Transport and Logistic Center

Transport and Logistics
Centres
The consolidated WP 3 Final Report

Preface
The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) INTERREG III B programme belongs to one of the three different
strands of the European Community Initiative INTERREG III. The programme is part-financed
from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) covering the period 2000-2006. Strand
B of the INTERREG Initiative support transnational co-operation to enhance balanced and
sustainable development of the European territory.
SUTRANET is a project within Measure 2.3 of the Interreg IIIB North Sea Programme:
Development of spatial, integrated strategies on transportation networks and the promotion of
intermodal transport systems.
Under the frame of WP 3 this final report has been written based on the active participation of
all involved WP 3 partners. This report has been under the management of the WP 3 Leader
(FDT Association of Danish Transport Centres) and is known as the Final WP 3 Report.
The objective of the work package 3 is to develop innovative intermodal transport systems and
concepts through the use of transport and logistics centres. The Transport & Logistics Centres in
relation to transport and economic corridors will be the main focus of this WP. The strategic
focus of the WP 3 is to research and develop in the area of transport and logistics centres in
order to provide the R&D network with relevant knowledge.
As a part of the overall output of this work package 3, different case studies on how to develop
North Sea Region ports into integrated and intermodal logistics centres will be undertaken. This
among others means that there will be focus on:
Identification of environmental and spatial barriers for intermodal transport.
Recommendations and measures for increased use of sustainable and effective
intermodal transport.
Best practices within the field of Transport and Logistics Centres
Four different institutions have been involved in the making of this report.
Erasmus University - The Netherlands
Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL) - Sweden
2
ISL - Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics Germany
FDT Association of Danish Transport and Logistics Centres Denmark
All four partners have participated in different meetings and workshops, where it among others
have been discussed how to make best use of the made results and how to disseminate the
findings to interested partners, authorities and consultancies. This contemporary report should
be regarded as the main result of the work package 3, and can hopefully supply other interests
with valuable information about Transport and Logistics Centres in the North Sea Region
The report consists of 11 chapters.

Aalborg 31 March 2007.
Responsible authors:
Kent Bentzen, FDT

President, WP 3 Leader
Michael Stie Laugesen, FDT

Project coordinator
Vaida Cerneckyte, FDT

Project consultant
FDT Team:
Lars Bentzen
Emina H. Kapetanovic
FDT Association of Danish Transport Centres

Roerdalsvej 201
P.O. Box 8412
DK-9220 Aalborg
Denmark
Tel. +45 99 30 00 00
Fax. +45 99 30 00 07
E-mail. Sutranet@ntu.dk
3
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 12
2 Methodology 13
3 Guidelines for how to read the report 14
4 The four part reports written by the WP3 partners 17
5 Distriparks in Seaports 19
5.1 Case study on logistics centres in Rotterdam - ..................................................................19

5.1.1 Developments in logistics concepts 20
5.1.2 Strategy of companies 20
5.1.3 Developments in logistics concepts 21
5.1.4 Relation with seaports 24
5.1.5 Intermodality 25
5.1.6 Case methodology 26
5.2 Distriparks .........................................................................................................................27
5.2.1 Intermodality in the port of Rotterdam 28
5.2.2 Distripark Eemhaven 29
5.2.3 Distripark Maasvlakte 31
5.3 Case studies distriparks Eemhaven and Maasvlakte..........................................................32
5.3.1 Developments at the distriparks - Distribution 33
5.3.2 Intermodal transportation 35
5.3.3 Location 37
5.3.4 Statements 40
5.4 Logistics facilities in Sweden, Norway and Germany.......................................................42
5.5 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................42
5.6 Recommendations for further research..............................................................................44
6 Analysis of institutional and organisational solutions in the development of

transport & logistics centres. 45
6.1. Background, Definitions and Method...............................................................................45

6.2 Definitions .........................................................................................................................49
4
6.3 Method of working ............................................................................................................58
6.4 Selected examples of Transport and Logistics Centres .....................................................60
6.4.1 BILK Kombiterminal - Hungary 60
6.4.2 Interporto Bologna SpA - Italy 63
6.4.3 Dresden GVZ Germany 67
6.4.4 Klaipeda Logistics Centre (KLC) - Lithuania 70
6.4.5 Nordic Transport Centre (NTC) - Denmark 73
6.4.6 Bikakobo-Aparcabisa (Bizkaia) Transport & Logistics Centre - Spain 81
6.5 Network Building and Networking....................................................................................83
6.5.1 Loosely Organised Networks 84
6.5.2 Concept Based Network 85
6.5.3 Company Based Network 86
6.5.4 Hierarchic Network 86
6.6 Transport Corridors ...........................................................................................................88
6.6.1 East West Transport Corridor 88
6.6.2 Trans European Transport Network, TEN-T 89
6.6.3 Summary of TEN-T Guidelines (Act Decision N 1692/96/EC, (1)) 90
6.7 Institutional aspects ...........................................................................................................98
6.7.1 Safety of routes 98
6.7.2 Policy actions in general 99
6.7.3 Health and safety issue in the Danish Transport & Logistic centres 101
6.7.4 The Danish Environmental Protection Act 102
6.8 Organisational aspects .....................................................................................................103
6.8.1 The European Model: Private Public Partnership (PPP) 104
6.8.2 General Model of PPP for Transport & Logistics Centres 106
6.8.3 Advantages of the PPP solution 107
6.8.4 The Free Economic Zone solution 109
6.8.5 Transport & Logistics Department 111
6.9. Development of Transport and Logistic Centres .....................................................112
6.9.1 Experiences from Denmark - Spatial planning 113
6.10. Conclusion & Recommendations .................................................................................115
7 Case study on the spatial and environmental impact of port / logistics centres
development. 117
5
7.1 General issues related to spatial and environmental impact of port development...........118
7.2 Description of the case - Port of Gothenburg...........................................................122
7.2.1 Historic and present situation 122
7.2.2 Future situation 124
7.3 Environmental impact assessment of the port expansion scenario ..................................129
7.4 Direct emissions...............................................................................................................130
7.4.1 Emissions to air 130
7.4.2 Emissions to water 130
7.4.3 Dredging 131
7.4.4 Noise emissions 131
7.5 Indirect emissions ............................................................................................................132
7.5.1 Emissions to air 132
7.5.2 Emissions to water 133
7.5.3 Noise emissions 134
7.6 Environmental impact and consequences.....................................................................135
7.6.1 Air quality 135
7.6.2 Impact on water quality, soils and sediments 136
7.6.3 Noise 137
7.6.4 Impact on cultural heritage and natural habitats by land intrusion 138
7.7 Extended scenario analysis and impact assessment for port development ......................139
7.7.1 Comparisons between transport modes 139
7.7.2 Comparisons between transport routes 143
7.8 Measures to reduce spatial and environmental barriers for port development ................146
7.9 Emissions to air................................................................................................................146
7.9.1 Non-road vehicles and working machinery 146
7.9.2 Ships 146
7.9.3 Electricity and heat consumption 149
7.10 Emissions to water and soil ...........................................................................................149
7.11 Noise..............................................................................................................................149
7.11.1 Handling of containers 149
7.11.2 Non-road vehicles and working machinery 149
7.11.3 Ship engines 150
7.11.4 Loading and reloading of ships 150
6
7.12 Waste .............................................................................................................................150
7.13 Conclusions and recommendations ...............................................................................151
8 Promotion strategies for intermodal transport solutions 152
8.1 Methodology....................................................................................................................152
8.2 Development and Redefinition of the Freight Integrator Concept: The EU Concept of
the Intermodal Development Centre......................................................................................153
8.2.1 EU White Paper 2010 Time to decide 153
8.2.2 Study on Freight Integrators 154
8.2.3 Consultation Procedure and Freight Integrator Action Plan of the EC 161
8.2.4 Conclusion and new definition of the concept by the European Commission 163
8.3 Integrated Services in the Intermodal Chain (ISIC) ........................................................165
8.4 Transport and Logistic Centre as IDC .............................................................................176
8.4.1 First approach: Logistics centres as IDC 176
8.4.2 GVZ advantages: 178
8.5 Examples in Bremen GVZ (Freight Village) Bremen ..................................................179
8.5.1 GVZ (Freight Village) Bremen 179
8.5.2 GVZE (Freight Village Development Company) Bremen 180
8.6 Chances of implementation of the IDC concept ..............................................................183
8.7 Summary and perspectives ..............................................................................................187
9 Overall recommendations 190
9.1 Recommendations Erasmus.............................................................................................190

9.2 Recommendations FDT ...................................................................................................190
9.3 Recommendations IVL....................................................................................................191
9.4 Recommendations -ISL ...................................................................................................192
9.5 Overall recommendations based on all four reports ........................................................192
10 Overall conclusion 194
10.1 Conclusions Erasmus.....................................................................................................194

10.2 Conclusion FDT..........................................................................................................195
10.3 Conclusions IVL............................................................................................................195
10.4 Conclusion - ISL............................................................................................................196
10.5 Overall conclusion for the four part reports...................................................................197
7
11 Perspectives 200
References 201
Digital references:..................................................................................................................204
Appendix 206
8
List of figures
Figure 5.1: Development of MNCs strategies
Figure 5.2: Evolution of import related logistics concepts
Figure 5.3: Development in distribution concepts. Source: Ferrari et al, 2006
Figure 5.4: Location of the distriparks in the Port of Rotterdam - Source: Port of Rotterdam
Figure 5.5: The Eemhaven
Figure 5.6: A part of the port of Rotterdam with the distripark
Figure 6.1: Definition of Transport and Logistics Centres

Figure 6.2: Definition of Intermodal Transport
Figure 6.3: Transport & Logistics Centres Development
Figure 6.4: The structure of this part of the report
Figure 6.5: BILK PPP Project
Figure 6.6: BILK Kombiterminal
Figure 6.7: Three parts of BILK
Figure 6.8: Interporto Bologna
Figure 6.9: Organizational Structure
Figure 6.10: GVZ Dresden
Figure 6.11: GVZ Structure
Figure 6.12: Nordic Transport Centre
Figure 6.13: The organisation of NTC
Figure 6.14: Bikakobo-Aparcabisa (Bizkaia) Transport & Logistics Centre
Figure 6.15: Network and Networking
Figure 6.16: Cooperation between Logistics Centres on a fixed transport corridor
Figure 6.17: TEN-T Roads
Figure 6.18: TEN-T Railways
Figure 6.19: The general model of PPP framework for Transport & Logistic centre
Figure 6.20: Example of Transport and Logistics Department
Figure 6.21: The old and the new structure of the planning system in Denmark
Figure 7.1: Pattern of port expansion and possible areas of conflict.

Figure 7.2: Map overview of the Port of Gothenburg with the geographical distribution of terminals and harbours.
Figure 7.3: Number of units handled in the Port of Gothenburg 1996-2005 (Port of Gothenburg, 2006).
Figure 7.4: Map of terminal and quay areas for the container, car and ro/ro-terminals (Port of Gothenburg, 2002).
Figure 7.5: Map of the new quay and terminal areas (City of Gothenburg, 2005; Port of Gothenburg, 1999).
Figure 7.6: National environmental quality objectives (Swedish Environmental Objectives Council, 2006).
Figure 7.7: Emissions from
Figure 7.8: Calculated daily averages of ambient NO2 concentrations (as 98-percentiles
Figure 7.9: Noise map for the port and lands surrounding the mouth of the Gta River for the port expansion scenario
9
Figure 7.10: External costs - expressed as Euro per 100 TEU-km - (European Commission, 2003).
Figure 7.11: Comparison of the emissions from two sizes of ships (6000 TEU and 250 TEU (Fridell et al., 2006)..
Figure 7.12: The same comparison as in Figure 7.11, with air emissions in monetary terms (Fridell et al., 2006).
Figure 7.13: Three alternative routes for a transatlantic ship calling on a north European port (Fridell et al., 2006).
Figure 7.14: Increase in emissions - split into local emissions (Fridell et al., 2006).
Figure 7.15: Comparison of environmental costs between route A and B (Fridell et al., 2006).
Figure 7.16: Emission reductions achieved for various measures/abatement techniques for ships. (Fridell et al., 2006).
Figure 7.17: Cost-benefit analysis of the measures quantified in Figure 16 (Fridell et al., 2006).
Figure 7.18: Comparison of emissions from ships with all measures listed in chapter 6.1.2 (Fridell et al., 2006).
Figure 8.1: Core elements of the Freight Integrator Concept

Figure 8.2: Positive general framework for the basic FI concept
Figure 8.3: Problems of the basic FI concept
Figure 8.4: Actions by the implementation of the FI concept
Figure 8.5: The basic FI concept of the potential of intermodal transport
Figure 8.6: New definition of the Freight Integrator Concept
Figure 8.7: Development from Freight Integrator to Intermodal Development Centre
Figure 8.8: Contents of the IDC-idea
Figure 8.9: The stakeholders of the IDC-concept
Figure 8.10: Schematic view of the IDC services
Figure 8.11 Institutional options for the IDCs
Figure 8.12: IDC core elements Task A and B
Figure 8.13: IDC core elements Task C and D
Figure 8.14: IDC core elements Task E
Figure 8.15: Definition Freight Village
Figure 8.16: Freight Village model structure
Figure 8.17: Freight Village (GVZ) Bremen
Figure 8.18: FV-Bremen Development Company
Figure 8.19: FV-development company structure
Figure 8.20: Idea: implementation of the IDC concept through the FVs
Figure 8.21: From IDC to IPC
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List of Tables
Table 5.1: Distribution characteristics of the companies at the distripark Eemhaven
Table 5.2: Distribution characteristics of the companies at the distripark Maasvlakte
Table 5.3: Use of intermodal transportation and the nature of the goods flows
Table 5.4: Importance of location factors for companies at the distriparks Eemhaven en Maasvlakte.
Table 5.5: Importance of location factors for facilities at the distriparks Eemhaven
Table 5.6: Importance of location factors for facilities at the distriparks Maasvlakte
Table 5.7:Statements on logistics facilities and distribution concepts1
Table 6.1: Modal split (%)2

Table 6.2: Interporto Bologna SpA
Table 6.3: Shareholders participation
Table 7.1: External costs per mass unit of pollutant emitted in various geographical areas of Europe (CAF, 2006).
Table 8.1: Demands to the IDC (source: ECORYS (2006))
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1. Introduction
Continuing globalisation of economic activities, changes in consumer behaviour and
developments in advanced technologies have led to many developments in freight logistics.
According to the EU White Paper, the transport demand has been constantly increasing over the
last 20 years especially within the modes of road transport and short sea shipping. Meanwhile
there has been a decrease in the amount of rail freight transport. The predictions are that the
total freight transport will continue to rise significantly the forthcoming years if new solutions
are not found.
Over the past few years, companies have rationalized their production capacity meaning fewer
locations and expanded geographical scale of their sourcing and distribution operators. The
consequence of this is a wider logistic reach of companies in both supply lines and distribution.
This is especially affecting transportation in urban areas, which has become more integrated
with long distance transport but it also means more freight transport in general.
Companies not only rationalize their production capacity, but also their inventory capacity by
fleet management and reorganisation of transport networks. The numbers of warehouses have
been reduced and also outsourcing of specific transport activities has happened. A co-operation
between transporters and shippers could optimise the use of and thereby reducing the number of
warehouses in metropolitan areas. However, the needs for warehouses are not gone and this
opens the opportunity for new business and new focuses on the possibilities of intermodal
transport solution near the cities.
The Transport & Logistics Centres in relation to transport and economic corridors will be the
focus of this WP. The strategic focus of the WP 3 is to research and develop in the area of
transport and logistics centres in order to provide the R&D network with relevant knowledge.
The following four chapters will give their approach to how this can be enhanced.
12
2 Methodology
Each of the four part reports has in overall followed the same structure, but all four report
writers have been given free hands to follow their own method of working. At the different
SUTRANET meetings it has been discussed how each part-report in overall should be
structured. In this way all four part-reports would get a common overall design and none of the
reports would be diverging from the overall red line of the WP3.
This final WP3 report is based on data from the four partners, and will sum up the findings of
the contributions in order to give a clear indication of how the role of Transport and Logistics
Centres in the intermodal based supply chain can be enhanced.
Basically the data collection for the report is based on qualitative data, mainly because most of
the data has been collected from reports, homepages, books and interviews with experts within
the goods transport area. For the interviews the qualitative methods offer the opportunity to
investigate different issues and gain in-depth information about them, particularly in situations
where the range of possible answers is not known beforehand. Unlike the quantitative data
collection methods, qualitative approaches do not require a large number of responses for their
results to be useful, provided you could be sure that the respondents are sufficiently insightful in
the investigated topic.
By using interview as a method of getting information there is used an inductive method where
the opinion of the interviewed person to a certain degree is generalised to the institution he or
she represent. At the same time a deductive method is used when homepages of different
institutions and authorities are used, because the statements on their homepages outwardly are
common for the institution. The homepages therefore to some degree represent what an
interview expectedly could have shown, just often without the same insight into the statements,
because the lacking possibility of asking supplementary questions.
13
3 Guidelines for how to read the report
This contemporary report will focus on the four part-reports described below, with relation to
the increase in freight transport and the increased focus on intermodal solutions. Each chapter
concerning the different part-reports can be read as a stand-alone report, but the best yield will
be given if the four chapters are read after each other. The four main chapters concern the
following:
1. Case study of the economics and logistics of intermodal network components, port
terminals and logistics centres.
2. Analysis of institutional and organisational solutions in the development of transport &
logistics centres.
3. Case study on the spatial and environmental impact of port / logistics centres
development.
4. Promotion strategies for intermodal transport solution.
In the following sections a short introduction to each of the four topics will be given:
AD1: Case study of the economics and logistics of intermodal network components, port
terminals and logistics centres.
Ports are not only transition points for freight, ports are also the connection between the
maritime network on the seaside and the hinterland network on the landside. This underlines the
role of seaports in logistics networks. Ports are areas where value added activities can take place
and where goods can be stored. Seaports have therefore always attracted activities in logistics.
These activities can be clustered in certain areas, which supply facilities to accommodate these
logistics activities. These facilities are for example access to several transport modalities to
connect the logistics facilities to the hinterland.
The port of Rotterdam encompasses three logistics centres (the distriparks). Two of these
logistics parks (the Eemhaven and the Maasvlakte) are used for a case study on the
developments in logistics centres and the use of intermodal transport. Two hypotheses are
introduced as guidelines for the case studies.
The developments towards hybrid distribution concepts decrease the potential for
ports to develop into an integrated intermodal logistics centre.
14
There is a weak relationship between in-port logistics centres and the use of
Interviews with the port authority and companies at these distriparks are the basis of the
conclusions on the developments of these distriparks and the use of intermodal transport.
The freight and logistics market is rapidly transforming towards more consignments of a higher
quality - often delivered at odd hours. This increases the total transport work, with negative
consequences for e.g. the environment. This is where the Transport & Logistics Centres play an
important role.
AD2: Analysis of institutional and organisational solutions in the development of transport

& logistics centres.
The focus of this chapter is to give presentations of collected examples on Transport &
Logistics Centres. The cases may vary in information and detail level due to the accessibility of
information about the cases and the stage of development of the Transport & Logistics Centres;
therefore the case descriptions will not appear exactly the same for the different examples. It has
been prioritised to present as much information as possible on the cases of the Transport &
Logistics Centres related to organisational and institutional aspects.
In order to get a common understanding of the concept Transport and Logistics Centre emphasis
is also put on defining a Transport and Logistics Centre and the facilities, which can be offered
in a such.
AD3: Case study on the spatial and environmental impact of port / logistics centres
development.
As part of achieving the objective of Work Package 3, 'Transports and Logistics Centres', of the
SUTRANET-project - to develop innovative intermodal transport systems and concepts
through the use of transport and logistics centres - a case study on the spatial and
environmental impact of port/logistics centres development has been carried out, in order to
identify environmental and spatial barriers for intermodal transport in the North Sea Region.
The case that was chosen for this study was the Port of Gothenburg. It was considered suitable
for the purpose for several reasons:
15
it constitutes one of the major ports in the North Sea Region, and is developing rapidly
both in terms of overall turnover, and from a conventional port into a more holistic
logistics centre.
with its location inside or close to a major city both environmental and spatial barriers
exist.
the port has come a long way as regards increasing environmental concern and
improving environmental performance.
the port is presently in the process for applying for legal environmental permits to
increase both the port area and the port throughput substantially within the next ten year
period.
AD4: Promotion strategies for intermodal transport solution.
The distribution and networking of know-how concerning solutions (best practices) within
intermodal transport is one of the most important challenges of a sustainable transport-policy
and modern logistics. On this, the EU-Commission has already created an important milestone
by initiating the Intermodal Development Centre - IDC concept.
The IDCs mission is to stimulate, develop and promote intermodal transport services
combining all relevant modes of transport. Since these centres are focused on the promotion and
development of intermodal transport the marketing of IDC services is difficult to separate from
the activities taken to promote the intermodal transport and are thus an ideal starting point to
examine and analyse possible promotion strategies for intermodal transport solutions.
This part of the work-package aims at the identification of the content and chances of the IDC-
concept considering transport and logistics centres as an example. Thus, the training and
distribution of know-how concerning intermodal solutions are in the main focus. In common the
four topics described above, should supply information about Transport and Logistic Centres
and the possibilities to enhance intermodal transport solutions.
16
4 The four part reports written by the WP3 partners
Case study of the economics and logistics of

intermodal network components, port terminals and
logistics centres. Made by Erasmus University
Contact information: Erasmus University, Post box
1738, 2000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Analysis of institutional and organisational solutions in the development of transport &

logistics centres. Made by FDT Association of Danish Transport and Logistics
Centres.
Contact information: FDT, Rordalsvej 201, Postboks 8410, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
Case study on the spatial and environmental impact of port / logistics centres
development. Made by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL)
Contact information: IVL, Aschebergsgatan 44
Post box 5302, SE-40014, Gothenburg, Sweden
Promotion strategies for intermodal transport

solution. ISL - Institute of Shipping Economics and
Logistics
Contact information: ISL, Universitaetsallee GW I,
Block A, DE-28359 Bremen, Germany
17
Each of the reports have primarily been written by the institution in charge of the report, but the
other partners have, where applicable, helped with the making of the reports by commenting
them, and by giving inputs, at different meetings and workshops.
Further details about each of the different part-reports, than the ones described in this
contemporary report, can be achieved by contacting the specific SUTRANET partner.
18
5 Distriparks in Seaports
A case study of the economics and logistics of intermodal network components, port terminals
and logistics centres.
5.1 Case study on logistics centres in Rotterdam -

