameworks to promote intermodal transport, with regulatory or economic measures.
3. Cost Reduction Goal: A target to decrease costs for combined transport by 10% in each Member State, aiming to facilitate technological advancements in intermodal transport and establish connections between unconnected terminals.

Market Transparency:

• The REFIT evaluation highlighted a transparency deficit in national policies and market situations, hindering tailored support assessment. Hence, the Commission will maintain reporting but with revised data and periods, and Member States are mandated to ensure transparency in their intermodal policy frameworks. National policies and measures will be accessible via a central Commission-managed gateway, and a review clause is included for reassessing the EU support framework.

Terminal Transparency:

• The proposal sets universal transparency requirements for terminals, mandating public data availability on terminal facilities and services. It also opens the possibility for establishing terminal categories based on service levels. These initiatives complement the proposed revision of the TEN-T Regulation, targeting terminal capacity and quality in the TEN-T network.

A notable Regulation (EU) 1055/2020 (part of Mobility Package 1), allows Member States to apply specific cabotage quotas to road legs of international combined transport that don't cross borders, aiming to prevent misuse. Member States like Finland, Sweden, and Denmark have expressed their intention to use this derogation, which is subject to a review every five years and requires notification to the Commission.