Ports are not only nodes in transport chains but are also important clusters of economic
activities. Notteboom (2000) defines a seaport as:
A seaport is an area with maritime and hinterland access that has developed into a logistics
and industrial centre, playing an important role in global industrial en logistics networks
In this definition the role of seaports in logistics networks is underlined. Ports are not only
transition points for freight, ports are also the connection between the maritime network on the
seaside and the hinterland network on the landside. Ports are areas where value added activities
can take place and where goods can be stored. Seaports have therefore always attracted
activities in logistics. Logistics service providers and logistics departments of manufacturing
firms increasingly have the tendency to cluster in a certain area. Ports seem to be a location for
so called integrated intermodal logistics centres. These can be defined as follows:
A defined area within which all activities relating to transport, logistics and the
distribution of goods both for national and international transit, are carried out by
various operators on a commercial basis.
Relevant in this is the distinction between transport and logistics. In our view intermodal relates
to the demand for and supply of transport services, while logistics relates to the systems that are
needed for the firms flow of goods. The view on integrated intermodal logistics centres is in
this paper: specific business areas, which encompass mainly logistics companies/logistics
facilities, which are connected to at least two transport modalities. Two functions of integrated
intermodal logistics centres are:
A node in the transport chain
A location for (value added) logistics activities
Due to Globalisation and liberalisation of trade, many production activities have moved towards
low cost production countries like Asia or Eastern Europe. These developments have affected
19
the strategy of many companies. The focus of these companies is increasingly on managing the
entire supply chain, where it used to be on market development. This development influences
logistics and distribution activities of companies that are located in seaports and on logistics
centres as a whole. The main goal of this paper is to analyse the developments in logistics
concepts and relate these to developments that occur in two specific logistics areas in the port of
Rotterdam. These two specific logistics areas are the distriparks in the Eemhaven and the
Maasvlakte at the port of Rotterdam. The developments are analysed at the level of the entire
distripark and for the individual companies at the distripark.
The paper is structured as follows. Chapter 2 focuses on the developments in logistics concepts
and relates the developments in logistics concepts to the role ports, as intermodal nodes, can
play in logistics. The third chapter describes the two distriparks in the port of Rotterdam that are
used as case studies. Chapter 4 comprises the results of the analysis of facilities that are located
at the distriparks Eemhaven and Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam. The results of the two
case studies are analysed and the paper ends with conclusions about the case studies.
5.1.1 Developments in logistics concepts

Globalisation of the world economy and liberalization of trade are two major developments that
caused changes in logistics of international companies. Globalisation strategies of firms
occurred due to the opportunities companies gained by expanding their market on a global scale
and the factor-input motive (Fawcett, 1992), where production is shifted based on cost and
quality advantages. Production of goods has moved to low cost locations on a large scale and is
frequently separated from final assembly. Many production activities are moved to, amongst
others, Asia and Eastern Europe and products are mostly transported by containers to the
western countries. In the port of Rotterdam, more than 46% of the imported containers have an
Asian country as origin (Source: Port of Rotterdam and Nationale Havenraad3)
5.1.2 Strategy of companies
The strategy of many multinational companies (MNCs) has changed first from a focus on
market development to a focus on logistics efficiency and costs, followed by a focus at creating
3
Dutch National Port Council
20
competitive advantage, actually a combination of both a market orientation and a more
internal efficiency orientation.
Management focus
on logistics costs
Global
Supply chain
management
Logistics management
TIME
Globalisation
of trade
Management
focus on
market development
Figure 5.1: Development of MNCs strategies
The developments towards global supply chain management (see figure 1) have led to an
evolution in distribution and consolidation strategies of companies servicing Europe.
5.1.3 Developments in logistics concepts

Many multinational manufacturing companies, that have extended their market to Europe in the
past decades, deal with ever changing customer requirements. These companies need to be
flexible in adjusting to these changes in customer requirements. This caused developments
regarding logistics concepts in Europe. Multiple authors describe logistics concepts that have
evolved over the last decades (Abrahamsson 2003, Ruijgrok & Kuipers 2001, Buck Consultants,
1999). The evolvement of the concepts are shown in figure 2 and 3, they can be described as
follows.
In the first stages of internationalisation, products are delivered directly to different
markets in Europe. From the country of origin, multiple counties are independently
serviced by air or sea. The distribution centres in Europe deliver on a national basis
and are totally designed for the national market.. Stage 1 in figure 2 and the first
21
quadrant of figure 3 correspond with the first step in the evolution of logistics
concepts; goods are delivered on a national basis.
The changing strategies of companies, which resulted in an increased focus on
logistics costs and efficiency implies a development in logistics concepts. The
developing strategies of companies towards focus on logistics costs and efficiency,
together with the ongoing European integration, caused increased centralisation of
European distribution. The central distribution concept (stage two in figure 2) is
characterised by large flows to one central point, where central storage takes place.
From this central point multiple countries in Europe are served (see the third
quadrant in figure 3). In these European Distribution Centres (EDCs), value added
activities can take place. Goods can be prepared for the (often different) customer
requirements in multiple countries. The incoming flows of goods mostly arrive by
sea, the outgoing flows can be done by multiple modalities depending on, amongst
others, cost and distance to their (final) destination.
With the combined focus of companies on market effectiveness and logistics
efficiency (see figure 1), the central coordination of distribution remains, but
physical distribution is not necessarily centralised (figure 2). In figure 3 this
concept is given in the fourth quadrant as hybrid distribution. A sophisticated form
of hybrid distribution is the use of logistics platforms. Logistics platforms originate
from a firms internal cooperation between marketing and logistics development.
Logistics platforms combines the operational management and control of logistics
activities with design, development and renewal activities of the logistics system
(Abrahamsson et al., 2003). Logistics platforms encompass an operational function
and a strategic function. Logistics platforms appear in a situation where flexibility
of both supply chains and production facilities are required. Concepts like
postponed manufacturing and vendor managed inventory systems, combined with
transport concepts like direct delivery, cross docking, and merge in transit are
applied in a network of various logistics facilities. This network of logistics
facilities have multinational or regional service areas and are managed and
controlled from one (virtual) location and supported by refined information
systems (Abrahamsson et al., 2003).
22
Origin Country B Country D
country
Country A Stage 1
Direct or
Decentralised
Delivery
Country C

country
Stage 2
Country A
Origin Central
country Distribution
Country C
Origin
country

country
Stage 3
Country A Central
Origin
Coordination/
country
Logistics
Country C Platform
Origin
country
Figure 5.2: Evolution of import related logistics concepts
23
1 National 2 Regional
3 Centralised 4 Hybrid
Figure 5.3: Development in distribution concepts. Source: Ferrari et al, 2006
5.1.4 Relation with seaports

If we want to focus on the role a port can play within logistic concepts we have to introduce a
locational aspect. Ports play a role as a location where part of the activities in the logistics chain
(distribution and value added logistics activities) can take place. Figure 3 illustrates the
translation of the more conceptual logistics concepts into location related distribution concepts.
The emergence of central distribution concepts made ports increasingly attractive for locating
central distribution centres with a multinational scope. In the centralised distribution concept,
locations near ports are an attractive option because goods arrive in large amounts (by ship) in
ports. These large amounts of goods are split up into smaller units and the goods are often
customised according to the preferences of the final consumer. Value adding activities take
24
place within the seaport region and the goods are further distributed to the customers in the
hinterland from this central location. With the evolution of logistics towards central
coordination and more decentralised physical distribution, ports will see their multinational
function diminish. The developments towards more decentralised physical distribution increases
the competition that seaport locations face from inland locations for value added logistics
activities. The development towards hybrid distribution shifts physical distribution to a more
regional scope. More distribution locations arise and more locations imply smaller amounts of
goods per location, this makes a seaport location no longer the main spot for distribution
facilities. The regional scope of physical distribution implies that the distances to the market are
often shorter in the hybrid distribution system (compared to central distribution). If locating in a
seaport is no longer a precondition for a logistics company, they often move towards inland
locations. Other location factors become increasingly important for companies that do not use a
central distribution facility that serves the hinterland. The location factors that become
increasingly important are for example:
Distance (and time) to the market
Logistics costs (land prices, labor costs etc)
Presence of a knowledgeable labor force
The developments that occurred in the logistics and distribution concepts that are described
above, lead to the first hypothesis that forms the starting point for the case studies:
ports to develop integrated intermodal logistics centres.
5.1.5 Intermodality
The demand for transportation of goods increased strongly over the years and is expected to
grow further in the coming years. This has several implications: transport systems become
congested, waiting times increase, throughput times increase and the reliability of transport
decreases. The negative external effects on the environment will also increase when demand for
transportation grows, especially when the use of road transport increases. Solutions can be
found in more use of intermodal transport systems. Port related transport and logistics chains
are also facing these negative external effect of increasing demand. Port authorities and other
port companies therefore put attention to developing intermodal connections to their hinterlands
and try to convince their clients to use these intermodal connections. If we look at the function
of a port as a location for (value added) logistics activities the ports potential might be
25
questioned. Typical characteristics of logistics centres are that large goods flows are broken
down into smaller units, that quite often the goods are customised and then distributed to final
clients. This distribution is relatively fragmented in terms of place (a multitude of destinations)
and time (high frequency), resulting in small parcels. If the function of the logistics centre is
consolidation, small flows of goods are consolidated at the centre and then transported overseas.
A high level of efficiency and effectiveness is required in this distribution system. Road
transportation is often the best solution to fit these requirements. We therefore put the following
hypothesis:
5.1.6 Case methodology

The above formulated hypotheses are the basis for the questions that are central to the case
studies. The main questions that need to be answered in the case studies are:
What are the developments in the logistics concepts of firms that make use of
in-port logistics facilities over time?
Is there a trend from central distribution to centrally coordinated distribution
and hybrid forms?
Are intermodal services used for both incoming and outgoing flows of goods?
What are the reasons for using or not using intermodal transport?
What are the main location factor for logistics facilities in the logistics centres?
The activities in the case studies are:

Interview with the governing institute of the logistics centres
Survey among the facilities that are located at the two centres. Response rates:
around 60%
26
5.2 Distriparks
In the introduction integrated intermodal logistics centres are introduced as:
A defined area within which all activities relating to transport, logistics and the
distribution of goods both for national and international and international
transit, are carried out by various operators on a commercial basis.
The developments that occurred in strategies of companies towards focus on logistics costs and
efficiency, together with the ongoing European integration, encouraged European distribution to
become more centralised (as discussed in chapter 2). Since The Netherlands is considered as
one of the main gateways to Europe, multiple logistics service providers and logistics
departments of companies clustered in the port of Rotterdam. Clustering of firms, which are
engaged in the same activities, can be beneficial, for example because of the possibility to share
facilities. In order to accomplish cluster benefits and make efficient use of strategic locations,
Rotterdam developed a distripark concept to act on the worldwide trade developments and the
changing logistics concepts (Stadshavens, 2004). These distriparks are advanced and have a
strategic location to be able to respond to logistics demands like Just In Time delivery at low
costs. The main activities that take place at these distriparks are: warehousing, distribution and
value adding activities4.
The port of Rotterdam encompasses three distriparks, which are more or less examples of
integrated (intermodal) logistics centres. The term intermodal is put between brackets because
the intermodality does not seem to be of major importance for most companies that are located
at the distriparks in Rotterdam. In chapter 4 intermodality in the distriparks will be further
discussed. In the port of Rotterdam, the present three distriparks are:
The Eemhaven
The Maasvlakte
The Botlek
4
See for example: Kuipers, B. and Eenhuizen, J. (2004)
27
Maasvlakte
Eemhaven
Botlek
Figure 5.4: Location of the distriparks in the Port of Rotterdam - Source: Port of Rotterdam
In the figure above, the locations of the three distriparks are given. The Eemhaven distripark
was the first distripark that was established in the port of Rotterdam. The distriparks at the
Maasvlakte and the Botlek followed. These distriparks accommodate companies in different
sectors and with a different function. The distripark at the Eemhaven mainly accommodates
third party logistics service providers, while the Maasvlakte is a preferred location for dedicated
logistics companies. The Botlek is a location for logistics service providers that are engaged in
distribution and storage of especially chemicals5. This distripark is situated in the Botlek area
where most of the chemical companies are located. The other distriparks are both located near
large container terminals which have a positive effect on the transport costs from the terminals
(amongst others the ECT Home terminal at the Eemhaven and the ECT Delta terminal at the
Maasvlakte) to the distriparks.
5.2.1 Intermodality in the port of Rotterdam

In the national seaport policy for 2005-2010 of the ministry of transport of The Netherlands, an
estimation of 70-80% growth of cargo transport in the European Union is given for 2000-2020.
A growth in goods that pass through the port of Rotterdam (one of the main entry ports for the
European Union) is very likely and puts extra pressure on the transport modalities, especially on
road transport. The increasing demand for road transportation causes negative external effects
like congestion and pollution. The congestion on the Dutch road network is an increasing
problem for companies in the distriparks. The port of Rotterdam has intermodal connections
available, especially for the longer distances to the hinterland. The distriparks are connected to
5
See PortofRotterdam.com
28
these intermodal transport systems to the hinterland. Increasing the use of intermodal
transportation can be a solution for the negative externalities. This is also mentioned in the nota
mobiliteit of the Dutch ministry where a shift towards inland shipping and rail transport is
proposed as a solution. But the question rises whether these intermodal connections are, or will
become, important for the port as a location for (value added) logistics activities.
5.2.2 Distripark Eemhaven

The Eemhaven distripark is located in the Waal-/ Eemhaven area and mainly accommodates
companies specialized in storage and distribution of high-quality products6. The total area of the
Eemhaven distripark is 65 hectares (161 acres) and was opened in 1989. Since the opening,
most of the capacity of the Eemhaven distripark is used. The municipality Albrandswaard owns
the land where the distripark is located. The location, where the distripark is build, is chosen
because of:
Proximity to the city; availability of labor pool
Proximity to container terminal (home terminal of ECT)
Proximity to Waalhaven-zuid; companies that became to large for the
Waalhaven-zuid moved to the nearby distripark Eemhaven.
Most of the companies, located at the Eemhaven distripark are companies that where first
located at the Waalhaven-Zuid. The demand for the Eemhaven location by these companies
implied for the Port Authority of Rotterdam that it was not difficult to sell the location. The
majority of the companies at the distripark Eemhaven are third party logistics service providers.
These companies have public facilities, which are open for multiple users. Dedicated facilities
on the other hand are only accessible for a closed set of clients. The companies that are located
at the Eemhaven distripark are:
Nippon Express Co., Ltd.
Maersk Logistics Benelux
VAT Logistics
Menlo Logistics
Geodis Vitesse
Eurofrigo BV Rotterdam
6
Source: Port of Rotterdam.
29
Barwil Unitor Ships Service
Ziegler
Prologis
Mitsui Soko
Hudig & Veder
TPV
Transportation between the terminals and the distripark is mostly done by truck. The companies
that are located at the distripark Eemhaven have multiple modalities they can use for
transportation towards the hinterland:
Road; highway a15
Rail; The rail service centre
Inland waterways
Sea; Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals
Figure5.5: The Eemhaven distripark is the grey area on the south side of the highway A15
Source: Locatienet / TeleAtlas
Most of the transportation from the distripark towards the hinterland is nevertheless done by
truck. The intermodal transportation at the distripark Eemhaven appears to be modest. The Port
of Rotterdam stimulates the use of intermodal transportation but acknowledges that their reach
is limited to the port traffic. The road network is congested but not only with port related traffic
30
and the final customer of the companies that are located in the port decide what modality to use
even against possible higher prices.
5.2.3 Distripark Maasvlakte

The first hectares of land of the Maasvlakte distripark where issued in 1997. The distripark
Maasvlakte is located very close to the North Sea, as is shown in figure 6. A large share of the
containers that arrive in the port of Rotterdam pass through the Delta terminal and can easily be
transferred (mostly by trucks) to the warehouses at the distripark Maasvlakte. Most of this
transportation between the distripark and the terminals is done by truck. The Maasvlakte is
connected to the hinterland by:
Road (A15 en N15)
Rail
Inland waterways
Sea (short sea shipping)
Due to the seaside location, short sea shipping includes overseas (UK) locations to the
hinterland of the distripark Maasvlakte. Intermodal transportation is present for the companies
at the Maasvlakte distripark, but the use of intermodal transportation lags behind. With the plans
for the second Maasvlakte, more space will be made available at the distripark Maasvlakte. The
potential customers for the distripark Maasvlakte can be described as follows7:
Manufacturing companies who wish to set up an EDC.
Mega-carriers who would like to expand their activities in the entire logistics
chain.
Mega-distributors/ other (global) logistics service providers/ European
exporters that wish to set up a maritime hub.
7
Source: Port of Rotterdam
31
Figure 5.67: A part of the port of Rotterdam with the distripark Maasvlakte as a triangle at the
East side of the Maasvlakte 2 and on the West side of the train track. Source: Port of Rotterdam
The majority of the facilities that are located at the Maasvlakte location have an USA or Asian
origin. The companies that are located on the distripark Maasvlakte are:
Kloosterboer
DHL/Exel
Reebok
Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM)
Pro Logis
Hankook
Nippon Express
Epson
The next chapter describes the case studies of the two distriparks.
5.3 Case studies distriparks Eemhaven and Maasvlakte

To achieve a more in depth view of the distriparks Eemhaven en Maasvlakte in the port of
Rotterdam, a case study approach is used. This case study approach can give insight on the
actual developments that occur in these distriparks and the individual logistics facilities that are
32
located there. Interviews and questionnaires are a large part of these case studies. The results of
the interviews and the questionnaires are put into tables to give a clear and orderly overview.
The hypothesis that is given in the introduction predicts that the development towards hybrid
distribution concepts decreases the potential for ports to develop integrated intermodal logistics
centres. The hypothesis is:
The developments towards hybrid distribution concepts decrease the potential for ports to
develop integrated intermodal logistics centres.
Development towards hybrid distribution can increase the potential of inland locations. As the
central physical distribution function of facilities decreases it can imply that ports are no longer
the main location for distribution activities. Distribution activities that are not forced to be
located in the port area are likely to move to inland locations where more space is often
available against lower prices. Other location factors like proximity to market, knowledgeable
labour force, less congestion etc., can become more important in the choice of a location. These
developments can decrease the potential of port locations for the development of integrated
intermodal logistics centres. This development can be seen in the port of Rotterdam. There are
companies that decide to move to inland locations. For example Epson moves its logistics
facility from the port of Rotterdam to an inland location in Tilburg. On the other hand, the Port
of Rotterdam sees chances in Asian companies that decide to increase their market reach with
an European Distribution Centre in the port of Rotterdam. The actual developments that take
place in the distriparks are described into more detail in the next paragraphs.
5.3.1 Developments at the distriparks - Distribution

The first part of hypothesis 1 mentions the development of distribution towards the fourth stage
of development; hybrid distribution (see figure 3 in chapter 2). Table 1 gives an overview of the
developments in the distribution character of logistics facilities that are located at the distripark
Eemhaven.
33
Table 5.1:Distribution characteristics of the companies at the distripark Eemhaven
Type of
Name of Company
facility Character of distribution
10 years ago Now in 5years
Eurofrigo bv Public Centralised Centralised Centralised
(coming from towards
national/local) hybrid
Kloosterboer bv Public Centralised Centralised Centralised
Maersk Logistics Benelux Public Centralised partly partly
(coming from Centralised Centralised
national/local) partly partly
hybrid hybrid
Hudig Forwarding & Public Centralised Centralised Regional
Warehousing bv
TPV International Dedicated Hybrid Hybrid Hybrid
(Netherlands) BV
Barwil Unitor Ships Service Dedicated Hybrid Hybrid Hybrid
Table 1 underlines this development to a certain extend. Some logistics facilities acknowledge a
development from national/local to centralised and then towards centralised coordination with
more regional physical distribution (a hybrid form of distribution). The logistics facilities expect
that these changes will start to occur in the coming 5 years but they do not all see their company
operating a complete hybrid distribution system within these 5 years. Eurofrigo bv. and Maersk
logistics see this development towards hybrid distribution within their company. Other
companies do not experience this development and they hold on to the distribution character
that already exists in the company. TPV and Barwil already have a hybrid form of distribution.
These logistics facilities are both dedicated to one user.
In table 2 the characteristics for distripark Maasvlakte are given. Most of the companies at the
distripark Maasvlakte have an EDC function. Their physical distribution is centralised at the
Maasvlakte, although some facilities only have the coordination centralised and the distribution
is more regional; hybrid distribution. But as can be derived from table 2, most facilities
distribute centralised from the location at the Maasvlakte distripark. Large bulks of goods arrive
in the port of Rotterdam and are distributed throughout Europe from this particular central
34
location. Epson has a hybrid distribution function, but they expect that the distribution will
become more centralised in the future. Epson moves the physical distribution to an inland
location in The Netherlands (Tilburg). This can be the explanation of the changing distribution
function towards centralised instead of keeping the hybrid distribution function of the logistics
facility.
Table 5.2: Distribution characteristics of the companies at the distripark Maasvlakte
Type of
Name of Company
facility Character of distribution
10 years ago Now in 5 years
Reebok distribution bv Dedicated Centralised Centralised Centralised
Eurofrigo bv Public Centralised Centralised Centralised
(coming from towards
national/local) hybrid
Kloosterboer bv Public Centralised Centralised Centralised
Nippon Express Public Not opened Hybrid Hybrid
Epson Europe BV Dedicated Hybrid Hybrid Centralised
5.3.2 Intermodal transportation

Table 3 gives the developments that take place in the logistics facilities at the distriparks
Eemhaven and Maasvlakte regarding the nature of the goods flows and the use of intermodal
services.
35
Table 5.3: Use of intermodal transportation and the nature of the goods flows
Name of Company Nature of goods flows Use of intermodal services

Incoming Outgoing Incoming Outgoing
10
% % % % % % 10 years in 5 years in 5
containerized Palletized Bulk containerized Palletized Bulk ago Now years ago Now years
Reebok distribution bv 90% 0% 10% 0% 70% 30% 0% 0% 0% x 5% 10%
Barwil Unitor Ships
Service 10% 80% 10% 80% 20% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Eurofrigo bv 97% 3% 0% 5% 95% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Kloosterboer bv 30% / 60%
Eemhaven/Maasvlakte 100% 0% 0% 10% / 13% 87% / 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Maersk Logistics benelux 80% 20% 0% 20% 80% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 15% 20%

TPV International
(Netherlands) BV 80% 10% 0% 5% 70% x 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Epson Europe BV 95% 5% 0% 2% 98% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 100%
Nippon express 95% 5% 0% 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 5% 10%
Hudig forwarding &
warehousing bv 90% 10% 0% 5% 95% 0% 0% 0% ? ? 30% ?
36
The main conclusion that can be drawn from this table is that for incoming goods, intermodal
services are not used. Most of the goods arrive in containers at the container terminals and are
transported by truck to the logistics facility. For outgoing goods, intermodal services are used on
a small scale. Most of the transportation to the hinterland is done by road. The only company
that draws attention is Epson Europe bv. Epson predicts a high growth in the use of intermodal
services. As is already mentioned in the first part of this chapter, Epson relocates its distribution
facility to an inland location in Tilburg. The companies at the distriparks were asked to give the
main reasons for not using intermodal transport services. The main reasons are:
Incoming goods:
Not flexible enough; trucks can go everywhere, rail or barge only to limited
places.
Short distance to terminal; most of the containers are picked up by truck at the
terminal.
Outgoing goods:
Time; more handling of goods when they are transhipped.
Costs; higher costs when using for example rail and truck.
If companies use intermodal transport the main reason for this use is saving costs.
5.3.3 Location
To gain insight in the location factors that are important for logistics facilities, a table with
indicators of importance is given in table 4. In the tables 5 and 6 these indicators are given for
the two distriparks individually.
37
Table 5.4: Importance of location factors for companies at the distriparks Eemhaven en
Maasvlakte.
Location factors Indication of importance
Eemhaven and Maasvlakte Not at all Slightly Moderate High Very high
Centrality to a multinational market 2 2 4 2
Closeness to a regional market 1 3 2 4
Proximity of seaport 1 2 2 5
Availability of rail transport 2 3 1 2 1
Availability of barge transport 3 1 3 2 1
Low congestion road network 1 6 3
Logistics costs (land prices, labor
costs, etc) 3 6 1
Availability of knowledgeable labor
force 1 5 3 1
The main factors that draw immediate attention are the importance of a low congestion road
network and the important role that logistics costs play in the choice of location. Almost all
interviewed companies of the distriparks give a high or very high indication of importance to
these particular location factors. The availability of rail and barge transport is indicated as less
important. The table shows that many logistics companies that are located at the two distriparks
in Rotterdam are not located at this particular location for the use of these transport modalities.
Intermodal transport use by these companies seems to be of little importance, which confirms
the hypothesis that the relation between logistics centres and the use of intermodal services is
weak, this is also shown in table 3. Table 4 shows that the port location is important for most
companies. The central location in the multinational market is considered important or very
important by 6 companies, while 2 companies do not consider this as an important location
factor. The distance to the regional market is seen as an important location factor by 4
companies while the other logistics facilities consider this closeness as not important or
moderately important. The availability of knowledgeable labour force is by most companies
seen as moderately important.
38
Table 5.5: Importance of location factors for facilities at the distriparks Eemhaven

Not at
Eemhaven all Slightly Moderate High Very high
Centrality to a multinational market 1 2 3
Closeness to a regional market 2 1 3
Proximity of seaport 1 2 3
Availability of rail transport 2 1 1 1
Availability of barge transport 3 1 1
Low congestion road network 1 4 1
Logistics costs (land prices, labor costs,
etc) 2 4
force 1 4 1
39
Table 5.6: Importance of location factors for facilities at the distriparks Maasvlakte

Not at
Maasvlakte all Slightly Moderate High Very high
Centrality to a multinational market 2 1 2
Closeness to a regional market 1 2 1 1
Proximity of seaport 1 1 3
Availability of rail transport 1 2 1 1
Availability of barge transport 1 1 2 1
Low congestion road network 4 1
Logistics costs (land prices, labor costs,
etc) 1 3 1
force 3 1 1
The tables 5.5 and 5.6 show the differences between the importance of location factors for the
distriparks Eemhaven and Maasvlakte. Locating close to the regional market is more important
for companies at the Eemhaven than for the facilities at the Maasvlakte. This is logical when
comparing the locations of these distriparks. The Maasvlakte is located very close to the sea,
while the Eemhaven location is close to the city of Rotterdam. The availability of barge
transport is seen as slightly more important to the facilities at the Maasvlakte. This could be a
consequence of the larger distance to the market. A low congested road network is important for
all facilities. The same is shown for the importance of logistics costs and to a certain extend for
knowledgeable labour force.
5.3.4 Statements
The logistics managers or directors of the logistics facilities at the Eemhaven and Maasvlakte
distriparks are asked for their opinion on some important developments in distribution concepts
and intermodal transport. Table 7 gives the opinions of the managers and directors of the
logistics facilities.
40
Table 5.7:Statements on logistics facilities and distribution concepts8
Indication of importance
All facilities Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
Distribution concepts are shifting
from either national or central to a
more hybrid form combining
central/regional with national/local
facilities 3 6 1
Logistics facilities with a central
(multinational) distribution function
can best be located in seaport areas 2 2 4 2
Logistics facilities with a regional
distribution function can best be
located at an inland location 2 3 3 2
For logistics facilities with a
regional distribution function the
availability of intermodal transport
is not essential 6 2 2
For logistics facilities with a central
(multinational) distribution function
the availability of intermodal
transport is increasingly important. 2 7 1
The managers of the logistics facilities acknowledge a development in distribution towards a

hybrid form, although they do not all actually experience this development in their own facility.
The opinions on the location of logistics facilities are not uniform, although a majority of the
facilities prefer inland locations for regional distribution and port locations for central
distribution. For logistics facilities with a regional distribution function, the availability of
intermodal transport is seen as important by the logistics facilities. The statement that for
logistics facilities with a central (multinational) distribution function, the availability of
8
In this table and in table 3, the opinion of ProLogis is included. ProLogis is a development and
investment company for industrial real estate (warehouses).
41
intermodal transport is increasingly important is seen as true for most of the logistics facilities.
The managers think that the availability of intermodal transport is important although the case
studies show that they do not use intermodal transport to a large extend. The managers of the
logistics facilities see intermodal transport as important for both regional and centralized
distribution, but the use of this intermodal transportation lags behind.
5.4 Logistics facilities in Sweden, Norway and Germany

Some input is given by other European logistics facilities. Unfortunately these data samples are
to small to make a good and useful comparison between these logistics centres and the
distriparks Eemhaven and Maasvlakte. Although some of the results of the questionnaires can
be a good incentive for further investigation and discussions between these countries. The main
differences that draw attention are described here.
The overall image rises that in other logistics centres outside The Netherlands, the use of
intermodal transportation (especially by train) is more common. This can be an interesting field
of research and it could gain more insight in developments of logistics centres and logistics
facilities and the relation to intermodal transport. A larger data sample will be necessary to do
proper research on this topic. Another difference between the logistics centres in The
Netherlands and in other countries that draws attention is that environmental issues seem to be
an important reason to make use of intermodal transportation, while in the case studies that are
presented here, costs seem to be a decisive factor.
5.5 Conclusions
In the second chapter of this paper, the developments in logistics concepts of multinational
companies are described. These developments influence the distribution concepts of logistics
companies. The developments that occur in logistics concepts of companies, and distribution
concepts in particular, are related to the developments that actually occur in two specific
logistics areas (and the logistics facilities that are located there) in the port of Rotterdam. Two
hypotheses are introduced as guidelines for the case studies.
ports to develop into a integrated intermodal logistics centre.
42
The main conclusions about the developments towards hybrid distribution and the potential of
ports to develop into intermodal logistics centres are described here. Not all logistics facilities
have developed a hybrid distribution function. As is shown in the case studies, the
developments of the distribution characteristics of the logistics companies at the Maasvlakte and
Eemhaven are not totally in line with the theoretical developments that are given in chapter 2.
Some of the facilities where already involved in hybrid distribution, while others expect the
character of distribution to remain centralised. The shift of distribution concepts from national
or central towards a more hybrid form is acknowledged by most of the managers of the logistics
facilities, even though not all companies are actually experiencing this development. The Port of
Rotterdam expects a relatively stable development in the coming 5 years. The port location
remains important for most of the logistics facilities except for Epson. Epson moves out of the
distriparks because other location factors become more important to them. Other (Asian)
companies decide to increase their market reach with an EDC in the port of Rotterdam. Table 7
shows that a majority of the facilities prefer inland locations for regional distribution and port
locations for central distribution, but the facilities do not have a overall strong opinion on this
topic and most of the facilities remain at their port location.
Intermodal transport for logistics facilities with a regional distribution function, is seen as
essential even though the companies do not all use intermodal transport. Most logistics facilities
at the distriparks do not make use of intermodal transportation for both incoming as well as for
outgoing goods. The main reasons they give for this limited use of intermodal transport are
higher costs due to extra handling of the goods and time loss. The Port of Rotterdam tries to
stimulate the use of intermodal transportation with the available means and the presence of
intermodal transport is seen as important for both regional and multinational distribution.
However, the use of this intermodal transportation lags behind. There is actually a weak relation
between logistics centres and the use of intermodal transport.
This study gives strong indications that the development of logistic parks in large seaports does
not add to the use of intermodal transport. Seaports that want to develop logistic centres have to
take into account that doing so will have an effect on the modal split towards more use of
trucking. When increasing the use of intermodal transport is the aim in a country it is probably
more effective to develop logistic centres in the hinterland of the port, or at least closer to the
market. This will give more opportunities for bundling of cargo and use of rail and barge for
transport between the port and the logistic centre.
43
5.6 Recommendations for further research
The paper that is presented here can be used as a basis for further research. As is already
mentioned in paragraph 4.2, extended research in multiple countries can increase the value of
the research on the development of integrated intermodal logistics centres. Other possible
extensions of the research are:
Involve more parties along the supply chain, for example the shippers. This
might give more scope on the modality choice and reveal the preferences of all
decision makers.
Include inland logistics facilities in the research. The current research focussed
on seaport facilities and is therefore limited to maritime goods flows. Inland
logistics centres might have a different character due to the different
composition of the trades handled there,
44
6 Analysis of institutional and organisational solutions in the
development of transport & logistics centres.
A study about transport and logistics centre development around different countries in Europe
6.1. Background, Definitions and Method

The general increase in freight traffic all over Europe creates considerable problems and
challenges for the European freight transport sector. Handling this problem demands both
traditional solutions i.e. increasing investments in roads, rail network etc. and new types of
solutions aiming at a more efficient use of the existing infrastructure.
To ensure more efficient logistics solutions the concepts of Transport & Logistics Centres and
Intermodal Transport are central.9
Transport & Logistics Centres also support the intermodal transport development, because the
close co-operation between transport and logistics companies within an organized Transport &
Logistics Centre creates opportunity to plan international transport and optimise the use of
transport equipment and resources. An important feature is the Transport & Logistics Centres
tendency to co-operate nationally and internationally and hereby create efficient transport chains
and network solutions for optimal cargo flow and distribution. 10
Another motivation for Transport & Logistics Centres is that experience shows that the
Transport & Logistics Centres make a significant contribution to the territorial and economic
development of the area they are located in. The Transport & Logistics Centre can offer the
local productive system the best solutions in terms of logistics, transport and warehousing
activities. This implies to control both the transport cost increase and the industrial productivity
competitiveness. A Transport & Logistics Centre can in other words contribute to an attractive
9
See definition of Intermodal transport and definition of Logistics Centre on p. 50
10
See studies Freight Village 2000 and NeLoC Best Practice Handbook for Logistics Centres in the
Baltic Sea Region, 2003
45
environment for companies and industries, provided that the Transport and Logistics Centre is
managed in a single and neutral body, who is open for all interested transport partners, who
would like to be a part of the Transport centre. Therefore the Transport and Logistics centre
should preferably be managed as a public private partnership.
Table 6.1: Modal split (%)11 in the EU
Road Rail Inland Pipelines Sea Air

Waterways
1995 42.1 12.1 4.0 3.6 38.2 0.1
1996 42.3 12.0 3.9 3.7 38.0 0.1
1997 42.1 12.1 4.0 3.5 38.2 0.1
1998 43.0 11.5 3.9 3.6 37.9 0.1
1999 43.5 10.8 3.8 3.5 38.3 0.1
2000 43.0 10.8 3.8 3.4 38.8 0.1
2001 43.2 10.2 3.7 3.5 39.4 0.1
2002 43.7 10.0 3.6 3.4 39.3 0.1
2003 43.5 10.1 3.3 3.4 39.6 0.1
2004 44.3 10.0 3.4 3.3 39.0 0.1
The globalisation, the freight transport increase, the rising competition among all the local
productive areas, have been forcing the industries to ask for more efficient transport and
logistics solutions: This means to remove bottlenecks and diseconomy. The Transport &
Logistics Centre is a successful answer to this situation that is involving countries all over
Europe.
Transport and Logistics Centres also help limit the traffic inside the city area. The development
of logistics activities always implies the increase of the road goods transport. By creating and
11
EU Energy and Transport in Figures, European Commission, Directorate- General for Energy and Transport,
2005
46
dedicating a logistics area to this type of goods makes it possible to reduce the transport effects
on the environment, to support all the transport modes and to increase the lorry filling.
It is crucial for the success of a Transport & Logistics Centre that the location is right. Since an
important element of the transportation of freight is optimisation or rather reduction - of the
transport time to the final destination or to the following passage of the logistics/transport chain,
ensuring flexibility between all the transport connections and coordinating all the transport
modes are important. This is a task for a Transport & Logistics Centre. Therefore a Transport &
Logistics Centre should be located in an area where there is easy access to both interregional
infrastructure and to urban areas.
A good location is considered along the major international transport corridors. Transport
volumes are the largest along these corridors and the location in the interchange of different
transport modes/corridors is the most favourable to a Transport & Logistics Centre, i.e. road
entrance and connections, rail connections and connection with the port.
In addition to location an important issue to consider is environmental protection. A conflict

between environmental protection of areas and the building of Transport & Logistic Centres in a
protected area can delay the building of a Transport & Logistics Centre for years. Therefore
environmental issues should be taken into account in the planning of Transport & Logistics
Centre activities and not only in creating new projects but also in relation to enlargement of
activities of a Transport & Logistics Centre or a Logistics operator, for example a port or an
airport.
There are other aspects concerning the success of Transport & Logistics Centres as well.
Analysis12 has shown some vital infrastructural characteristics necessary for the successful
function and performance of Transport & Logistics Centres. In short the important aspects
identified are:
Intermodal: Linkage of different transport modes for quick transhipment;
12
E.g. FV-2000 etc. (Project concerning Freight Villages)
47
Multifunctional: All functions included in transport and logistics are represented
through: carriers, forwarders, agents, stevedores, brokers, custom brokers,
Authorities (port, custom);
Handling electronic information (IT): Access to telematics systems related to the
transport, administration and supply chain;
Handling freight: A wide variety of facilities for freight handling, i.e. distribution,
container combi and cold storage terminal; storage hotels, etc.;
Openness: Open for public and private companies to locate in and/or utilise the
centres facilities;
Intersectional: Intersectional through close and integrated relations to the business
sectors, which are serviced with transport and logistics solutions;
Cost sharing: Sharing storage facilities, IT-systems, service development and
knowledge;
Services: Filling stations, washing facilities, packaging, customs clearance, research
activities.
48
6.2 Definitions
To emphasize the important concepts and to ensure the coherence and transferability of the
concepts in the report, they will be defined.
Logistics Centres as a concept has diverse terms and meanings throughout Europe. Some of the
used names are: transport centre, freight village, intermodal hub, logistic platform, Gter
Verkehrs Zentren (GVZ), logistic node, intermodal terminal, interporto etc. This report will
describe the concept using the term Transport & Logistics Centre.
In accordance with the Logistics Centre definition and the concept description a Logistics
Centre mainly consists of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME), which basically operates
on the commercial level. There are also interested parties such as public authorities in the
Logistics Centres. The bipartition of physical operators in the Logistics Centre means that the
focus on service concepts can be divided into several concepts, which have different objectives
for the overall concept frame. The figure 6.2 below is illustrating the entire frame of Logistics
Centres.
The logistics centres are already well developed in the Western Europe activating trade and
multimodal transportation systems. The basic functions of these centres are transport, handling,
storage, sorting, labeling, repacking, renting of commercial area, consulting etc. The centres
posses an easy access to the highways, railways realizing intermodal transport as well as sea -
land transport corridors.
49
A Transport & Logistics Centre is a centre in a defined area within which all activities
relating to transport, logistics and the distribution of goods both for national and
international transit, are carried out by various operators on a commercial basis.
The operators can either be owners or tenants of buildings and facilities (warehouses,
distribution centres, storage areas, offices, truck services etc.), which have been built there. In
order to comply with free competition rules, a Logistics Centre must be open to allow access
to all companies involved in the activities set out above.
A Logistics Centre must also be equipped with all the public facilities to carry out the above-
mentioned operations. If possible, it should include public services for the staff and equipment
of the users. In order to encourage intermodal transport for the handling of goods, a Logistics
Centre should preferably be served by a multiplicity of transport modes (road, rail, deep sea,
inland waterway, air).
To ensure synergy and commercial cooperation, it is important that a Logistics Centre is

managed in a single and neutral legal body (preferably by a Public-Private-Partnership).
Finally, a Logistics Centre must comply with European standards and quality performance to
provide the framework for commercial and sustainable transport solutions.
Figure 6.1: Definition of Transport and Logistics Centres
Intermodal Transport is the use of a several transport modes in the transport of cargo. The
different types of transport modes that can be used in intermodal transport are:
Maritime-Air-Rail- Road
Figure 6.2: Definition of Intermodal Transport
50
When working with Transport & Logistics Centres, it is important to recognise that a Centre can
go though different stages of development. Therefore when looking at different cases of
Transport & Logistics Centres it is possible that they will show different features due to
different levels in the development.
Transport & Logistics Centres go through different stages of development, starting out perhaps
only as a transport cluster or as a virtual logistics centre that creates the base for a physical
Transport & Logistics Centre. The most developed form of Transport & Logistics Centres is the
networking Transport & Logistics Centre. Development of Transport & Logistics Centres can
be illustrated as shown in the following figure:
Future
Netw orking
Transport &
Logistics Centres
Physical Transport & Logistics Centres
Virtual Logistics Centres
Transport Cluster
Figure 6.3: Transport & Logistics Centres Development
There are already established several Transport & Logistics Centres in Europe, that are in
process of working as a network. The strategic characteristics of this highly developed stage of
Transport & Logistics Centres are:
To create physical integration of transport by road, rail, inland waterways and sea
(and in the best case air) - Intermodal Transport;
To achieve economies of scale through co-operation internally and co-operation
with other Transport & Logistics Centres;
To create a freight concentration by providing the basis for establishing efficient
international transport links;
51
To create a development environment for the transport sector;
To replace part of the fixed capital in the transport enterprises with a floating capital
base.
Transport & Logistics Centres can be both private and public but usually they are built on
private/public partnership (PPP) basis, initiated by national and/or local authorities. They are
often established by and with an interaction with Municipalities, Ministries of Transport,
Europlatforms EEIG13 association, domestic and foreign private investors and financial
institutions.
Transport & Logistics Centres unite all the activities related with the transport and logistics.
Based on competition principles the Transport & Logistics Centres are open for private and
public transport as well as enterprises and companies. Consolidation of different companies
serving and/or using transport services, through synergy effect increase the economic and
productive performance of the companies and at the same time increase their economy of scale.
As mentioned earlier in the report it is important for a Transport & Logistics Centre to be
located in an area that is close to a major international transport corridor and where there is
access to different types of transportation.
Normally the Logistics Centres are located in a 40-150 ha territory, however, depending on the
activities the size can reach up to 400-500 ha.
The infrastructure of the Transport & Logistics Centre should include the following:
Warehouses
Large-sized warehouses (for logistics activities)
Public Warehouses for storage
Warehouses wired up to the rails
Controlled temperature warehouses
Offices for administration activities, IT services, custom service
13
EEIG (European Economic Interest Group)
52
Intermodal terminal
Filling station
Motel
Restaurant/self service/bar
In the development of Transport & Logistics Centres it is crucial that the management of the
centre is separated from transport, logistics and other service operations, in order to obtain a
neutral management of the Transport and Logistics Centre.
The activities of a Transport & Logistics Centre should include:

1. To define the infrastructure necessities like road entrances and connections, rail
connections and connections with the port.
2. To define the Transport & Logistics Centre layout like customer infrastructures,
post/bank/insurance service, intermodal terminals and warehouses.
3. To work out the Business Plan. The management of a Transport & Logistics Centre also
implies the investment and development planning on the basis of the layout.
4. To realize the general infrastructures, the warehouses and the integrated services. The
management Company is responsible for the construction of all the infrastructures after
planning the layout and the business plan.
5. Land subleasing to the transport operators/warehouses and offices leasing/sale of
warehouses and offices. The management Company is responsible for all the procedures
referring to the leasing or sell activities. It attends both the commercial/marketing and
legal procedures.
6. Administrative, financial, commercial, operating management of the Transport &
Logistics Centre.
7. Upkeep and management of common property.
The most common characteristics of a Logistics Centre are:

The usual Logistics Centres are built on private-public partnership basis, initiated by
national and/or local authorities. The reason for that is that experience shows that the
Logistics Centres make a significant contribution to the territorial and economic
development of the area they are located.
53
The Logistics Centres are often established by and in interaction with Municipalities,
Ministries of Transport, EUROPLATFORMS E.E.I.G. association, domestic and
foreign private investors and financial institutions.
The Logistics Centres unite all the activities related with the transport and logistics.
Based on competition principles the Logistics Centres are open for private and public
transport as well as enterprises and companies.
Consolidation of different companies serving and/or using transport services through
synergy effect increase the economic and productive performance of the companies and
at the same time increases their economy of scale.
The Logistics Centres supply with the most advanced IT infrastructure and solutions,
which usually are exorbitant barriers for the individual company. The Logistics Centres
constitute intelligent transport systems, where services are provided based on advanced
technologies, i.e. EDI, communication and information systems.
Normally the Logistics Centres are located in a 100-150 ha territory, however,
depending on the activities the size can reach 4-500 ha.
An important feature is the Logistics Centres tendency to co-operate nationally and
internationally and hereby create efficient transport chains and network solutions for
optimal cargo flow and distribution.
The general services that should be offered inside the Transport & Logistics Centre are:
Customs District
Post Office/public telephones/Bus service
Area for parking
Restaurant/bar
Filling station with vehicle washing facilities
The actors involved in the Transport & Logistics Centre are:

The state
Public Authorities on the territory planning subject
Chambers of Commerce
Banks
Insurance Companies
54
Local railway Company
Local transport Associations.
The most popular organisational structure model for the companies that manage Transport &
Logistics Centres is the Private-Public-Partnership model.14
The sharing capital is owned by public and private partners who should participate in the profit
sharing but, in most cases, the Management Company of the Transport & Logistics Centre
decides to plough back profits into the business at least as long as the Transport & Logistics
Centre is not completed.
The percentages of public and private funds change in each Country depending on the history of
the goods transport policy and the Public Authorities organisation. The choice of the PPP
model, so the participation of the public Authorities in the Transport & Logistics Centre share
capital, is linked to the most important strategic activities of a Transport & Logistics Centre:
Territory planning, development of the transport system and development of industrial systems.
For the transport and logistics companies the existence of a close co-operation within organized
logistic centres will increase the opportunities of planning international transports and
optimizing the usage of transport equipment and resources. The logistic centre concept implies
that a long distance international transport is planned in a competitive but close co-operation
between the transport and logistic companies. It also secures that the transport and equipment is
optimally utilized and the final distribution of goods is taken care locally.
Logistic centres are oriented to the requirements of the transport and logistics industry,
significant emphasis has been put on the location choice in terms of sufficient road and rail
access. In most cases the location is close to a motorway junction or has direct access to the
main road network. As far as rail (and sea) access is concerned, the terminals are preferably
located close to railway mainlines (and/or main ports).
List of Logistic Centre functions:
14
For more details on the Private Public Partnership model see chapter 6.8 on organisational aspects.
55
1) Trimodal transport function. Connections with the port, road entrances and connections, rail
connections. The port wants to strengthen and enhance the efficiency of sustainable and
environmentally correct transport of all cargo, by land, by rail and by sea. The ports have
administrative, customs, and cargo receipt functions and are designed to receive containers,
etc., and then to distribute cargo using various means of transport.
2) Function related with openness and neutrality. Open for all- small and large companies to
locate in and/or utilize the centres facilities as well as to make better business conditions
for small and medium size transport companies.
3) Transport and logistics representativeness. All functions included in transport and logistics
can be represented through: carriers, forwarders, agents, stevedores, brokers, custom
brokers, etc.
4) Function related with access to electronic information (IT). This function contains access to
telematics systems related to the transport, administration and supply chain. Efficient use of
modern information and communication technology.
5) Function related with cost sharing. Cost sharing includes sharing storage facilities, IT-
systems, service development and knowledge.
6) Function related with marketing and networking. Marketing includes- attracting potential
investors, attracting potential operators, assurance of financial sources, etc. Networks are
used to improve knowledge and experience between ports and Logistics Centres as well as
the operators.
7) Functions which include value added services. Value added services are unlike core
services. They have unique characteristics and they relate to other services in a completely
different way. They also provide benefits that core services can not. All value added
services share the same characteristics: not a form of basic service but rather adds value
total service offering; stands alone in terms of profitability and/or stimulates incremental
demand for core service(s); can sometimes stand alone operationally, may provide
operational and/or administrative synergy between or among other services not merely for
diversification.
Value added services include:

a. Custom clearance;
b. Veterinary authorities;
c. Weights and Measures Department;
56
d. Bank;
e. Trailer Rental;
f. Repair Facilities;
g. Welfare Facilities;
h. Filling Stations;
i. Washing facilities;
j. Packaging;
k. Research activities;
57
6.3 Method of working
This report is the one of the reports in WP3, which has the objective to develop innovative
intermodal transport systems and concepts through the use of transport and logistics centres as
well as the logistics centres in relation to transport and economic corridors. The report will
follow the structure of the figure below:
Introduction
Background Definitions Method of Working
Selected Examples
Network Building and

Networking
Transport Corridors
Institutional Aspects
Organisational Aspects
Development of Transport
and Logistics Centres
Conclusion and
Recommendations
Figure 6.4: The structure of this part of the report
58
The background and definitions of the central concepts in the report Transport & Logistics
Centres and Intermodality - has been introduced above to build an understanding of the
concepts.
The next step in the report is presentations of collected examples on Transport & Logistics
Centres. The cases may vary in information and detail level due to the accessibility of
information about the cases and the stage of development of the Transport & Logistics Centres,
therefore the case descriptions will not appear exactly the same for the different examples. It has
been prioritised to present as much information as possible on the cases of the Transport &
Logistics Centres related to organisational and institutional aspects. Each case should be
regarded as a good example of how to manage a Transport and Logistics Centre.
The report will further include:

Institutional aspects such as policy and framework conditions by EU.
Organizational aspects concerning legal construction
Development of Transport and Logistics Centres concerning political matters, legal
matters and company construction.
Recommendations
The data is based on general information gathering by telephone and written contact to
/interview with selected actors.
59
6.4 Selected examples of Transport and Logistics Centres
In the following sections different examples of the Public Private Partnership Transport &
Logistic Centres are presented and analysed. The examples of the Transport & Logistic Centres
are selected in order to get the overview of different types of Transport & Logistic Centres and
how they operate.
Each example will be based on the following parallel structure:

1) Introduction including short description
2) Organisational and institutional aspects
The selected Transport and Logistics Centres shows some of the best examples on how efficient
Transport and Logistics Centres are operated.
6.4.1 BILK Kombiterminal - Hungary
Introduction
The construction of BILK Kombiterminal started in January 2002. In 2003 on the 17th of
November the BILK Kombiterminal Co. Plc. was opened. BILK Kombiterminal is one of the
main parts of the Hungarian combined transport system. It has also a main role in the Hungarian
transit traffic as an up-to-date technical background. The good location, available capacity,
realized innovative technologies on terminal, and role as environmental diversion reducer for
capital city provide the important state for terminal.
60
Figure 6.5: BILK PPP Project (www.bilk.hu)
Organisational and institutional aspects

The BILK Kombiterminal is situated in the heart of Central Eastern Europe, where the Trans
European Lines (TEN) crosses each others. This is a good possibility for the logistic centre to
be the main collector distributor at this area, and paying more attention for he
combined transport. The BILK is in the XXIII district of Budapest between the main
road, the Budapest Kelebia railway line and the Highway. The territory is 100 hectare
and it has three different parts. 10% is the Soroksar Terminal Railway station, which is owned
by the MAV Co. Ltd.
61
Figure 6.6: BILK Kombiterminal (www.bilk.hu)
Almost 70% in the BILK Logistic Co. Ltd. Owned by the Waberers Holding Co Ltd. 22,3
hectare is used by the BILK Kombiterminal Co. Ltd., where it has complex services for
combined transport in export and in import too.
Figure 6.7: Three parts of BILK (www.bilk.hu)
62
The Logistics Centre has great connections with the traffic networks. From 2005 BILK has
direct connection with the M0 Highway. The railway connection is also very good because the
Budapest Kelebia line is just next to the centre. The distance from the Logistics Centre and
Ferihegy Airport is just 16 km, and from the MAHART Freeport of Csepel it is only 15 km.
6.4.2 Interporto Bologna SpA - Italy
Introduction
The Interporto Bologna SpA was established in 1971. It is managed by a Private-Public-
Partnership.
The Bologna Freight Village is situated in Italy at a nodal point for load collection and
distribution throughout the Peninsul and abroad.
The development is placed at the heart of the main traffic routes that cross Italy from north to
south and where 75% of all goods exchanged in the country is carried by rail or road.
63
Figure 6.8: Interporto Bologna (http://www.bo.interporto.it/)

The share Capital amounts to about 14.000.000,00 and the 52%15 is owned by Public Bodies:
Bologna District, Bologna County, Bologna Chamber of Commerce, Italian Railway Company.
The Private partners are mostly banks, insurance companies, industrial associations, and local
transport associations.
15
Europlatforms EEIG, 2000
64
Organizational Structure
General Meeting of
Shareholders
Board of Directors
Presidency
General Director
Figure 6.9: Organizational Structure
The objective of the Interportos activity is to plan and build (by the means of all the essential
operations: purchase, sale, exchange, leasing etc) a united number of infrastructures and
integrated services aimed at supporting the exchange of goods by all the transport modes.
Table 6.2: Interporto Bologna SpA

Total Surface 2.000.000 sqm
Expansion area 2.270.000 sqm
Covered warehouses area 250.000 sqm
Estimated annual traffic 3.500.000 ton
Number of transport companies 81
Daily number of trains 15
Annual n of lorries (IN/OUT) 500.000
Total freight village investments made 164 MIO
Volume of business 300 MIO
Annual Turnover of Interporto Bologna 7 MIO

SpA (2002)
65
The Bologna Freight Village consists of an integrated system of rail, logistics and road
infrastructure. The area of the Bologna Freight Village is 2 million sq. m., where the building
covers 250,000 sq. m. In this building the national and international transport companies for
warehousing and logistics, freight transport and international forwarding operate.
A main aspect of the freight village is the railway terminal, which extends over an area of
277,000 sq. m. The railway facilities comprise both a Container terminal (147,000 sq. m.) and
Intermodal terminal (130,000 sq. m.) with 15 tracks.
The freight village accommodates more than 81 national and international transport companies,
the Customs offices, the public warehouses, a filling station with vehicle cleaning facilities,
banks, a post office and refreshment areas.
236.000 sq. m buildings (offices and warehouses provided with raised docking bay or plain)
have already been completed and sold.
Those operational comprise:
13 warehouses provided with raised docking bays and offices;

4 warehouses provided with raised docking bays and offices;
5 large warehouses;
Public warehouses for storage;
The customs district;
The post office;
The service and management centre;
Areas for parking and loading/unloading operations;
Italian railways intermodal terminals;
Filling station with vehicle washing facilities.
The Bologna Freight Village is the first example in Europe of a cabled freight village.
The Bologna freight village is also the first European structure of its kind equipped with a
telematic network. The Bologna Freight Village is one of the most essential freight villages on a
European level nowadays.
66
6.4.3 Dresden GVZ Germany
Introduction
The GVZ development Company Ltd was established in 1997. The Share Capital amounts to
25.000,00. In Germany there are about 1200 GVZ enterprises. At the moment there are 40000
employees.
GVZ characteristics are as following:

Settlement of transport-oriented companies, logistics service providers and logistics-intensive
trade and production enterprises in a commercial area.
Access to at least two modes of transport, in particular road/rail (inter modal terminal).
Management function of local GVZ developer/operator, who initiates cooperative activities in
order to make use of synergies.
GVZ advantages:
High-level road/motorway access and proximity to conurbations (short reaction and delivery
times).
Intermodality increases commercial flexibility and investment security (present bonus or
future option).
Low conflict potential (round the clock operation).
Wide service spectrum (truck service, customs clearance, etc.).
Sufficient land size for logistics-intensive purposes with excellent transport access.
Cooperative activities (cost savings for telecom, energy etc.).
Support for investors and tenants by GVZ management.

At the beginning, the Share Capital was owned by the Deutsche Verkehrsbank (DVB) that
accepted the engagement to develop the GVZ on the basis of the Regional Transport Ministry
direction. The financial risk of this investment was reduced by the Ministry grant.
The DVB has been selling the shares over the years so that at the present time the Share Capital
is owned by SVG (Road Haulage Cooperative)75% and Deutsche Bahn 25%.
67
In addition to excellent transport links, Freight Villages (GVZ) - compared to stand alone
distribution centres - are generally located away from areas with conflict potential (i.e. high
population density) and therefore allow round clock operations. They provide sufficient access
to both the long-haul transport network as well as to delivery points in urban areas. GVZ offer
cost savings for provision of important services (electricity, telecommunication etc.) and allow
the provision of facilities that might otherwise not be economic to install, i.e.
Truck service and support facilities;

Customs clearance facilities;
Centralised waste disposal;
Centralised landscape maintenance;
Enhanced security systems;
Public transport connections;
Additional commercial services (shops, restaurants etc.).
Figure 6.10: GVZ Dresden (http://www.gvz-dresden.de/index.php?id=55)
68
Dresden GVZ S tructure
BOARD
GV Z Development Company
Commercial Technical
Management Management
- Administation External Relations - Permissions

- Legal Aspects for Construction
- Insurance
- Finance - Estate purchasing - Exestuations

- Public Grants - Marketing
- Sale of estates
- Accounting - FV products
- Taxes
Project Development
GV Z Development
Figure 6.11: GVZ Structure (FDT, 2003)
69
Logistics operations in GVZ also mean taking a forward-looking approach. The option to use or
to combine alternative transport modes increases flexibility and thereby contributes to high-
level quality and reliability of logistics services.
6.4.4 Klaipeda Logistics Centre (KLC) - Lithuania
Introduction
The Lithuanian government has approved construction of Klaipeda Logistics Centre (KLC), and
the fist implementation stage of the project started in 2001. The project of the Logistics Centre
has been strongly supported by both the national authorities and the European Union.
In the development process a private-public limited company Klaipedos Logistikos Centras is

responsible for the Logistics Centre. KLC has the position as an umbrella organisation for the
companies that are operating in it. When the total project is completed it is expected that private
investors will own 85% of KLC. Public investors will own the last 15%.
Already local and foreign companies have expressed their interest in being located at the centre,
and there is an ongoing search for further partners. The combination of low cost level and a
good quality business performance is expected to attract new business. The planned Logistics
Centre expects private investments of 130-300 million dollars. The Logistics Centre aims at
attracting 180 companies to locate in the area and creating up to 1500 new jobs.

The KLC is planned to contain facilities for rail transport (warehouses, a new railroad branch
and a terminal) as well as a cold storage, parking areas, supervised cargo storage area, value
added services (e.g. packaging and labelling of goods), a bonded warehouse terminal, long
storage warehouses and a cargo distribution centre. When complete, KLC will be able to
organise intermodal deliveries including all modes of transport.
The centre already has an office ensuring marketing, sales and concept development services.
The plan is that KLC later also will provide services like telecommunication, office and
conference room rentals, consulting, administrative services (i.e. Customers and taxation
procedures) as well as legal and insurance services. A long term plan also includes an inter-
70
organisational IT platform that will offer telematic systems to facilitate the interoperability in
the centre. Computer aided operating systems can be used to obtain an efficient use of the
Logistics Centres resources and to enable smooth logistics operations, simulations and
forecasting.
The advantage of placing a Logistics Centre in Klaipeda is its 21 million ton ice-see port with
several potential future connections and a significant share of transit traffic. From Klaipeda,
there are rail connections to several connections in Russia.
The services provided by KLC could be:

1. Transport services:
Intermodal transport services
Connections with the port
Road entrances and connections
Rail connections
2. Warehousing services:
Warehouses
Large-sized warehouses (for logistics activities)
Public warehouses for storage (goods hotels)
Warehouses wired up to the rails
Controlled temperature warehouses
Distribution centre
3. The general services:

Customs services
Post office, public telephones
Areas for parking
IT services
Filing station with vehicle washing facilities, fuel reservoirs and pumps
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4. The actors of KLC:
State institutions
Regional administration, municipality
Chambers of Commerce
Banks
Insurance companies
National railway company
Local, national and international transport associations
Infrastructural characteristics:
Klaipeda Logistics Centre will be situated in the suburb of Klaipeda city, close to all
year around ice-free see port of Lithuania, and will be developed in the territory of 92 ha.
The land plot to be used for the implementation of the project is found at a strategically
important place, that is by the motorway and railway line Vilnius.
Klaipeda also including Moscow and Kiev is situated at the end of the international
transport corridor IX B.
KLC site is close to the industrial areas and far away from living districts of the town.
There is about 10 km from the newly built container terminal in Klaipeda.
The distance between the future KLC and Klaipeda Seaport is about 5 km., and closest
railway lines 1-2 km. The Palanga airport is at about 25 km. close to Klaipeda.
The final Logistics Centre in Klaipeda is planned to comprise a land area of 100ha containing
storage facilities, parking area, administration and other buildings and a green zone for
recreation area.
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6.4.5 Nordic Transport Centre (NTC) - Denmark
Introduction
Nordic Transport Centre (NTC) was founded in 1989 and the Centre started its activities in
1992. It is situated 10 km east of Aalborg and has the disposal of a total area of 592.000 m2,
which include 47.000 m2 warehousing facilities and administrations offices plus a number of
transport and logistics operators.
The Centre has been placed outside the city of Aalborg according to local policy. It is a
proclaimed goal in the Municipal Plan to move transport activities outside the city of Aalborg
for e.g. environmental and security reasons.
Figure 6.12: Nordic Transport Centre (FDT, 2003)
At the regional and local level, the authorities, i.e. the County Councils and Municipal Councils
have been very positive towards the establishment and development of NTC. This has been a
prioritised issue and NTC has received much support.
What is quite remarkable, is, that the regional authorities have managed to establish a co-
operation with regional authorities from Southern Norway and Western Sweden down through
Jutland, along the transport corridor known as the Nordic Link. These authorities are actively
partaking in the creation and strengthening of a Logistics Centre network along this corridor.
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The area where the centre is developed is built up around the Eastern Port of Aalborg where
transport activities have been carried out years before the centre started its activities.
The infrastructure of NTC is well developed and the Centre is directly connected with the
European rail and motorway network as well as the direct access to the quayside goods
handling. NTC supports the concept of intermodal transport, thereby contributing to an efficient
European transport system.
The Centre has both local/regional activities as well as National/European. NTC is the regional
distribution centre in the northern part of Denmark (the North Jutland) and the city distribution
centre for the city of Aalborg. NTC serves the trades and industries in the whole region. The
existence of the Logistics Centre ensures that the transport and logistics needs of the companies
in the region are met in order to stay competitive.
The geographical position of NTC in the north of Europe gives the Logistics Centre an
opportunity to play an important role as the Nordic turntable between the Nordic countries and
the rest of EU. In this context, NTC can play an important role in the Nordic Link Corridor and
in the network of European Logistics Centres that is being created (EUROPLATFORMS EEIG)
as a junction between the Nordic countries, the North Atlantic and the rest of EU. Today, NTC
is still the northernmost Logistics Centre in the European Logistics Centre network under
creation.
Intermodal transport facilities in the Eastern Port of Aalborg are governed by a number of
factors of which the most important will be described in the following. There are the physical
factors such as infrastructure, handling equipment, telematic systems (communication between
the port and its customers as well as internally between the companies in the port) and other
factors.
The infrastructure in the Eastern Port of Aalborg has been analysed to uncover strengths and
weaknesses. Among the strengths is the fact that the port is placed away from built-up areas,
which means good road access and almost unlimited expansion and functional possibilities.
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The present rail connection to NTC via Aalborg Goods Yard (located in the city centre)
involves extra expenditure on shunting as well as considerable delays and difficult operating
procedures. The planning and commissioning of the new combined terminal in NTC (opened on
the 1st of April, 1998) has solved these problems. A planned bypass south of Aalborg will make
rail transport to and from NTC considerably more efficient, since it will enable rail traffic to
avoid the centre of Aalborg. The integration of sea, railway and road will hereby be far better
than today and the quality of the intermodal products will be improved significantly.
Northern Jutland is divided by a fjord (Limfjorden) from the rest of Jutland in the regional area
of Aalborg. The fact that a tunnel and a bridge are the only connections between the regions
causes bottlenecks for the traffic by road. This situation is expected to further deteriorate in the
future, as traffic by road is expected to increase in the area and it is calculated that the two
present crossing will reach their maximum capacity in approx 2015. A third connection to
overcome this problem is at the planning stage16, but since the former county of Northern
Jutland could not make the final settlement about a new solution before the abolishment of the
Danish counties, the decision about the third connection, is now at the hands of the state, due to
the Danish structural reform and the rearrangement of the planning responsibility. This means
that the final decision is postponed indefinitely, as the interest in the third connection across
Limfjorden is expected to be lower at a national level than at a regional level.
Facilities and services

NTC has a wide range of facilities and services available and is still developing. The Centre has
large areas reserved for the continued extension, and it is open to all kinds of companies within
the transport and logistic chain that wants to be located here. At the moment there are plans to
build up new facilities
The facilities and services available in NTC today are:

Warehouse hotel and a public bounded warehouse.
Warehouse for general goods, dry goods, refrigerated/frozen goods and classified
goods.
16
Source: Kent Bentzen. This is still a part of development plans for NTC.
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City distribution centre, national/international distribution.
Equipment to handle all kinds of goods incl. sea-borne goods.
Facilities for internal and external data communication and information that make the
exchange of data concerning goods sitting and goods movement possible. There is also
advanced digital telephone equipment with ADSL and prepared for integration with the
latest computer systems.
Bank, post and customs service plus training and research facilities.
Diesel tanks plant, garage, washing facilities.
Optimum navigation conditions, quays, RO/RO ramps and other port facilities.
A transport environment combining road, sea and rail linked with direct connections to
national and international destinations.
Secured areas for parking of lorries and trailers.
Common welfare facilities, canteen etc.
Combi/intermodal terminal.
Container terminal.
Integrated versus non-integrated

NTC is to a considerable extent working as an integrated Transport & Logistics Centre. For
example, Sea borne goods is handled by ACO A/S when loading/unloading at the quay. Royal
Artic Lineagentur A/S is the shipping agent working as a forwarder arranging the sea borne
goods. Royal Artic A/S is carrying the goods by vessel to and from the port of Aalborg. The
goods coming by rail into the port of Aalborg are also being handled by ACO.
Storage/stripping/packaging/warehouse hotel facilities etc. are used by several of the transport
and logistic operators situated in the Logistics Centre as well as companies situated outside the
centre located in the region of Aalborg.
Some companies in the Transport & Logistics Centre still work as non-integrated and have more
or less no co-operation with the rest of the companies in the Transport & Logistics Centre.
However, these companies can always be integrated at some point, if this turns out to be
beneficial. Frigoscandia A/S is an example of a non-integrated company. The local branch
office in NTC works more or less as a forwarder and transport related activities like storage of
temperatured/regulated goods, parking/washing of trucks etc. take place in some of
Frigoscandias departments situated elsewhere in Denmark/Europe.
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Planning and environment
NTC is also subject to both a district plan and an environmental approval. NTC has from the
beginning taken a very pro-active attitude towards these, in the planning and development of the
general layout of the Centre.
The Centre is situated far from residential areas and is surrounded only by light industry, and
the Fjord is recognised as sea corridor with priority to commercial sea traffic. This has ensured
that the NTC area in the environmental approval is, on forehand, approved for heavy polluting
enterprises. Such enterprises must still obtain their own environmental approval from the proper
authorities, but this has nothing to do with NTC.
The district plan stipulates how far the Centre can be developed, where new buildings must be
located, building heights etc. as described in the general section on planning. The concept of
NTC includes that all new buildings must be built and owned by NTC and then rented out to
interested companies. Hence, new building activities can be initiated at once, without going
through the lengthy procedure of developing a new district plan.
The conclusion is that there are strict regulations on all aspects of layout, operation and
environmental matters of NTC and the companies within, and that the authorities have a formal
control system to ensure that these regulations are complied to.
Management set-up
NTC has been through two different phases in terms of management structure.
NTC is established as a Limited Company. A large survey showed that this was the legal
construction with the most credibility within the community of potential users/clients in the
transport and logistics sector. During the first development phase up until 1992, the
stockholders were, together with the daily management group, heavily involved in the
establishment and development of NTC.
In phase two, which is the operational phase, the daily management has been reduced to a
minimum. NTC Ltd. owns all the land in the Centre and manages only operation and
77
development of infrastructure, buildings and facilities. NTC Ltd. is not involved in any transport
and logistics activities.
Hence, NTC Ltd. has only a Managing Director and a Board. The Board consists of public
members from the port authorities and members from private and public transport companies.
The Board must approve new building activities and development plans of NTC Ltd.
Private companies establish themselves within NTC and co-operate within NTC. The companies
are, on a contractual basis with NTC, committed to deliver certain specific services for the
common good of all companies within NTC. This way, the management capacity of each
company is utilised in the overall NTC management, reducing the management costs.
The organisation
NTC is organised after a unique concept, which ensure optimum utilisation of the resources
within the Logistics Centre at the lowest cost possible.
NTC Ltd. acts as umbrella organisation, renting out and maintaining buildings and facilities,
financing new buildings/facilities, managing the day-to-day operation of the centre and
undertaking the overall marketing and planning of the centre. This is illustrated in figure 12
below:
78
L o g istics C en tre
O p e ra tio n s a n d m a i n te n a n c e of D e ve lop m e n t o f n e w
fa c ili tie s /b u i ld i n gs a c tiv it ie s /fa c il it ie s
I nde pe n de nt B us ine s s U nit s T r a nspo r t C o m pa nie s Se r v ice s
- G e ne r a l ca r g o te r m ina l - C a r te r s - C usto m s
- Sto r a g e ho te l - F o r w a r de r s - Po r t
- C o nta ine r te r m ina l - Shi pping f ir m s - Po st
- C o ld sto r e te r m ina l - Shi pbr o ke r s - V e te r i na r y a utho r itie s
- C o m bi te r m ina l - Stev e do r e s - W e ig hts & M e a ss ur e s D pt.
- C r a ne s - H a ulie r s - F ishe r ie s C o ntr o l
- Se r v ice ce ntr e - R a il - B a nk
- C o m pute r a nd - Shi po w ne r s - T r a ile r r e nta l
co m m unicat io ns ce ntr e
- A ir f r e ig ht - F illing s ta itio n
- T r a nspo r t r e sear ch &
- T e r m ina l o pe r a to r - G arag e
tr a ining
- H a z a r do u s g o o ds sto r e
Figure 6.13: The organisation of NTC (FDT, 2003)
The various transport companies located in NTC run the independent business units on a neutral
basis. Companies within NTC are offered the services of these independent business units at a
special, low price, while the units run on a normal commercial basis with external customers.
Finally, a range of services and public control functions are located in NTC, servicing the
companies located here.
Future developments/business opportunities

The future development opportunities of NTC are closely related to the on-going investments in
new facilities. These are: The procurement of a gantry crane, the creation of a new section (pier
3; an area for classified goods with high safety precaution), the improvement of the Combi
Terminal and the implementation of a new internal/external communication system. These new
facilities make location in NTC more attractive and form the basis of new opportunities.
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The integration with air and sea modes of transport must be expanded. The proximity to the
local airport must be exploited, in order to expand and integrate the airfreight segment. With
both the existing and future port and handling facilities, NTC is prepared for new Short Sea
Shipping activities to potential markets around the Baltic Sea and the Nordic Sea.
NTC will also host other services/facilities, related to transport and logistics.
More public service and control functions, related to transport and logistics, could be hosted
within NTC. Today, e.g. the veterinary authorities controlling the handling of food and
foodstuffs already have an office within NTC, but the authorities for e.g. cargo registration and
cargo control could also be situated within NTC in the future.
The Transport & Logistics Centre could also play a more active part in environmental
management in the future. Issues like waste management - recycling, handling of return
packing/wrapping or containers could be services to be offered internally at NTC.
Finally, research and development companies, working with transport and logistics, could be
located here, to enhance the co-operation with the transport and logistics community and ensure
a better dissemination and exploitation of the research and development
results/products/applications. This could be companies working within e.g. partnerships, third
parts logistics and intermodal transport solutions.
The integration of the Logistics Centres demonstrated by the formation of EUROPLATFORMS

EEIG (that is planned to be further expanded covering the whole Europe) and the development
of the TEN will give NTC new business developments and opportunities. The geographical
position of NTC in the north of Europe gives the Logistics Centre an opportunity to play an
important role in these networks including the Nordic Link Corridor as the Nordic turnable
between the Nordic countries and the rest of EU plus the North Atlantic. In order to take
advantage of the geographical position of NTC, the Logistic Centre must remain market
oriented and comply with the needs of the potential transport buyers and/or the actors in the
transport chain.
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6.4.6 Bikakobo-Aparcabisa (Bizkaia) Transport & Logistics Centre - Spain
Introduction
Bilkakobo-Aparcabisa is a public funded society started by the Autonomous Government of the
Basque Country. Aparcabisa is the owner of the Tranport Terminal in Ugarte a comprehensive
cargo logistics centre located only 7 km from the capital town of Bilbao. The complex was built
in 1987- 1990 to enhance and redevelop an obsolete industrial townscape. The overall land area
is 20 hectares. The gross built surface is 57,000 square meters.
The terminal has the advantage of its strategic location along the Cantabrian (North-Spanish
coast) motorway, at a gravitation point only 6 km., away from the airport of Bilbao.
Figure 6.14: Bikakobo-Aparcabisa (Bizkaia) Transport & Logistics Centre

(http://www.aparcabisa.com/)
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Organizational and institutional aspects
The Aparcabisa Transport & Logistics Centre is managed by the Bikakobo-Aparcabisa
Company. It is a public funded Society started in 1983 with the purpose of:
Managing all the essential infrastructures for the development of the transport sector.
Providing the Bizkaia city with a specific logistics area.
Enhancing and redeveloping an obsolete industrial townscape that is Communities of
Valle de Trapaga and Barakaldo.
The Share Capital of the Company amounts to 31.000.000. It is owned as follow:
Table 6.3: Shareholders participation

Shareholders Participation %
Bizkaias Foral Deputation 79.20
Basque Government 19.94
City Council of Barakaldo 0.48
City Council of Valle de Trapaga- 0.30

Trapagaran
Chamber of Commerce of Bilbao 0.08
TOTAL 100
Bikakobo-Aparcabisa Company Bodies:

General Meeting of Shareholders
Board of Directors
Direction General
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6.5 Network Building and Networking
Talking about the Logistics Centres it is also important to define the Logistics Centres network
building and networking. By integration and cooperation in networks Logistics Centres can
increase their competitive advantage on a national and international level. Furthermore it is
assumed that that network dynamics and the resulting opportunities are some of the main factors
that provide for the attractiveness of this form of cooperation.
Networks- are organic structures due to the fact that the actors, exchanging
activities and resources are always interrelated with each other in an interactive process.
Creating a network means changing the relationships and patterns of interaction between several
companies, which aspire to reach a common target. The members of a network have different
roles and some of them are more attractive than others.
Often companies operate in several networks at the same time. Networks can be divided into
four groups: business networks, industry networks, commercial networks and personal
networks. These networks differ from each other by their goals. Business networks aspire to
connect their members know-how and enhance total capacity. The aim of industrial networks is
to connect similar companies, which have common interests to advocate. Commercial networks
are networks that have been founded to provide development services, which are established to
improve co-operation between companies. Personal networks support the flow of information
and learning on the individual level.
Four different types of business strategic network are often described:

1. Loosely organised networks
2. Concept based networks
3. Company based network
4. Hierarchic network
These network types are a product of an increasing integration and coordination ranging from
type 1 Loosely organised networks as the lowest, and type 4 Hierarchic Network as the most
integrated.
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High coordination and central
administration
Hierachial Network
Company-based network
Concept-based cooperation
Loose organised network
No coordination and central

administration
Figure 6.15: Network and Networking (FDT, 2003)
The mentioned examples of Transport and Logistics Centres are containing or part of different
kinds of network types. The Transport and Logistics Centre is so to say a framework for
different kinds of networks, and can at the same time be a part of another kind of network with a
more superior status. Which kinds of networks there a present in the Transport and Logistics
Centre depends on the companies present in the Transport and Logistics Centre. A short
description of the characteristics of each network is given below.
6.5.1 Loosely Organised Networks

As the title implies, this network deals with un-obligated/non-committed and lose working
relations between Logistics Centres and their operators. In general this form of network seems
to apply where cultural behaviour such as self-sufficiency, independence and flexibility are key
components.
Lose organised networks with non-committal characteristics contain an element of free rider
syndrome, where the companies behaviour and internal competitive situation id conclusive in
84
order to make the co-operation work: The competitive relation between the actors in the
network means that many companies are more interested in taking than giving in the co-
operation. With this factor the network can lack from reciprocity, which is fundamental in a
network.
In general companies collaborate in commercially oriented matters, which mainly revolve ad

hoc solutions of concrete tasks and a general exchange of information with participants/actors in
and around a Logistics Centre.
6.5.2 Concept Based Network

This type of network in the transport sector is a formalisation of the loosely organised networks.
The integration of the network has been increased in this type and more concrete agreements
and settlement of principles for the function of the network.
This type of network is rather seldom yet and in the existing types especially use of IT-support
to the network are common. This network type is often based on an IT backbone, which
coordinates the cooperation between the participants. The participants have influence on the
continuously development of the backbone of the network, but there are no real centralised
control pattern. This network type differs from the previous in terms of economic obligations
(although often small) between the network participants.
The IT based network requires the familiarity with the use of PC and Internet. The IT network
requires also that the companies very often update information about their free capacity or the
need of capacity, and that is why it is a condition that IT is used on a daily basis.
The central element in the co-operation is the establishment of a common understanding and
frame in the shape of a concept, which controls the co-ordination and working relations between
the networks participants.
The most significant difference between loosely organised network and concept-based
cooperation is the financial commitment.
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6.5.3 Company Based Network
The Company Based Network type is a very close cooperation between transport companies in
the network, which differs from other networks in terms of that the cooperation and networking
are executed in a new (and especially for this purpose created) company. Through a commercial
network between the independent participants the Company-based Network aims at creating a
larger geographical coverage, development of new products which all were not possible to
offer from each company alone. The company-based network is based on a high level of
coordination of areas such as sales, administration and production. Normally in this type of
network each participant acts and functions on equal basis based on equal ownership of the
network company.
6.5.4 Hierarchic Network

This type of network is built on one company only, which defines the conditions for the other
network actors participation and how the network functions. The operation of the network is
based on a clear hierarchic relationship. This is quite comprehensive and integrated network
cooperation between the central company and the other participating companies. The
participating companies are integrated in the operation of the central company, where they
normally execute the physical transport task while the central company takes care of almost
everything else (administration, sales, development, flow and logistics etc.). The central
company has thus the strength (through its size) to negotiate e.g. serious discounts on fuel,
trucks, insurance etc. on behalf of the participating companies.
The important factor for the development of the hierarchical network is commitment of the
participating companies and the amount of resources that is used in order to create a sound
business development.
The networking aspect of the transport solutions via the Logistics Centres is one of the main
features crucial for successfully functioning of the Logistics Centres. Strategies in networks
evolve gradually in the interaction between Logistics Centres in the networks and are seen as a
dynamic process whereby Logistics Centres adapt to the circumstances and exploit
opportunities. It is a process, which offers not just complementary resources, but more
possibilities and advantages that can be achieved.
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87
6.6 Transport Corridors
In this chapter the transport corridors will be shortly discussed which is an important aspect
talking about the Logistics Centres. In figure 6.16 the cooperation between Logistics Centres on
a fixed transport corridor (rail, road and maritime) is illustrated.
Logistics Centre
Logistics Centre
Region
Logistics Centre
Road, Rail, Maritime
Logistics Centre
Region
Logistics Centre
Logistics Centre
Figure 6.16: Cooperation between Logistics Centres on a fixed transport corridor (FDT, 2003)
The figure shows how different logistics Centres cooperate in a region, and in this way increase
the market share. The more companies working together the more cooperation partners are often
possible and the stronger the corridor will be.
6.6.1 East West Transport Corridor

The transport corridor Vilnius-Esbjerg via Klaipeda/Kaliningrad, Blekinge and resund is an
essential connection between east and west in the Baltic Sea Region. Universities, authorities as
well as private stakeholders are willing to take a joint initiative in order to strengthen the
corridor, which is contributing to sustainable growth and development along the corridor.
Looking at the east-west direction it can be seen that transports are noticeably growing in the
Baltic Sea Region. Planning of transports as well as infrastructure is still made with national
boundaries as point of departure. Transnational co-operation is important in case if the
opportunities of integration shall be capitalized. Although transport growth from Asia and the
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Black Sea is quite strong, the corridor which is going between Vilnius-Esbjerg and continuing
to the North Sea/UK and Benelux covers several issues that slow down the development. The
purpose of the project East-West Transnational Transport Corridor is to strengthen the
corridor through a wide range of activities dealing e.g. with infrastructure improvements,
development of an overall strategy for the corridor as well as new solutions for business and
logistics and also strengthened transport research and co-operation between researchers. 17
Specific tasks are as following:

Transnational Transport Corridor Development Strategy
ITS a Tool for Innovative Actions in the Corridor
Improvements of Infrastructure Bottlenecks
Development of business and logistics
Knowledge development
One of the overall purposes concerning east-west transport corridor is to establish a framework
for co-operation where different kinds of actors would be participating. Therefore, the
partnership consists of organizations from both public and private sectors. IKEA, Karlshamns
AB, Railog, Smelte and LISCO are some of the enterprises involved. Ports and universities are
also important partners. National as well as regional and local authorities are represented. This
project involves 47 partners from 4 countries. Region Blekinge is Lead Partner. Total budget for
18
this project is about 3,24 M.
6.6.2 Trans European Transport Network, TEN-T

The trans- European transport network, TEN-T, has been developed by the European
Community during a period of 15 years. In 2004 was a decision taken by the European
Parliament and the Council on new Community guidelines for the development of the Ttrans-
European Transport Network, (1). The guidelines include now the TINA networks (a Common
Transport Infrastructure Needs Assessment in the candidate countries for accession). In 2004
was a decision taken by the European Parliament and the Council on new Community
17
http://www.eastwesttc.org/websites/eastwest/sd_page/2/1/index.php
18
http://www.eastwesttc.org/websites/eastwest/sd_page/2/1/index.php
89
guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network, (1). The guidelines
include now the TINA networks and a revised list of prioritised projects, which now consist of
30 projects at 30 priority axes. The concept of Motorways of the Sea was included as a new
project.
6.6.3 Summary of TEN-T Guidelines (Act Decision N 1692/96/EC, (1))

The concept for the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) is the common political
transport infrastructure development concept of the European Union and the Member
States/Project Promoters. The TEN-T guidelines are the legal basis for the implementation of
the TEN-T. The trans-European transport network comprises infrastructures (roads, railways,
waterways, ports, airports, navigation aids, inter-modal freight terminals and product pipelines),
together with the services necessary for the operation of these infrastructures (e.g. ITS or
industrial projects like GALILEO).
The TEN-T concept is based on the following political objectives:

To ensure mobility of persons and goods,
To offer users high-quality infrastructures,
To combine all modes of transport,
To allow the optimal use of existing capacities,
To be interoperable in all its components,
To cover the whole territory of the Community,
To allow for its extension to the EFTA Member States, for the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean countries.
Geographically, these networks cover currently the 25 Member States. Furthermore, there is
already an agreed network for the accession countries Bulgaria and Romania. A Memorandum
of Understanding of the South East Europe Core Regional Transport Network defines a network
for Croatia, which shall be considered as a possible TEN-T network. In Turkey, the definition of
a possible TEN-T network is underway, currently being defined by the study Technical
Assistance to the Transport Infrastructure Needs Assessment for Turkey.
In addition to the infrastructure projects of the general TEN-T network, 30 Priority Axes have
been defined which indicate the most important TEN-T activities. The main TEN-T effort is
concentrated on these.
90
The priority measures about TEN-T concern:
The completion of the connections needed to facilitate transport;
The optimisation of the efficiency of existing infrastructure;
The achievement of interoperability of network components;
The integration of the environmental dimension in the network.
Characteristics of the road network:

It comprises motorways and high-quality roads and will be supplemented by new or
adapted links;
It comprises infrastructure for traffic management and user information, based on active
cooperation between traffic management systems at European, national and regional
levels;
It guarantees users a high, uniform and continuous level of services, comfort and safety.
Characteristics of the rail network:

It comprises the high-speed network and conventional lines
It offers users a high level of quality and safety thanks to its continuity an
interoperability and thanks to a harmonized command and control system.
Characteristics of the inland waterway network and inland ports:

This system comprises a network consisting of rivers and canals, a network consisting
of branch canals, port infrastructures and efficient traffic management systems;
The technical specifications correspond at least to class IV.
Ports provide the link between sea transport and other modes of transport. They provide
equipment and services for passengers and goods (ferry services, etc.).
The airport network consists of airports of common interest situated within the territory of the
Community, which are open to commercial air traffic. The regional components of the network
facilitate access to the core of the network or help to open up peripheral and isolated regions.
The combined transport network comprises railways and inland waterways which, combined
where appropriate with initial and/or terminal road haulage, permit the long distance transport of
91
goods between all Member States. It also comprises installations permitting transshipment
between the different networks.
The information and management network concerns coastal and port shipping services, vessel
positioning systems, reporting systems for vessels transporting dangerous goods,
communication systems for distress and safety at sea.
The air traffic control network comprises the aviation plan (air space reserved for general
aviation, aviation routes and aviation aids), the traffic management system and the air traffic
control system.
The TEN-T railways- and road network are shown in the following maps.
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Figure 6.17: TEN-T Roads
93
Figure 6.18: TEN-T Railways
A prerequisite for developing an efficient Transport and Logistics Centre is that the centre is
placed on the TEN-T corridors. In this way there is greater possibilities for the centre to get a
share of the European transport market within the field of consolidation of goods. An approach
for how to develop the TEN-T to encompass the North Sea Region is given in the NMC II
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project, which among others focuses on the shipping routes along the coast of Norway. Along
this route it will be a good idea to develop inland Logistics Centres to help consolidating the
goods arriving and departing by ship along the coast of Norway. The Transport and Logistics
Centres mentioned in this report shows examples of and thereby gives inspiration to, how new
centres could be managed and structured.
6.6.4 Motorways of the Sea

By introducing the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) in the beginning of the 1990s
the European dimension of infrastructure planning was highlighted. The role of maritime
transport in the transport chain was strengthened in 2001, when the seaports were included in
TEN-T. The Motorways of the Sea concept, which is now integrated in the revised TEN-T
guidelines, will even more emphasize the role of maritime infrastructure in order to develop an
efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transport system.
The Motorways of the Sea concept aims at improving cohesion and access to peripheral and
island regions and states and/or reducing road congestion (Decision 884/2004/EC, art. 12a).
New logistics facilities, corridors and hubs will be built having an impact on regional
development, spatial planning and on ICT infrastructure.
The integration of the new member states in EU policies and systems and the foreseen growth of
international transports will lead to huge investments in modern transport and supporting ICT
infrastructure. Therefore one of the key elements in the Northern Dimension transport market is
the concept of the Baltic Sea Motorways aiming at promotion of maritime transport, multi-
modality covering also hinterland and logistics in general.
The Motorways of the Sea concept aims at introducing new intermodal maritime based
logistics chains in Europe, which should bring about a structural change in our transport
organisation, within the next years to come. These chains will be more sustainable, and should
be commercially more efficient, than road-only transport. Motorways of the Sea will thus
improve access to markets throughout Europe, and bring relief to our overstretched European
road system. For this purpose, fuller use will have to be made not only of our maritime transport
resources, but also of our potential in rail and inland waterway, as part of an integrated transport
chain. In this case Transport and Logistics Centres plays an important role as facilitators for the
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Motorways of the Sea. The hinterland facilities are a very important part of the supply chains,
which includes sea-based transport. Important aspects to remember are in this connection:
In the hinterland there are several elements that can be developed and have an positive
impact on MoS, especially if they are organised, cooperating and networking efficiently
Globalisation of production and the corresponding supply chains increase the need for
efficient Logistics Centres.
Reduce administrative barriers by developing of the single window/one stop shop
concept.
Improve logistics capacity in ports through development of the corridor infrastructure,
IT supporting system, co-modality and efficient logistics centres in the supply chain
The selected cases of Transport and Logistics Centres are good and well functioning examples
of hinterland connections, which play an active role for the connection between land and sea-
based transport in the region, in which they are located.
The Motorways of the sea's essential objectives are:

Reducing the Union's terrestrial motorways congestion through modal shift from the
road to the sea
Massification of the transport of goods on determined lines to reach the profitable
critical mass. The selected maritime liaisons have to be sure, regular, frequent and
competitive and the ports to be well connected to terrestrial means of transport (road,
rail, waterways) in the backcountry without being congested.
Reinforcing the regional development and the economic and territorial cohesion to link
islands and regions on the periphery of Europe with the centre.
Four corridors have been designated for the setting up of projects of European interest:
Motorway of the Baltic Sea (linking the Baltic Sea Member States with Member States
in Central and Western Europe, including the route through the North Sea/Baltic Sea
canal) (by 2010);
Motorway of the Sea of western Europe (leading from the North Sea and the Irish Sea
via the Atlantic Arc to Portugal and Spain) (by 2010);
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Motorway of the Sea of south-west Europe (western Mediterranean, connecting Spain,
France, Italy and including Malta and linking with the Motorway of the Sea of south-
east Europe) (by 2010).
Motorway of the Sea of south-east Europe (connecting the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian
Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus) (by 2010);
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6.7 Institutional aspects
The objective of this chapter is to give a general overview of European policies in the field of
Transport & Logistics Centres and intermodal freight transport. The initial problem is that there
is not a single transport policy in the EU, but many intermodal freight transport policies. The
policies therefore, are different in the various countries and have changed over time.
Transport policy is a central element of shaping Europe and its legislation. European transport
policy creates the prerequisites for a single market in which the free movement of persons,
services and goods is possible. But it also lays down the rules for competition among the
various modes of transport in order to ensure a uniform market with fair and equal
opportunities.
6.7.1 Safety of routes

An important objective of EU transport policy, which has obtained an increased focus during
the latest years, is to further improve safety on Europe's roads and hereby reduce the number of
traffic accidents. Therefore the EU has decided that:
Uniform standards must be introduced in all safety-related areas and there must be effective
monitoring to ensure that there is no chance of individual countries opting out at the expense of
safety. Transport policy must be regarded as sustainable economic policy and must therefore be
oriented to the Lisbon Strategy in such a way that it promotes economic growth and
employment without neglecting environmental concerns. 19
Especially the soft road users are a vulnerable group of road users, which hopefully can be more
secure in traffic, when coordinated measures are implemented from central European stage. But
also the safety of the drivers has come in focus. A new approach is therefore the implementation
of secure rest places, and in this process the Transport and Logistics Centres can play an
important role in supplying these rest facilities.
19
The text is an extract from: http://www.eu2007.de/en/Policy_Areas/Transport_Telecommunications_and_Energy/Transport.html
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6.7.2 Policy actions in general
In general there are numerous elements influencing the policy actions. First of all, it is important
to stress the meaning of liberalisation in the transport sector. The deregulation has opened a
large spectrum of opportunities to integrate ports, rail yards etc. in the Transport & Logistics
Centre concept, which intends to create an open and competitive environment for open-access
hereunder multi-user solutions.
Secondly, the recognition of lacking interoperability is a key factor to create a more efficient
way to harmonisation of interoperability (i.e. harmonisation of containers, rails, mains etc.) has
caused several international disagreements but nevertheless is the initiative of great importance.
These two initiatives will in general benefit the Transport & Logistics Centre.
Today there are many influences of the politicians in the area of intermodal freight transport.
Some of the most important developments and policy aspects are listed below:
Agenda 200020 and the proposed new Structural Fund regulations which emphasise
urban areas in difficulty, local development and social inclusion as well as growth
and competitiveness in the lagging regions; the adoption of reinforced pre-accession
strategies for candidate countries;
The European Spatial Development Perspective21 (ESDP) emphasising the need for
balanced and polycentric urban development and hereby a transnational co-operation
between national, regional and local authorities aims to promote a higher degree of
territorial integration across large groupings of European regions, with a view to
achieving sustainable, harmonious and balanced development in the EU and better
territorial integration with candidate and other neighbouring countries.
The EU 1997 commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, adopted by the Third Conference of
the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which contains
20 Agenda 2000 For a stronger and wider Union Bulletin of the European Union, Supplement 5/97, 1997.
21 ESPD Towards balanced and sustainable development of the territory of the European Union, agreed at the informal Council
Meeting for Spatial Planning in Potsdam, May 1999. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities,
1999.
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legally binding targets for the reduction and limitation of greenhouse-related emissions.
The EU and Member States are parties to the Convention and intend to be parties to the
Protocol;
The review of the 5th Environmental Action Programme22 providing for the
development of a comprehensive approach to urban issues with special emphasis on the
assistance required to support actions by local authorities to implement the Programme
and Local Agenda 21;
The Treaty of Amsterdam which establishes sustainable development as an explicit EU
objective and strengthens requirements for policy integration as new fields of action;
The 6th and 7th Framework Programme23, which sets out to strengthen the scientific and
technological bases of Community industry and encouraging it to become more
competitive at international level. Especially making rail and maritime transport more
effective and more competitive, addressing the interoperability of transport modes and
assuring intelligent and safe transport of freight.
Talking about communication on freight transport logistics in Europe the Council of the
European Union came up with the following recommendations.
The globalisation of production and the increasing flows of goods between the major
transport hubs all over the world increase the need for advanced logistics solutions
where combinations of all modes of transports are integrated in the transport chain. In
this way the negative effects of transport such as pollution, congestion, traffic accidents,
noise etc. can be decreased.
That logistics can contribute to enhanced cohesion and improved links to peripheral
areas and islands;
That effective logistics enable a better use of scarce transport infrastructure capacity;
22 Decision N 2179/98/EC of the EP and of the Council of 24 September 1998
23 Decision No 1513/2002/EC of the EP and of the Council of 27 June 2002
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The lack of reliable statistic data on logistics which precludes monitoring developments
in freight transport logistics and assessing the impact of policy measures;
6.7.3 Health and safety issue in the Danish Transport & Logistic centres
There is a comprehensive set of rules of regulations within the health and safety area, to which
all Danish companies must comply. NTC is a good example of how health and safety issues
have been integrated in the management of the Transport and Logistics Centre in Aalborg.
Apart from complying with the minimum norms and standards of Danish law, NTC has begun a
process of applying common norms and standards within the Logistics Centre area. One of the
potential benefits of the Logistics Centre idea is the co-operation and sharing of common
services. It is an objective for the companies within NTC to align their norms and standards, in
order to minimise or totally avoid the risks and dangers to the employees, which occur where
two companies interact or two modes meet in the transport chain.
When it comes to the daily operations and safety and environment, it is the responsibility of the
single company to comply with the rules in question and whether to go beyond the
regulations/rules set by the legal instances. As long as the single company complies with the
rules NTC does not interfere.
Safety and environmental regulations/rules applying to the whole Centre involves NTC, the port
authority (Port of Aalborg) and the local authorities including the fire brigade. The Municipal
Council controls the environmental approvals. A general emergency plan is developed and is
under the responsibility of the public emergency force. The focus on inventory reduction has
caused many organizations to look closely at the quality of the inbound delivery service they
receive from suppliers. At the other end of the marketing channel consumers have become
equally demanding in their service requirement. The challenge to the organizations aspiring to
be leaders in service performance is to recognize the service requirements of the different
segments that their service and to restructure their logistics processes around the achievement of
those service requirements.
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Every company in Denmark with 5 or more employees must have a safety representative per
department or work area, elected between the employees. The supervisors and the safety
representatives form a safety group in the company. Companies with more than 20 employees
and more than 2 safety groups must form a safety committee. This consists of two supervisors, 2
safety representatives and the company manager.
The company must provide the safety representatives with the time and resources necessary to
acquire sufficient knowledge or education for undertaking the duties of a safety representative.
At the same time the safety representative has the legal protection as a shop steward and cannot
be dismissed on ground of his/her work as safety representative. The safety groups and safety
committees must be included in the planning, advising and control of health and safety aspects
in the company. If an agreement is established between the company and the employees, the
scope of the safety organisations can be extended to include environmental aspects, specific to
the company.
Each company must work out a written company evaluation with respect to health and safety
aspects. This must be updated every time changes in the company make this necessary or at
least every third year. This evaluation must include:
Identification and analysis of health and safety aspects;
Description and evaluation of health and safety problems;
Prioritisation and development of a plan of action for the redressing of these health and
safety problems;
Instructions for the follow-up of the plan of action.
6.7.4 The Danish Environmental Protection Act

When developing a new Transport and Logistics Centre in Denmark the laws of the Danish
Environmental Protection Act must be studied and complied with. The act specially aims at:
Prevent pollution of air, water, soil and subsurface as well as pollution from vibrations
and noise;
Provide rules and regulations, based on hygiene, of importance for the environment and
for human beings;
To limit the use and waste of raw materials and other natural resources;
To promote the use of cleaner technology;
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To promote recycling and limit the problems related with the disposal of waste.
All enterprises must therefore to the widest possible extent be based on the use of the least
polluting technology, this being appraised as a balance between the costs of the technology and
possible benefit obtained by the technology. Furthermore, the enterprise must be designed and
have a layout, which minimize pollution, as well as have measures for the prevention of
pollution.
The Minister of the Environment can recommend minimum quality standards for air, water, soil
and noise level. The Minister can also issue binding minimum standards for the quality of water,
air, soil as well as acceptable noise level.
It is illegal to deposit, bury or discharge products, substances and materials, which can pollute
ground water, surface water, soil or subsurface without permission.
The Minister of the environment issues a list, containing all the types of enterprises,
infrastructure systems and devices, which must obtain a special environment approval.
Companies included on this list cannot be established before such an approval has been
obtained. For existing companies extensions cannot be started before a new approval has been
obtained. The environmental approval lay down the terms for the establishment and operation of
the company, with respect to environmental matters, i.e. discharge of waste waters, disposal of
waste, quantities and concentration of discharged substances etc. and noise level.
6.8 Organisational aspects

Usually, concrete Transport & Logistics centres are formed as (limited) companies, whereas
virtual centres are run as associations. For example both Nordic Transport Centre (NTC),
founded in 1989, and Klaipeda Logistics Centre (KLC), founded in 2001, are real organisations
(as opposed to virtual) and both have the legal form of a company.
The creation of centres is often financed through public-private partnership, and in some cases
the centres have been founded as a result of EU financed projects.
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All over Europe it has been proved helpful for the Logistics Centres developer to gain
competence in the logistics sector. This can be an important advantage for the competition with
other locations relevant for the settlement of transport and logistics companies. For example, if
Logistics Centres developers are also involved in the planning, construction or even operation of
intermodal terminals they can directly influence the modal split of the Logistics Centres and the
target of sustainable transport solutions. This competence function can only be fulfilled, if
Logistics Centres developers/operators have a sufficient economic basis for own business
activities related to the requirements of the Logistics Centres tenants. Therefore, this aspect has
to be addressed already in a very early phase of Logistics Centres development.
Logistics centres developers who are only involved in the sale of logistics estates, in some cases
only on behalf of the municipality, might face difficulties when the implementation and
settlement phase will be over and the operational phase starts. By then, an economic basis for a
Logistics Centres operator should be ready to ensure the long-term existence of the Logistics
Centres operator and to enable him to take an active position in the fulfilment of the LC
development objectives. One of the main challenges of Logistics Centres developers and
operators remains the efficient and effective use of synergies through the establishment of
cooperative business activities.
6.8.1 The European Model: Private Public Partnership (PPP)

The Private Public Partnership (PPP) is the most widespread and efficient organizational
structure for companies managing Logistics Centres. Share capital is owned by public and
private partners in different percentages. In most cases however Public Authorities constitute a
companys main shareholder. The choice of the PPP model as well as the involvement of Public
Authorities is linked to financial, infrastructure and planning reasons.
Building a Logistics Centre involves from the very beginning huge investment for the
creation of not only large warehouses but also all the urban intervention and services.
Considering that the Logistics Centre is a long-term enterprise that, at least in the start-up phase,
does not represent a truly tempting business for private investors, financial support from Public
Authorities becomes a key element for its development. The Logistics Centre, purely in terms
of the size it may reach (millions of square meters) and the effects it has on the local economy,
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becomes part of a greater local territorial development plan constituting the basis for all
infrastructure and territorial implementation.
PPP covers the institutionalised approach of co-operations between the main actors of different
social systems to solve complex local and regional problems. It provides for the execution of
large projects with public and private partners to meet a public good. Recommendation is PPP
as a workable framework for the execution of a logistic centre.
The PPP is a form of collaboration between a public and a private partner for a well-defined
period of time and related to one of more specific phases of a planned project. The
responsibilities of both the private and public partners are explicitly defined in the Partnership
Agreement.
PPP is a major instrument for regional development of a Logistics Centre. The PPP process
could begin with the search for partners (attracting partners) and the exchange of ideas to
generate common visions, identification of stakeholders and key individuals of the project and
the necessary preparations for the implementation of the project. Permanent auditing of the PPP
process by a selected steering committee is necessary for the successful implementation of the
project activities. After written commitment of the key stakeholders and partners are received,
project tasks and responsibilities should be divided, detailed business plan and a feasibility
study should be prepared, and strategic planning and team development should take place, the
PPP concept is finally implemented.
PPP framework enhances:

Transparency;
Visibility;
Accountability (external auditing);
Clear commitment from all partners;
Early stage involvement from all partners;
Clear structure and responsibility.
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Seen from a regional perspective, the PPP framework can be beneficial as it supplies capital
and reduces fiscal burden to the government, assists with technology selection and development,
reduces corruption, and provides for the cost and risk sharing.
For the commercial interest of the private side the PPP safeguards acceptable return on
investment, provides for the clear assessment of risks, increases long term revenues, increases
brand prestige, streamlines Public Relations (PR), enhances and preserves reputation, supports
growth and diversification, and provides better market opportunities.
From the public point of view, the PPP framework is beneficial as it provides access to
corporate funding, utilizes private management expertise, enables the concentration on core
competencies, and covers the needs of clients and speeds up processes.
From the lenders perspective PPP framework is of commercial interest; again it provides for
the acceptable return on investment, supports large scale and long term investments, provides
for the clear assessment of risks and increases long term revenues.
PPP as an instrument for allocation of limited resources supports communication, co-operation,

co-ordination, collaboration & trust among all stakeholders. There must be the clear sense of
commitment from all stakeholders and penalties must be set up for all in case that they do not
fulfil their duties.
The role of regional and national government is crucial as the facilitator of the LC- project
rather than just being the provider of capital. Infrastructure development is the precondition for
the implementation of the project and welfare of the region, where sustainable development is a
key issue. Government plays a role as a partner for private investors as well as of local /
regional authorities.
6.8.2 General Model of PPP for Transport & Logistics Centres

Logistics centres serve as nodes for the collection and distribution of cargo, which is essential
for local and regional distribution networks and city logistics. They promote investments in the
regional economy and transport infrastructure as well as the development of national and
international trade. The following figure illustrates the general model of Public Private
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Partnership for Logistics Centres. It depicts model structure, potential participants and their
possible functions in the PPP:
Figure 6.19: The general model of PPP framework for Transport & Logistic centre (FDT, 2003)
6.8.3 Advantages of the PPP solution

There are considered to be certain advantages by using the PPP framework when building a
Transport & Logistics Centre.
It is the most popular organisational structure model for the Companies that manage
Transport & Logistics Centres in Europe.
It would involve the local Public Authorities that automatically would be in some
way responsible for the economic development of the project and then of the local
territory.
The support of the Public Authorities could allow a flexible management of the
logistics centre.
A transport and logistics specialised Company could offer a very high level of
professionalism. This is a strong guarantee for the potential investors.
The investors would exactly know where the destination of their investments is.
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To establish a Company on the basis of the European model could be a plus to
receive European funds.
Successful PPP depends on the effectiveness of the national and municipal legislative and
regulatory structures. The effectiveness and impact of a PPP depends to a large extend, on the
regulatory mechanisms used to influence and guide the parties and in particular the private
sector decision-making process.
The analysis of a national and sectoral regulatory framework has four main purposes:
To identify elements that could impede private sector participation, affect viability or
distort advantages to be gained.
To consider the need for restructuring of current operators ahead of a PPP with respect
to their legal status and the flexibility of their mandate and articles of association.
To identify the need for and design sector specific regulation making private sector
participation possible and effective including the development of institutional structures
to oversee and regulate private operators.
To identify which regulations that need to be incorporated into PPP contracts, to
identify their impact and to identify if safeguards against regulatory risk needs to be
included.
National legislative structures will not always be conductive to PPP arrangements, but certain
methods can be adopted to facilitate their introduction, including:
Choosing a private sector arrangement that reduces risks associated with the
deficiencies of the legislative structure, for example using a fee based management
contract for distribution if collection performance or requirements for providing
subsidized services pose unacceptable revenue risk to the private partner.
Choosing a private partner best able to manage legislative/ regulatory risk, for example
in the case of adverse foreign currency or profit repatriation rules then contracting local
companies may be viable.
Incorporate explicit safeguards in contracts.
Encourage the development of effective regulatory and watchdog mechanisms.
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A PPP will involve numerous parties and therefore a corresponding number of contractual
arrangements. While the nomenclature may change, the main contractual documents include:
Project Agreement- this is the main legal document setting out the rights and
obligations of the contracting authority and the contractor. Many model contracts exist,
but changes will need to be made to account for national and project specific
requirements.
Performance Specifications- these will include all of the technical, financial and service
requirements of the contracting authority and must be specifically referred to in the
project agreement as constituting an integral part and defining the parties obligations in
relation to them.
Collateral Warranties- these provide for direct links between the Contracting Authority
and the individual sub-contractors appointed by the contractor. Their main purpose is to
give the contracting authority the benefit of an independent obligation in relation to the
work carried out by sub-contractors. They will also allow for step-in rights.
Direct Agreements- these regulate the relationship between the contracting authority
and outside founders including the Commission through the financing memorandum.
Other contractual documents of importance include construction and operating contracts and
financial security and guarantee arrangements. It is crucial that these documents are prepared in
a transparent manner and that clauses are fully understood by concentrated parties.
6.8.4 The Free Economic Zone solution

The idea of this solution is to place the Transport & Logistics Centre in an existing Free
Economic Zone. This solution is cheaper but it will also mean less involvement by the Local
Public Authorities. Difficulties in obtaining funds from private investors and difficulties in
obtaining European funds could arise because it is not clear to whom the funds are addressed.
One of the examples concerning Free Economic Zone (FEZ) could be:
A greater involvement of the FEZ Joint Stock Company (STC) could imply the creation of a
new Transport & Logistics Department inside the current FEZ JSC structure whose task would
be the management of the logistics centre inside the FEZ area.
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110
6.8.5 Transport & Logistics Department
FEZ JSC
Transport & logistics
Sublease Department
Logistics and transport
Figure 6.20: Example of Transport and Logistics Department
The FEZ Transport & Logistics Department, consisting of two/three skilled people, would be
responsible for the strategic development of the logistics centre and for the management of all
the activities related to the logistics centre.
Advantages
This solution would be the simplest and the cheapest. It would imply an increase in the current
FEZ JSC staff by employing one or two skilled people whose task would be the management of
the Logistics Centre inside the FEZ area.
Negative aspects
The Local Public Authorities would be less involved;
Difficulties in obtaining funds from private investors;
Difficulties in obtaining European funds because it is not clear to whom the funds are
addressed.
The European Union has no possibility to know if the local authorities have approved the
project.
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6.9. Development of Transport and Logistic Centres
When developing Transport and Logistics centres there are several important aspects to keep in
mind. The first initiatives for the development of Logistics Centres in Europe did already start in
the sixties and seventies, particular in France, Italy and Spain. Some of the main driving factors
were- despite of the differences between the notions:
Lack of warehousing space in the periphery of urban areas;
Start of intermodality with hinterland transport by rail of sea containers (ISO) as first
standardised loading units (demand for inland transhipment facilities);
Increasing conflicts generated by delivery lorries in city centres;
Capacity restrictions in seaports with the demand for the development of external
handling and storage facilities (either in the port environment or in the hinterland);
Significant growth in freight transport with road freight being the main beneficiary of
the increase in transport volumes;
Initiatives on the national railways to stop the decrease of the market share of rail
freight by promoting intermodal solutions.
In recent years Logistics Centre developers faced the following main challenges:
To establish alternative investment and operation concepts for the Logistics Centres
intermodal terminals and to integrate them into existing transport networks.
To react on the ongoing process of restructuring of the transport and logistics industry
leading to a higher degree of concentration and internationalisation (tendency for bigger
companies with own logistics networks, partly outside the Logistics Centres network).
To react on the fact that the logistics industry as key Logistics Centres target group is
changing from traditional transport and warehousing business towards complex supply
chain management (SCM).
Considering self-evident differences between Logistics Centres in Europe, there are several
common characteristics as promotion of multimodality, provision of incentives for modal shift,
open-access and multi-user approach as well as the requirement for a neutral Logistics Centres
developer/operator. These characteristics can also be seen as success factors, which enable
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Logistics Centres to combine flexible reaction on changing market conditions with the
realisation of political objectives (e.g. modal shift).
6.9.1 Experiences from Denmark - Spatial planning

The authority responsible for the spatial planning in Denmark is the Ministry of the
Environment, hereunder the Nature and Forest Agency is the administrator of the Danish
Planning Act, and hereby functions as the professional unit for controlling and administrating
the spatial planning. The Danish system is build on a framework based management system,
where the authorities on lower level in the administrative system have to respect the planning
made on a superficial level. The 1st of January 2007 a structural reform of the Danish
administrative system was undertaken. This also had an impact on the Danish planning system.
The new system will system will be structured as showed on figure 6.21 to the right.
Figure 6.21: The old structure of the planning system in Denmark and the new structure of the
planning system after the structural reform
The biggest difference in the new planning system will be that the regional level will lose much
of its planning responsibility. Instead the regions should focus on a more development oriented
perspectives, where visions and strategies to promote the different regions are in focus. The
planning responsibility, which the regions used to have, will instead be transferred to the state
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and to the municipalities. But even though the regions lose much of the competences the spatial
planning system will still be divided into four hierarchic levels:
1. Overall country planning, undertaken by the Minister of Environment and other
ministries as for instance the Ministry of Transport and Energy. This national level
makes directives and the regulatory framework for the planning authorities for the lower
level authorities to follow.
2. Regional planning, undertaken by the regional councils. In Denmark there are 5 regions.
Which should develop 3 kinds of plans:
a. The Regional Development Plan
b. The Regional Business Development Strategy
c. The Regional Agenda 21
3. Municipal planning, undertaken by the Municipal Council. In Denmark there are 98
municipalities. The development for each municipality is described in the municipality
plan which consists of:
a. A policy part with the overall objectives for the development of the
municipality, including regulations for land use.
b. A part including the framework for the district plans within the municipality. Of
relevance, this could include: technical systems, traffic systems, and regulations
for the development of new areas/buildings/industrial estates.
4. District planning, undertaken within the municipalities by the Municipal Council.
Before any development can take place the municipality must work out a district plan
and construction on a plot/area can take place. A district plan can include regulations
for e.g. description of the activities that can take place in the area, size and location of
buildings on the area, traffic systems, dimensions and design of buildings, necessary
shielding to prevent noise pollution etc.
In this hierarchy of plans, the regulations and stipulations of a plan must always be in
accordance with the regulations and stipulations of a higher order plan. This co-ordination is
ensured through a formal and lengthy process between the three levels of public authorities.
Lastly, the Regional Council and the Municipal Council share the responsibility of controlling
that regulations and stipulations are respected and followed.
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With this modification of the Danish Planning system it can be feared that the planning for
transport and logistics will be neglected compared to other issues. This concern is due to the fact
that transport planning will no longer be a mandatory part of neither the regional nor the
municipal planning. In stead it will be up for the individual planning authorities to decide, how
much emphasis they intent to put on transport and logistics planning. Hopefully the planners are
aware that it is important to make coordinated planning for the transport sector in order to cope
with the increasing challenges of separating the growth in economy form the growth in
transportation.
An advantage of the Danish Planning system is the possibility to make local plans where all
development possibilities are scheduled in advance. This means that an existing Transport and
Logistics Centre often will have the possibility to develop continuously, as long as the
development plans for the Transport and Logistics Centre are within the framework of the local
plan. Integrating new development perspectives or physical facilities are in many other
countries a much more troublesome process, which can last for many years.
6.10. Conclusion & Recommendations

The freight and logistics market is rapidly transforming towards more consignments of a higher
quality - often delivered at odd hours. This increases the total transport work, with negative
consequences for e.g. the environment. This is where the Transport & Logistics Centres play an
important role.
An added value service is a fundamental function within the Logistic Centre concept, which is
one of the key attractors and reasons why many smaller companies combine their efforts and
collaborate instead of competing.
Logistic centres are oriented to the requirements of the transport and logistics industry,
significant emphasis has been put on the location choice in terms of sufficient road and rail
access. In most cases the location is close to a motorway junction or has direct access to the
main road network. As far as rail (and sea) access is concerned, the terminals are preferably
located close to railway mainlines (and/or main ports).
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All over Europe it has been proved helpful for the Logistics Centres developer to gain
competence in the logistics sector. This can be an important advantage for the competition with
other locations relevant for the settlement of transport and logistics companies.
Globalisation of production and the corresponding supply chains increase the need for
efficient Logistics Centres.
Logistics is becoming increasingly important - not only within Europe but also for Europes
international business relations.
Integrate LCs in transport infrastructure policy and planning.
Priority of LCs in transport infrastructure investments.
Increase the return of transport infrastructure investments with LCs.
Use LCs as framework for new business opportunities and commercial growth.
Market and business integration through European co-operation with other major logistics
centres in the world (e.g. with the US, Russia, Japan, China, India, Brazil) will need to be
ensured.
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7 Case study on the spatial and environmental impact of port
/ logistics centres development.
As part of achieving the objective of Work package 3, 'Transports and Logistics Centres', of the
SUTRANET-project - to develop innovative intermodal transport systems and concepts
through the use of transport and logistics centres - a case study on the spatial and
environmental impact of port/logistics centres development has been carried out, in order to
identify environmental and spatial barriers for intermodal transport in the North Sea Region.
The case which has been selected for this study - the port of Gthenburg - is suitable for a
number of reasons:
it constitutes one of the major ports in the North Sea Region, and is developing rapidly
both in terms of overall turnover, and from a conventional port into a more holistic
logistics centre.
with its location inside a major city there are both environmental and spatial barriers to
consider and try to resolve.
the port has come a long way already as regards increasing environmental concern and
improving environmental performance, and received the European Commissions Clean
Marine Award in 2004 for provision of shore-side electricity for regular ro-ro ships,
dramatically reducing their in-port emissions of noise and airborne pollutants.
the port is presently in the process for applying for environmental permits from the
government to increase both the port area and the port throughput substantially within
the next decade.
The present case study has run in parallel to a national study on how the port of Gothenburg and
one of its major clients Volvo are affected by the new national EU-enforced legislation on air
quality standards (Swedish: MKN) for nitrogen dioxide (Fridell et al., 2006). Since transport -
in particular road transport - is a major source to nitrogen dioxide as well as several other health
and environmentally hazardous air pollutants in densely populated areas such as Gothenburg,
and since many ports rely heavily on hinterland road transport, the new air quality standard for
nitrogen dioxide is actually one example of an environmental barrier for port expansion and
development which is stipulated by law. However, there are also other environmental and
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spatial barriers for port/logistics centres development that are highlighted and analysed further
in the present study and in the study by Fridell et al. (2006).
7.1 General issues related to spatial and environmental impact of port

development
Due to historical reasons, most ports co-exist with urban settlements. The exploitation of good
natural port locations has triggered the establishment of communities both for civilian trade and
as strategic strongholds for national states.
The ports needed numerous services like for instance supplies, workforce and administration,
while creating values such as trade and employment. The presence of an efficient port has
always been a strong catalyst for societal development.
Today, the interaction between ports and cities does not require the closeness of earlier
centuries. Synergies still exist, of course, but ports no longer need large workforces, and the
availability of modern transportation and communication makes it possible to distribute many
other functions.
However, the historical record of large ports growing from small as well as large cities
stemming from smaller settlements means that major ports and large cities still occupy common
or adjacent locations. This naturally has lead to collisions of interests with continued growth in
both sectors. Today the presence of an active port inside a city is often considered a nuisance.
Many older centrally located port surroundings are being redeveloped for other uses.
Whats more, ports and cities frequently share the same land infrastructure. There are of course
efficiency gains in this double usage but also considerable scope for conflicts and controversy.
As a port expands it tends to move out from the central position in a city to peripheral locations.
So far most ports have been able to relocate major activities outside the city centres, sometimes
in more than one step.
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However the increasing area needs of port and terminal operations have now reached a level
where conflicts with recreational and environmental interests are becoming common. The
importance of shoreline and shallow water organisms to the whole environment has only
recently been fully appreciated.
The preservation of an adequate amount of wetlands, sands, reefs, etc., is vital to assure a fully
functioning ecosystem. At the same time the value of the coast for recreation is obvious and this
puts additional pressure on port development near major population centres.
The typical pattern of port expansion and possible areas of conflict are demonstrated in Figure
1.
Port
Sensitive
Areas City
Figure 7.1: Pattern of port expansion and possible areas of conflict.
Landfills are often used to increase the available areas for port operations. The ecological
effects of landfills however have not been fully understood until recently. Most effects of
landfills are of a local nature but wide scale intrusion into ecologically sensitive areas may lead
to more global effects through the damage of key links in the overall ecosystem.
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The presence of a port also leads to a concentration of land transport with trucks and trains. This
frequently leads to overload of the land infrastructure and disturbances to nearby urban and
residential areas
The most important environmental effects related to ports may be summarised as:
Effects on sensitive near-shore ecosystems (ex shallow water fish breeding areas).
Influence from dredging and earthworks on currents and circulation.
Influence on water runoff and ground water.
Reduction of wetlands as nitrogen traps.
Soil contamination.
Release of pollutants deposited in sediments.
Emissions to air from port and transport activities.
Emissions to water from port and transport activities.
Accidental spills from cargo, of bunker oil and other fluids from ships.
Noise.
Visual pollution (scenery, night lighting).
A more comprehensive summary of the environmental impact of port activities can be found in
Trozzi and Vaccaro (2000). Most of the effects are local in character but the size and
concentration of some European ports may lead to effects also on a regional magnitude.
One of the findings of the SUTRANET-project (Work Package 2, Motorways of the North Sea,
Task 1.1, report on Major Intermodal Ports in the North Sea Region), is that just three
geographical areas acount for 90% of the North Sea Region intermodal/unitised (container and
RoRo) traffic (Haven/Humber, Rhine/Scheldt and Elbe/Weser), and may dominate intermodal
maritime traffic flows in the region even more in the future, which raises questions regarding
the sustainability of current and futre transport provision and in particular the very high degree
of concentration within relatively few sensitive estuarial areas in northern Europe.
At the same time the European Commission has identified waterborne transportation as an
important element to enable continued growth of the European economy simultaneously
promoting sustainability of European freight transport. For instance, everything else put equal,
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maritime freight transport is roughly between two and three times more energy efficient than
road freight transport, thus emitting half to one third of CO2 per weight unit cargo and unit
distance transported compared to road transport. The port infrastructure is the key to the
expansion of waterborne transportation, but also the likeliest bottleneck.
A challenge for the future is to find solutions that may accommodate increased activity in the
land/sea transfer while at the same time minimising the environmental and societal impacts.
Examples of activities:
Optimisation of port/terminal location and distribution.
Innovations that increase throughput while reducing intermediate storage.
Innovative solutions that reduce port/terminal land use.
Advanced planning of land infrastructure.
Simulations of effects on ecosystems.
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7.2 Description of the case - Port of Gothenburg
7.2.1 Historic and present situation

The City of Gothenburg was founded in 1621 on direct orders from the Swedish king Gustav II
Adolf. Apart from being a strategic military defence location, there were also strictly
commercial reasons to settle a new town at the mouth of the River Gta, the river which
connects the largest lake in Sweden, Lake Vnern, with the North Sea. By that time, water
transport was almost the only means of exporting the classic Swedish iron and timber, which
were - and still are - extensively produced on the lands surrounding Lake Vnern. The new city
was ideal to serve as a transhipment point between river craft and deep-sea vessels, and hence
the Port of Gothenburg was established simultaneously.
The creation of modern-day Port of Gothenburg goes back as far as the 1840's, when the first
berths along River Gta were built. The rest of the 19th century saw the southern river bank
along the city being exploited for port purposes. Along with the expansion the port needed more
space, and in the middle of the 20th century most of the port facilities moved out of the city
centre to the north river bank. By this time the port also hosted several large shipyards.
The port went through a rapid development in the 1960's and 1970's. The Skandia Container
Terminal was built to take care of the new container traffic. Deep-sea Ro/Ro-traffic was
developed by Scandinavian shipowners and shipyards, and a new Ro/Ro-terminal, the lvsborg
Harbour, was built. To allow large oil tankers to berth, a crude oil jetty was built. The two
harbours Rya and Skarvik, were the refined oil is handled, were improved.
Today, there are four main terminals, all located on the north shore of the Gta River mouth, as
seen by Figure 2 below: the oil terminal located in the Tors (1), Skarvik (2) and Rya (3)
harbours, the ro-ro terminal located in the lvsborg and Arendal harbours (4), and the container
terminal and the car terminal, both located in the Skandia harbour (5). The Tors harbour is the
jetty where crude oil is discharged and pumped to the oil refineries of Gothenburg, whereas
Skarvik and Rya handles imports and domestic distribution as well as exports and storage of oil
and oil products. Paper and steel are the main cargoes handled in the ro-ro terminal, which
serves daily traffic to the UK and Belgium. The container terminal serves exclusively liner
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traffic moving in inter-continental trade, either directly from Gothenburg or by feeder vessel via
a continental port.
Figure 7.2: Map overview of the Port of Gothenburg with the geographical distribution of
terminals and harbours.
Other, minor terminals of the port are: (6) Frihamnen, the oldest part of the existing port, used
for trains and trucks to/from Denmark and passenger traffic to England and Norway; (7) the
Majnabbe harbour, dominated by ferry traffic to/from Kiel; (8) the Stigbergs quay, once used
for the transatlantic traffic between Gothenburg and North America; (9) the Masthuggs quay,
used for the ferry traffic to/from Denmark; (10) the Arendal area, a former ship building yard,
now a center for many transport companies and particularly for transport of automotive
components and spareparts; and (11) the harbour railway track, the most densily trafficked in all
of Sweden, and with a total track length of more than 100 km.
The Port of Gothenburg is today the largest port in Scandinavia, and one of the ten largest in the
North Sea Region. In terms of ro-ro throughput it is the fifth largest in the NSR. Below are
some capacity and throughput figures from 2005 (www.portgot.se):
788,000 containers TEU

574,000 ro/ro units
304,000 cars
19.5 million tonnes of oil
37.2 million tonnes of goods
Total port land area: 3.6 million square metres
Total number of berths: 151
Total length of berths: 12 kilometres
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The port's cargo turnover comprises almost 60% oil and almost 40% general cargo (95% of
which is unitized). The remainder - dry bulk cargo - is very small. The yearly increase in overall
throughput is 8%, which means a doubling approximately every ten years.
The port is certified according to the environmental standard ISO 14001. In general,
environmental issues constitute an important foundation for the activities of the port. The
following is a list of good examples put into practise during recent years:
Vapour recovery: Several units have been installed at the oil depot of the port, reducing air
emissions of volatile organic compounds from about 450 tonnes to about 25 tonnes per year.
Shore-side electricity: In year 2000 the port introduced the first shore-connected electricity
supply in the world designed for ro-ro vessels, recognized by the European Commissions
2004 Clean Marine Award. The shore-side electricity option has been used by three to six
ro-ro vessels in regular (weekly) traffic, reducing emissions in port of NOX, SO2, particulate
matter and noise significantly. Furthermore, part of the electricity used for shore-side
connection is "green", as being supplied from wind power stations located in the
Gothenburg archipelago.
Railway transport: In 2004 the railways carrying cargo to and from the port were
electrified. Today about 20% of all cargo units transported to and from the port are by rail.
The long-term goal is to reach a 50% share for rail transport.
Emission control on working machinery and non-road vehicles: The port has taken a policy
decision on that all new working machinery and non-road vehicles shall be equipped with
oxidation catalysts and particle traps. At present (2005) 121 out of the port's own fleet of
143 vehicles are equipped with catalysts and particle traps.
Heavy ecodriving: In 2005, 100 drivers of non-road vehicles were teached in ecodriving
(calm driving) as a means of saving diesel fuel and reducing air emissions. Improvements in
fuel economy of up to 30% have been recorded.
7.2.2 Future situation

The yearly increase in the total number of units handled in the Port of Gothenburg over the last
couple of years (cf Figure 3), predicts roughly a doubling of the overall port throughput within
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the next ten years period. This forms the basic condition for the Port of Gothenburg's
application - with the accompanying environmental impact assessment - for new legal permits
submitted to the responsible authorities in 2002 (Port of Gothenburg, 2002). In the
environmental impact assessment study the present situation, represented by year 2001, forms
the base scenario. The future scenario, to which the base scenario is compared, is the doubling
of the port throughput (compared to 2001) to occur by the year 2012.
Figure 7.3: Number of units handled in the Port of Gothenburg 1996-2005

(Port of Gothenburg, 2006).
In short, the future port expansion scenario, of which the environmental consequences are
analysed and highlighted in the environmental impact assessment study, is mainly characterised
by:
A doubling of the harbour traffic in 2012 compared to 2001, involving expansion of the
ro/ro- and container harbour areas (terminals, quais) and associated activities.
Subsequent increases in road transport and associated needed changes in road traffic
infrastructure.
Increase in rail transport and subsequent changes in railway infrastructure.
Increase of depth of fairways leading into ports.
By promoting more efficient flows of cargo and a more efficient use of existing terminal, quay
and associated areas, there will be no need to expand the container and car terminals beyond
the existing port area and adjacent industrial areas in order to host the port expansion foreseen to
2012, cf. Figure 4. Increased efficiency of cargo flow and area use can be reached by e.g.
increasing container stacking height and width, and by using quay cranes with longer working
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radius. However, the projected doubling of goods through the ro/ro-terminal until 2012 cannot
be handled within the existing facilities (quay berths and terminal areas). To fulfil this, a
doubling of the number of quay berths from the present six to twelve, and an associated increase
in terminal area are required, cf. Figure 5
.
126
Figure 7.4: Map of present terminal and quay areas for the container, car and ro/ro-terminals (within the blue line) and area required for the
expansion of the container and car terminals, excluding the ro/ro-terminal (within the green line). Red lines demarque the physical borders for the
environmental impact assessment of the port expansion scenario (Port of Gothenburg, 2002).
127
Figure 7.5: Map of the new quay and terminal areas (light-blue dashed lines) required for the expansion of the ro/ro-terminal
(City of Gothenburg, 2005; Port of Gothenburg, 1999).
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7.3 Environmental impact assessment of the port expansion scenario
The Port of Gothenburg prepared an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study in 2002, as
part of the port's application of new permits for the port operation, including the planned and
projected expansion until 2012 (Port of Gothenburg, 2002). The aim of the EIA is to identify
and describe the effects of the present and projected activities associated with the port on human
health and the environment. The most important effects to consider for a port expansion
scenario are highlighted in the scheme on national environmental objectives established for
Sweden, presented in Figure 6. See further SUTRANET working paper within WP 1,
Environmental effects of transport in the North Sea Region.
13. A Varied
1. Reduced 5. A Protective 9. Good-Quality
Agricultural
Climate Impact Ozone Layer Groundwater
Landscape
14. A
6. A Safe 10. A Balanced
Magnificent
2. Clean Air Radiation Marine
Mountain
Environment Environment
Landscape
3. Natural 15. A Good

7. Zero 11. Thriving
Acidification Built
Eutrophication Wetlands
Only Environment
16. A Rich
8. Flourishing 12. Sustainable
4. A Non-Toxic Diversity of
Lakes and Forests
Environment Plant and
Streams
Animal Life
Figure 7.6: National environmental quality objectives for Sweden

(Swedish Environmental Objectives Council, 2006).
The most important environmental objectives to consider in an environmental impact

assessment for a port expansion scenario are marked with red borders.
The environmental effects described in the EIA are from direct and indirect emissions. Direct
emissions are those related to activities which the port are directly in control of, such as
emissions to air and noise from non-road vehicles and working machinery within the port area,
whereas indirect emissions are those related to transport to and from the port, whether by road,
rail or sea, in which case the port has very limited (legal) possibilites to influence.
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The physical area contained by the EIA, involving both the direct and indirect emissions, is
marked out by the red lines in Figure 4. Outside these border, the road transport associated with
the port makes up less than 1% of the overall road traffic.
7.4 Direct emissions
7.4.1 Emissions to air

Emissions to air within the port area mainly arise from non-road vehicles and working
machinery, internal transport and fossil fuel plants for heat production. Non-road
vehicles/working machinery is the predominant source, accounting for 90% of the overall NOX,
CO and EXHAUST PM emissions, and 75% of the CO2 and VOC emissions. In the port
expansion scenario by 2012, the overall emissions of VOC, CO and EXHAUST PM will be
reduced markedly compared to in 2001, NOX emissions will be slightly reduced, SO2 emissions
remain unchanged, whereas CO2 emissions will double. This is mainly the combined result of
the increased operation time for non-road vehicles and working machinery with improved VOC,
CO, EXHAUST PM and NOX emission performance compared to the 2001 fleet, but with more
or less the same fuel economy as the 2001 fleet.
7.4.2 Emissions to water

Emissions to water within the port area arise from surface water released directly to the harbour
basin and waste water which passes the municipal water treatment works before it is released
into the recipient. To reduce the risk for discharge of oil pollutants into the recipient with the
surface water, oil filters and oil deflectors are used. Surveys conducted in 2001 demonstrate that
the content of oil, expressed as non-polar aliphatic hydrocarbons, in the surface water on
average is slightly above the detection limit, and on the same level as in surface water from
ordinary roads/streets and industrial areas. Effluents from the port's vehicle wash halls, the truck
repair shop and office and staff buildings are connected to the waste water network. Oil
deflectors are used mainly to reduce the risk for oil release into the waste water during various
incidents. The waste water from the major wash hall was surveyed with regard to various
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pollutants in 2001, and only the content of unpolar aliphatic hydrocarbons24 and Zn exceeded
the guidelines provided by the municipal water treatment works.
Compared to the situation in 2001, the amount of pollutants released to the recipient via the
surface water and to the waste water will increase somewhat in 2012 in the expansion scenario.
7.4.3 Dredging
Since the port is located at the mouth of the Gta river, carrying sediments that are continuously
being settled on the bottom of the harbour basin, regular dredging is necessary to maintain the
depth of the harbour basin. During the dredging a temporary turbidity and dispersion of
pollutants occur. These pollutants may be of a local origin or transported from remote locations
and accumulated over a long period of time. Sediments near the lvsborg and Skandia harbour
have been analysed frequently. A few exceeds of recommended concentrations with regard to
the content of Hg, Cd and PCB have been observed. However, the extent of dredging to
maintain the required depths of the harbour basin will not be affected by the expansion of the
port.
7.4.4 Noise emissions

Noise from the port area arises mainly from non-road vehicles and working machinery handling
the goods or goods carriers, i.e. containers, trailers, cars, etc., on the terminal surfaces and at the
unloading/loading ramps of the ships. The situation in 2012 after the expansion compared to the
situation in 2001 will be that majority of the non-road vehicles and working machinery will
have been replaced with newer less noisy units, leading in the direction of lower noise
emissions. At the same time the overall number units and the overall number of operation hours
of these units will increase, leading in the direction of higher noise emissions. Noise stemming
from containers, trailers, etc., will tend to increase in 2012 compared to 2001, due to the
increased activity in the port expansion scenario.
A holistic survey of the present and future noise situation in the Skandia and lvsborg harbour
has been undertaken to study the impact of the port expansion scenario. In this study, noise
associated with the direct operation of the port has not been separated from the noise associated
24
he main content of oils (residual, diesel, lubricating oils, etc.) is unpolar aliphatic hydrocarbons, consisting solely
of carbon (C) and hydrogen atoms (H) in single bounds (C-H-chains, general chemical formula (CXH2X+2).
131
with ship, road and rail traffic, and the general background of noise in the area, see further sub-
section 4.2.4.
7.5 Indirect emissions
7.5.1 Emissions to air

Ship traffic accounts for more than 90% of the overall indirect air emissions - not including CO2
which was not calculated for ships in the EIA - associated with the port within the physical
borders of the EIA (see Figure 4). Road transport accounts for less than 10%, and emissions
from railway traffic is negligible, especially since the main railway track carrying goods to and
from the port has been electrified.
The calculated ship emissions in 2001 and 2012 operating at berth and on the fairway,
respectively, in the lvsborg, Arendal and Skandia harbour, are presented in Figure 7. The
calculations for 2012 assume an increase of transported goods of 100%. Despite this, - since
both the size (width) of the ships and the load factor are expected to increase - the number of
ships calling on Port of Gothenburg is expected to increase by only 10% between 2001 and
2012. Furthermore, the calculations assume a sulphur content of 1% in 2012 compared to 2.5-
3% in 2001, and that dedicated measures on the ships have reduced emissions of NOX and
exhaust PM by 20% on average per ship. As can be seen by Figure 7, there are only marginal
changes in emissions from 2001 to 2012, apart from SO2 emissions, which are significantly
reduced.
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Figure 7.7: Emissions from ships - associated with transport of goods to and from the Port of
Gothenburg - in 2001 and 2012 operating at berth (left) and on the fairway (right) respectively,
within the physical borders of the EIA, cf. Figure 4.
The number of trucks carrying goods to and from the port terminals amounted to 1400 per day
in 2001, increasing to 2150 per day in 2012 as a result of the port expansion. The fraction of the
traffic associated with the port within the physical borders of the EIA is significant, resulting in
emission fractions of up to 30% of the overall traffic emissions depending on parameter. At the
border junctions the port traffic fraction is in the order of 10%, whereas outside of the EIA
borders it is only about 1%. Compared to in 2001, the port expansion scenario results in a large
reduction of emissions of NOX, VOC and exhaust PM in 2012, due to the penetration of new
trucks meeting more stringent emissions standards, whereas CO2 emissions increase somewhat
(inside the EIA study area).
7.5.2 Emissions to water

Indirect emissions to water mainly stem from ships - by leakage of toxic compounds from
systems, release of ballast water during ship loadings, and spill during bunker operations. Along
with the increase in ship traffic in the port expansion scenario, it is likely that both toxic leakage
from antifouling agents as well as release of unwanted organisms with ballast water will
increase in the recipients near the city of Gothenburg and the Gothenburg archipelago.
However, both the use of toxic antifouling agents and the control and handling of ballast water
are on the agenda of international conventions, for instance within IMO all use of antifouling
agents containing tin organic compounds were forbidden from 2003, and must be removed or be
completely covered with some other non-penetrable surface coating before the end of 2008.
Therefore, the problem with release of tin organic compunds from shipping may have ceased by
2012. Furthermore, IMO aim to introduce new guidelines for the handling of ballast water in the
near future.
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Regarding reducing the risk of spill during bunker operation in the Gothenburg harbour, the Port
of Gothenburg, the coast guard, the provincial government of the county of Vstra Gtaland and
the bunker companies have collaborated to increase security and improve environmental
protection during bunkering in a project entitled "Green bunkering".
7.5.3 Noise emissions

Indirect noise emissions arise mainly from ships in fairway operation and at berth. The road and
rail transport associated with the port activities accounts for a small and negligible fraction,
respectively, of the overall noise emissions inside the port and in the port surroundings. Noise
emissions from ships arise during manoeuvring in the port, and from the auxiliary engines and
ventilating systems when at berth. The ship engines contribute mainly to the low frequency
noise, which can be transported over long distances and is difficult to quench, whereas load and
unload activities contribute mainly to higher equivalent and maximum noise levels expressed as
dBA (see further sub-section 4.3.3).
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7.6 Environmental impact and consequences
7.6.1 Air quality

A dispersion model has been used to calculate the ambient air concentrations of NO2 inside the
port area, in residential areas in the port vicinity, and in the Gothenburg urban air basin in
general, for the base year 2001 and for the port expansion scenario in 2012 (City of Gothenburg,
2002). The results from the dispersion calculations have then been compared with the national
air quality standards for NO2, reflecting the common air quality guidelines for NO2 within the
European Union as laid down in the EU Air Quality Directive and the associated Daughter
Directive for NO2, in order to identify and analyse eventual exceeds of the standard.
The results from the dispersion calculations and the subsequent analysis, show that the air
quality standard for daily and hourly averages of NO2 tend to be exceeded in one of the model
receptor points close to a major arterial roadway through a residential area on the northern side
of the Gta River (Biskopsgrden, see Figure 8). In this point, the traffic carrying goods to and
from the Arendal, lvsborg and Skandia harbour account for a little more than 5% of the yearly
average of the ambient NO2 concentration in 2001, and a little more than 2% in 2012. In fact,
the NO2 air quality standards would still be exceeded, even if the harbour traffic was excluded
in the calculations.
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Figure 7.8: Calculated daily averages of ambient NO2 concentrations (as 98-percentiles) in the port
and the port surroundings in 2012 (port expansion scenario). Red areas indicate exceeds of the air
quality standard (Swedish "Miljkvalitetsnorm") for the daily average of NO2 (60 g/m3 as 98-
percentile).
7.6.2 Impact on water quality, soils and sediments

In the case of impact on water quality and soils, the environmental impact assessment of the
port expansion scenario by 2012 can be summarised as follows:
Surface water: The concentrations of oil pollutants in surface water from the port are low
and considered typical for waste water from ordinary traffic or industrial surfaces. The
contribution of mineral oil to the recipient from the port and port activities is considered to
be very small and the environmental consequences of the surface water release to be
marginal.
Waste water: Pollutants released to the waste water are mainly mineral oils. Since oil
deflectors are used within the port wherever there is a risk for oil contaminated effluents to
reach the waste water network, only small amounts of mineral oils are released into it.
These releases may affect the waste water cleaning process in the municipal waste water
136
treatment works, however, the small amounts released from the port and port activities are
considered to have a marginal impact on this process.
The river and ocean basins: From ships at berth some leakage of toxics contained in
antifouling agents and release of ballast water may have a negative impact on organisms
living in the water. The port activities do not directly affect any physical area of interest for
fisheries or leisure fishing. However, a certain impact may not be excluded through the
port's contribution to the general pollution levels in the river and ocean basins in the area.
Dredging: The environmental consequences of dredging to maintain fairway depths are
considered overall to be small.
Soils: From an environmental point of view, soils within the area where port activities are
less sensitive, and since any new soil pollutants are not expected to occur any consequences
on soil are not likely.
Swell and erosion: Since ships speeds are normally low, swell and erosion of land areas
surrounding the fairway are not considered as major issues for the port expansion scenario.
However, erosion has been observed in some shallow bays in the Gothenburg archipelago
that may be attributed to displacing ships.
7.6.3 Noise
Calculations of noise levels reveal that residential areas most exposed to noise from the port are
located on the southern bank of the Gta River, opposite to and with a free view over the port
terminals. Noise emissions occur preferably during the day and in the evening, which is the time
period when loading and unloading of the ships normally occur. Loading and unloading
activities, such as handling of containers with cranes and driving of working machines, have
also been shown to contribute somewhat more to the noise than the ships. The calculated noise
levels were compared with the guidelines according to the Swedish Environmental Protection
Agency for external noise from existing industries. Exceeds of the guidelines occurred for
equivalent noise levels25 (= the average noise for a given time period) during two hours (22-00)
by 3 dBA in the most exposed receptor point, and for max noise levels26 (= the maximum noise
level occurring during a given time period) by about 5 dBA in most receptor points. The
25
The guidelines for equivalent noise levels are 50 dBA during daytime on weekdays, 45 dBA during daytime on
weekends and in the evenings, and 40 dBA during nighttime.
26
The guideline for max noise levels is 55 dBA.
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calculations show that the noise will be at approximately the same levels in 2012 as in 2001,
since in terms of noise emissions the expansion of port activities is counter balanced by the
penetration of working machines in the port's fleet meeting more stringent noise emissions
standards (cf. Figure 7.9).
Figure 7.9: Noise map for the port and lands surrounding the mouth of the Gta River for the port
expansion scenario by 2012.
7.6.4 Impact on cultural heritage and natural habitats by land intrusion

Exploitation of the small island Lilla Aspholmen, part of the national historical interest the
17th century military fortress lvsborgs Nya Fstning, for the expansion of the ro-ro-
terminal between the lvsborg and the Arendal harbour.
Intrusion of the NATURA 2000-reservation area Torsviken by new road and rail
infrastructure through the area, connecting to a new harbour with terminals for ro-ro-
transport at the small island Stora Risholmen.
138
7.7 Extended scenario analysis and impact assessment for port
development
7.7.1 Comparisons between transport modes

Conventional EIAs are limited by the fact that only local environmental consequences are
considered, and that environmental effects on the regional and global scale are left aside This is
particularly a problem when transport and logistics systems are studied, since in particular
freight transport to a large extent takes place across national borders and continents. Thus, to get
the full picture of the consequences of the development or other changes in transport
infrastructure systems in terms of the overall impact on the environment - whether beneficial or
not for the environment - the value of conventional EIA's increase if they are complemented
with scenario analysis involving impact assessments where also the environmental effects on
the regional and global scale are taken into account. Furthermore, to be able to compare the
overall environmental impact for various transport scenarios, ultimately one needs to make
these comparisons on a monetary basis. An attempt to do so was made within a recent EU study,
where transport impacts such as noise, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and further also
nuisance such as congestion and traffic accidents were analysed up- and downstream in
monetary terms (European Commission, 2003). The results are summarised in Figure 10, and
demonstrate for instance that, despite a major environmental impact from air pollutant
emissions, sea transport may be more beneficial than road transport.
139
Figure 7.10: External costs - expressed as Euro per 100 TEU-km - caused by various modes of
freight transport (European Commission, 2003).
In the scenario analysis by Fridell et al. (2006), further comparisons - in terms of environmental
impact - between waterborne transport and road transport were made for specific cases in
northern Europe. Figure 10 highlights the clear advantage for waterborne transport compared to
road transport as regards climate impact (emissions of CO2). In this case the emissions from a
typical large ship of 6000 TEU capacity, a smaller ship (feeder) of 250 TEU capacity and a road
truck (3 TEU, fulfilling Euro IV emission standards) are compared for the same goods volume
being transported from Hamburg to St Petersburg. The disadvantage of waterborne transport is
also very clear from this figure, with several orders of magnitude higher emissions of SO2
compared to road transport, and significantly higher emissions also of NOX and PM. The
reasons for this unbalance is also clear: during the last ten years significant pressure has been
put on car manufacturers and road vehicle fuel producers from e.g. national governments and
the EU to meet increasingly stricter exhaust emission and fuel quality standards, whereas
comparably very little progress has been made in this field within the maritime sector. This also
tells us that sea transport has a high potential to be much more competitive in environmental
terms vs. other transport modes, the challenge being to reduce air pollutant emissions
substantially while retaining the high energy efficiency in freight transport.
140
1400
1200
1000
Large ship
800 Smaller ship
600 Road truck

Road truck incl resuspension
400
200
0
ton/yr x 0.1 ton/yr x 0.1 ton/yr kton/yr
NOx SO2 PM CO2
Figure 7.11: Comparison of the emissions from two sizes of ships (6000 TEU and 250 TEU,
respectively) and from road trucks (capacity 3 TEU, fulfilling Euro IV emission standards) for
goods transport from Hamburg to St Petersburg (Fridell et al., 2006). Resuspension is non-exhaust
particulate matter, i.e. from resuspension of road dust from the road surface.
To take this analysis one step further, the emissions presented in Figure 11 were translated to
monetary terms using the same methodology as in the EU Clean Air for Europe (CAFE)
Program (CAFE, 2006)27. The external costs per mass unit of pollutant emitted are given in
Table 1.
27
CAFE is a programme of technical analysis and policy development that underpinned the development of the
Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution under the Sixth Environmental Action Programme.
141
Table 7.1: External costs per mass unit of pollutant emitted in various geographical areas of
Europe (CAF, 2006).
SO2 NOX PM2.5 VOC CO2

(Euro/ton) (Euro/ton) (particles of (Volatile (Euro/ton)
size less Organic
than 2.5 Compounds
m) ) (Euro/ton)
(Euro/ton)
Emissions in Sweden 2 800 2 200 12 000 330 15
Emissions in Germany 11 000 9 600 48 000 1700 15
Emissions in Russia 1 800 810 4 200 140 15
Emissions on the 6 900 5 100 28 000 1900 15

North Sea
Emissions on the 3700 2 600 12 000 530 15

Baltic Sea
Figure 12 gives the environmental costs for the emissions to air from the same transport options
as presented in Figure 11. Note that environmental costs (including health) are the only external
costs represented in Figure 12. To achieve a fairer picture of the comparison, other external
costs such as accidents and congestions also need to be considered (c.f. Figure 10). However, it
is clear from Figure 12 that air pollutant emissions from waterborne transport needs to be
reduced substantially in order for sea transport to be competitive to road transport in terms of
environmental impact. This is particularly true for transport by smaller ships.
142
120 000 000
100 000 000

Environmental cost (Euro)
80 000 000
60 000 000
40 000 000
20 000 000
0
Large ship Smaller ship Road truck Road truck incl
resuspension
Figure 7.12: The same comparison as in Figure 11, with air emissions translated into monetary
terms (Fridell et al., 2006).
7.7.2 Comparisons between transport routes

The planned expansion of the Port of Gothenburg - the doubling of the goods flow through the
port in 2012 compared to in 2001 - will enable the port to act as a major and competitive hub for
sea transport in northern Europe. The port will have better prerequisites to attract and host large
transoceanic ships, for which the final destination or origin of goods may be ports including
hinterlands around the Baltic Sea. The environmental impacts of such scenarios have been
elaborated in the study by Fridell et al. (2006). Three alternative routes for a transatlantic ship
calling on a north European port, carrying goods with final destination St Petersburg, were
defined: A) reload to smaller ships in Port of Gothenburg, B) reload to smaller ships in Port of
Hamburg, and C) reload to road truck in Port of Hamburg (cf. Figure 7.13). It is assumed that
the port expansion enables the number of large container ships calling on the port of
Gothenburg to increase from todays one per week to four per week. The resulting extra
emissions - split into local (in Gothenburg and Hamburg) and global (outside of the two cities)
emissions - for routes A and B are presented in Figure 14. Route A yields somewhat lower
overall emissions than route B. Expressed in monetary terms, route A results in some 30 M
Euro less costs yearly than route B (Figure 15).
143
A
B
C
Figure 7.13: Three alternative routes for a transatlantic ship calling on a north European port,
carrying goods with final destination St Petersburg, were involved: A) reload to smaller ships in
Port of Gothenburg, B) reload to smaller ships in Port of Hamburg, and C) reload to road truck in
Port of Hamburg (Fridell et al., 2006).
1600
1400
1200
1000 Gteborg global

Gteborg local
800
Hamburg global
600
Hamburg local
400
200
0
NOx SO2 PM CO2
Figure 7.14: Increase in emissions - split into local emissions (in Gothenburg and Hamburg) and
global emissions (outside of the two cities) - in a port expansion scenario for routes A and B,
respectively, as defined in Figure 12 (Fridell et al., 2006).
144
160 000 000
140 000 000
120 000 000

Environmental cost (Euro)
100 000 000
Total costs
80 000 000
Local costs
60 000 000
40 000 000
20 000 000
0
Reload Gteborg Reload Hamburg
Scenario
Figure 7.15: Comparison of environmental costs between route A and B (Fridell et al., 2006).
145
7.8 Measures to reduce spatial and environmental barriers for port
development
In the following chapter a number of measures are listed that may make port development less
sensitive with regard to spatial and environmental barriers. In view of the growing concern for
climate change, being mainly a consequence of increasing CO2 emissions from burning of fossil
fuel, port development - as a promoter of modal shift from road to more energy efficient
waterborne freight transport - may become a global key issue within the next decades to come.
However, there are both other environmental as well as spatial barriers to overcome before this
can be the case.
7.9 Emissions to air
7.9.1 Non-road vehicles and working machinery

Equipping new and possibly also existing vehicles/machinery with oxidation catalysts and
particulate traps, which may reduce emissions of CO, HC and PM by up to 90%.
Enhanced penetration of new vehicles/machinery and of vehicles/machinery meeting more
stringent emission standards, particularly for NOX, then required by existing regulation.
Initiate and establish programmes for calm driving (EcoDriving).
Improve port logistics, reducing fuel consumption and pollutant emissions per goods unit
handled.
7.9.2 Ships
Direct emissions (ports have large influence):
Introduce and increase the supply and use of shore side electricity.
Indirect emissions (ports have minor or no influence):

Use of fuels with lower sulphur content (by regulations or voluntarily).
Use of sulphur scrubbers (by regulations or voluntarily).
Use of NOX reduction systems (by regulations or voluntarily).
Use of particulate traps (by regulations or voluntarily).
146
Measures to deal with the indirect emissions deserve further attention. Dealing with the indirect
emissions is crucial for waterborne transport to be competitive - from an environmental point of
view - with other modes of transport. Fridell et al. (2006) studied the potential and cost-benefit
of the listed measures in more detail. Substantial emission reductions may be achieved, cf.
Figure 7.16. Furthermore, all above measures are very cost effective - the environmental benefit
of any of the measures expressed in monetary terms exceeds largely the abatement costs, cf.
Figure 7.17. Introducing all listed measures combined will result in lower air pollutant
emissions - except for sulphur - from waterborne transport compared to road transport, cf.
Figure 7.18.
1400
1200
1000 NOx (ton/yr x 0.1)
800 SO2 (ton/yr x 0.1)
600 PM (ton/yr)
400 CO2 (kton/yr)
200
0
R
ps
s
es
ity
s
re
SC
tra
be
c
r
su
su
tri
ub
ea
ec
ea
cl
r
el
m
m
Sc
rti
e
Pa
o
l
Al
id
N
es
or
Sh
Figure 7.16: Emission reductions achieved for various measures/abatement techniques for ships.
Calculations made for route A according to chapter 5.2 (Fridell et al., 2006).
147
80 000 000
Environmental benefit
70 000 000
Environmental benefit/cost of measures (Euro)
Cost of measures
60 000 000
50 000 000
40 000 000
30 000 000
20 000 000
10 000 000
0
SCR Shoreside Scrubbers Particle traps All measures
electricity
Abatem ent technique
Figure 7.17: Cost-benefit analysis of the measures quantified in Figure 16 (Fridell et al., 2006).
Atlantic Ocean - St Petersburg
1200
1000
800
Ship, all measures
600 Truck Euro IV
Truck Euro V
400
200
0
NOx SO2 PM CO2
Figure 7.18: Comparison of emissions from ships with all measures listed in chapter 6.1.2
implemented with emissions from road trucks for a transport from Gothenburg to St Petersburg
(Fridell et al., 2006).
148
7.9.3 Electricity and heat consumption
Use of electricity produced by wind power plants.
Use of natural gas for heating purposes.
7.10 Emissions to water and soil

Education of involved staff on the surface water handling system, where the major risks are
and where, when and how cleaning agents should be used, and how the surface water is
secured when accidental spills occur.
Equipping bunker vessels with appropriate tools to prevent and take care of bunker oil
spills.
Equipping surface and waste water wells with oil absorbing filters.
Storage of diesel oil and oil contaminated waste within the port area in weather protected
tanks and trays for collecting spill.
Use of high quality materials in hydraulic tubings to prevent breakages and accidental
hydraulic oil spills.
Make available cleaning-up equipment with associated instructions to handle spill and
leakage.
Promotion of the use of environmental friendly antifouling agents.
7.11 Noise
7.11.1 Handling of containers
It is hard to find practical solutions to reduce noise associated with the handling of containers,
mainly because the design and construction of the containers are set by international standards.
Thus, improvements in this field require redesign of the international container standards.
7.11.2 Non-road vehicles and working machinery

Enhanced penetration of new vehicles/machinery and of vehicles/machinery meeting more
stringent emission standards for noise then required by existing regulation.
149
Initiate and establish programmes for calm driving (EcoDriving).
Improved port logistics, reducing noise emissions per number of units handled.
7.11.3 Ship engines

Introduce and promote use of shore side electricity.
7.11.4 Loading and reloading of ships
There are similar barriers to find practical solutions to reduce noise from loading and reloading
of ships as for reducing noise associated with the handling of containers.
7.12 Waste
Establish waste receive stations within the port area equipped with roofs and spill
protection.
Introduce economical incentives for ship operators to reduce the water content in ship
sludge.
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7.13 Conclusions and recommendations
Sea ports play an important role for trade and societal development in the North Sea Region -
this was true in the earlier days, and is even more so today with the increasing globalisation.
Thus, ports develop in order to meet an increasing demand of goods transport. However,
although this might have been the case in the past, port development today is no longer only
synonymous with a raw expansion, mainly since the general concern in the society of health and
environmental issues keeps growing. As promoters of sea transport and of modal shifts from
road to sea, ports are important in this respect, since transport at sea is roughly three times more
energy efficient than road transport, which means that the impact on global warming is equally
smaller from sea transport compared to road transport per unit goods transported. On the other
hand, ports and sea transport cause other emissions than CO2 that are hazardous for both human
health and the environment, in which case sea is less favourable than road transport (per unit
goods transported). Thus, for port development and the increasing transport of goods by sea to
move in a more sustainable direction, substantial measures need to be taken within the next
decade to reduce emissions of primarily SO2 and NOX from shipping. Also important is that,
since many ports co-exist with major urban settlements, noise emissions from port activities are
reduced. To reduce both congestion and population exposure for health hazardous air pollutants
in these settlements, a modal shift for transport of goods to and from the port from road to rail
needs to be promoted. Simultaneously, an increasing share of rail transport to and from the port
should be operating on electricity rather than on diesel. Furthermore, in order to avoid conflicts
from land use and deterioration of cultural heritage and natural habitats, the needs of ports'
physical expansion must to a much larger extent than before be met by more efficient use of
existing port areas.
Recommendations:
Reducing emissions of both SO2 and NOX from shipping is very cost-effective compared to
many other measures to reduce these emissions. Policies need to be developed that take
advantage of this fact, so that maritime emissions within the next decade are more in line
with corresponding emissions from road transport per unit goods transported. Here, both the
European Commission, national governments as well as local governments, including ports
and port authorities, can play a significant role. An interesting initiative is that by the
Swedish Maritime Administration on environmental fairway dues (www.sjofartsverket.se).
151
Research and standardisation work that aims at finding technical solutions on how noise
emissions from port activities, e.g. loading and reloading of ships, can be reduced
substantially, need to be strengthened. The European Commission is a key player.
The railway network and associated railway transports connecting to ports should be
improved by e.g. new infrastructure, improved transport efficiency and transfer of goods
between transport modes, electrification of tracks, etc. Local governments together with
railway and port operators can present good examples.
Careful and advanced planning and protection of natural habitats and cultural heritage when
ports expand spatially. Local governments, ports and NGO's in co-operation.
8 Promotion strategies for intermodal transport solutions
8.1 Methodology
The distribution and networking of know-how concerning solutions (best practices) within
intermodal transport is one of the most important challenges of a sustainable transport-policy
and modern logistics. On this, the EU-Commission has already created an important milestone
by initiating the Freight Integrator concept, later on renamed into Intermodal Development
Centre - IDC. According to the EU-Commission the transport and logistics centres can help to
practically implement the IDC-concept with their independent management units.
The IDCs mission is to stimulate, develop and promote intermodal transport services
combining all relevant modes of transport. Since these centres are focused on the promotion and
development of intermodal transport the marketing of IDC services is difficult to separate from
the activities taken to promote the intermodal transport itself and are thus an ideal starting point
to examine and analyse possible promotion strategies for intermodal transport solutions.
This sub-work-package aims at the identification of the content and chances of the IDC-concept
considering transport and logistics centres as an example. Thus, the training and distribution
of know-how concerning intermodal solutions are in the main focus.
152
First the concept of the IDC with its chronological development shall be described in detail to
promote the conceptual base for the further discussion and development of recommendations
regarding the promotion of intermodal transport strategies. In a second step the structure of
logistics centres in general and as an example of the Freight Village Bremen shall be described.
Here are interfaces between the theoretical concept IDC and already existing networks of the
Logistics Centres, especially in Germany. These interfaces shall be explored and monitored.
The recommendations to the promotion strategies are then to be determined as well as
measured, regarding the possibility to implement these recommendations on their specific terms
(short-, medium or long-term) and their capability to reach the given target.
8.2 Development and Redefinition of the Freight Integrator Concept: The

EU Concept of the Intermodal Development Centre
8.2.1 EU White Paper 2010 Time to decide

The term of Freight Integrator was first introduced in the EU White Paper "European transport
policy for 2010: time to decide". Given the fact that the European transport of the 21st century
will have to cope with circumstances such as increasing loads on the transport mode road, a
higher quantity of goods shipped as well as ecological sensibility and finiteness of fossil fuels,
the concept is supposed to strengthen the position of intermodal transport and help indirectly to
realise the long-term aims of European transport policy. Regarding this, the White Paper says:
For goods transports, making the right use of the most efficient mode in the transport chain,
based on different criteria at any given time, is the job of transport flow `organisers, and a new
profession is emerging: that of freight integrator. Modelled on what has been done at world
level for package distribution, a new profession specialising in the integrated transport of full
loads (exceeding around 5 tonnes) should emerge. These `freight integrators need to be able to
combine the specific strengths of each mode at European and world level to offer their clients
and, consequently, society at large the best service in terms of efficiency, price and
environmental impact in the broadest sense (economic, ecological, energy, etc.).
As the European Parliament has already stated, such a profession must be developed within a
`single, transparent scheme which is easy to enforce, clearly defining, in particular, where
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responsibility lies all along the logistics chain and laying down the corresponding transport
documents. The Commission will make a proposal along these lines in 2003.28
The term intending a new physical profession, produced the criticism of many freight
forwarders. From the freight forwarders point of view, the approach of the Commission was
nothing but a transcription of their own profession.29 This discrepancy in the definition was to
be clarified by a study in the year 2003.
8.2.2 Study on Freight Integrators

The aim of the study Study on Freight Integrators was to work out the attributes of the Freight
Integrator and to define measurement categories, according to which the development status of
individual companies could be described within this concept.30 Based on the data about the
companies, requirements, and experiences could be extracted as a basis for a conceptual work in
form of a letter of recommendation for the European Commission. At this point of the
discussion, economical, legal, and political basic conditions were taken into consideration. In
the end, the study was supposed to give an answer on the question on how far the integrated and
in an ideal case intermodal approach and its estimated after effects could have an influence
on the European transport market.
The Study on Freight Integrators supplied a new, more clearly outlined definition of the Freight
Integrator, building on the results of the internal study research. The definition is:
Freight Integrators are transport service providers who arrange full load, door-to-
door transportation by selecting and combining without prejudice the most
sustainable and efficient mode(s) of transportation.31
Due to this new definition, the consortium regards the concept as adequately concretised and
contrasted to the general job description of a freight forwarder. The following elements of this
definition are to be considered significant:
28
Compare. EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2001), page 47.
29
Compare also KLOTZ, H. (2003).
30
The ZLU, Internationale Schelde Faculteit (ISF) and Kravag-Logistics had teamed up for the study,
supported by the European Intermodal Association (EIA) and European Logistics Association (ELA).
31
Compare ZLU ET AL (2003), page, 4.
154
Freight Integrator Full load
Door-to-door
Freight Integrators are Without prejudice

transport service providers who
arrange full load, door-to-door Combination of transport modes
transportation by selecting and
combining without prejudice
the most sustainable and Efficiency
efficient mode(s) of
transportation Sustainability
Transport Service Provider
Complete arrangement
Source: Own figure in accordance to ZLU ET AL (2003)
Figure 8.1: Core elements of the Freight Integrator Concept
According to this definition, the Freight Integrator is the exclusive contact person for the client
and bears the entire responsibility (concept of One-Stop-Shopping), arranging all necessary
tasks related to the transport of a commodity from A to B. This includes, beside the
arrangement of the physical transport choosing the right mode of transport and combining the
relevant carriers adequately, the responsibility for the necessary transport documents and the
complete supervision of the transport, particularly regarding to cases of liability. These tasks are
not incumbent on the Freight Integrator personally; he rather can or should delegate them.
However, all information has to be available from him (one face to the customer).
Furthermore, the definition locates the fields of activity of a Freight Integrator to trading
applications (B2B area) only due to the limitation on full load and door-to-door transports,
operated in containers or on swap trailers. This also excludes CEP service providers from the
selected field.
Since the first time the concept was mentioned by the European Commission, a main statement
has been the neutral selection and combination of the transport modes. In practice, this
neutrality is difficult to protect by service providers who are connected with forwarding
companies, because they have, partly historically justified, their own preferences. Furthermore,
155
the combination of the modes of transport has to be the most efficient and sustainable
arrangement. Regarding this, the most convenient middle course between ecological interests
and the economic purpose has to be found, whereas efficiency consists of the transports quality
as well as the price and the service.
According to the study, it is a practically relevant aspect of the concept that the Freight
Integrator, in contrast to a transport broker, takes responsibility for the tasks related to the
transport.32 Beside all transport assignments (also including the provision of the necessary
documents), the Freight Integrator has to take over the logistic planning (the design of the
transitions between the individual carriers both geographic and in terms of deadline) and finally
the observation of the whole processes to be able to intervene directly when problems arise and
to inform the client if necessary. In order to achieve this, the experts of the consortium
emphasize, that the collection of information and its transmission is indispensable. Therefore,
the use of modern technologies of information is leading to the destination.
For the customers, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, one result of the concept
of One-Stop-Shopping is to take advantage of the environmentally friendly performances,
which could not be realised within the current circumstances the market offers. With the
principle One Stop, it will be easier to organise and calculate economically both for suppliers
and customers. For the individual carrier or logistic service provider it facilitates to attend on
the intermodal transport. In reverse, the Freight Integrator concept could help to supply the
intermodal transport industry with new demanding parties which, without the freight integrator,
would not have an economically rational chance of participating in intermodal transport.
Furthermore, information of high significance and quality is a crucial requirement as the Freight
Integrator is integrated in all tasks. The Freight Integrator is able to refer this high-quality
knowledge to the clients not just in line with the individual transport assignment, but also in
32
In this report the terms transport service provider and transport broker shall be defined as follows:
Transport Service Provider: As described above, the transport service provider is the responsible
person for the planning and conduction of the transport in its entirety, like the provision of the
applicable documents and the control of the transport. He has to provide information to the customer
and is liable at first.
Transport broker: The transport broker arranges the mandates or cargo volumes. He may as well be
responsible for the planning of the transport but is not involved in the conduction of the transport and
is also not liable unless he neglect his duty by operating as a broker (e.g. culpa in eligendo).
156
general as a quality declaration about the specification of the individual carrier. So he can
communicate the strengths of the intermodal carrier which may not yet be aware to the market.
At the moment, the trends in logistics provide absolutely positive prevailing conditions for the
implementation and acceptance of the concept through all actors involved in the transport
process.
Chances for the

Freight Integrator concept
Increasing Major
ecological awareness transport distances
Collapse in
Absence of
road traffic
Customers preferences
Containerized cargo
Figure 8.2: Positive general framework for the basic FI concept
KLAUS regards tendencies like the increasing ecological awareness or the rising aversion
against the carrier road as so called mega trends in logistics.33 However, interviews with
companies made in several surveys showed that the clients do not have a favoured mode of
transport in principle. The choice depends on objective criteria like accuracy, punctuality, price
and safety of the goods. This is a chance, as well as a levelling board for the attendances of a
Freight Integrator in future.
Another mega trend in logistics is the globalisation furthering the implementation of the FI-
concept. Widely ramified networks and global product cycles are leading to transports over
33
Vgl. KLAUS, P. (2003)
157
larger distances. To overcome this distance, especially standard containers, but also swap
trailers within the European transport, are adopted. As the intermodal transport can unfold its
advantages at larger distances also in ecological regard this trend and its diverse consequences
advance the concept in a sustainable way.
The Freight Integrator concept is yet subject to restraints, which are shown in the figure 8.3:
Rail traffic
Sea traffic
Infrastructure
Availability of containers Staff training
Mentality / Attitude
Liability and
Availability of goods documentation
Problems of the
Freight Integrator concept
Figure 8.3: Problems of the basic FI concept
The acquisition of the analysis in line with the Study on Freight Integrators outlines the
restraints of the concept. Problems are to be found in the availability of standard containers as
well as in structural immanent weaknesses of rail (hardly flexible schedules, partly long
transport times, absence of international cooperation) and waterway (higher dependence on
weather and seasonal terms / flood etc.) as a mode of transport. These negative impulses are not
yet specified by the concept, but a known and focused problem of the intermodal transport in
general.
Beside the specific problems with the infrastructure and the individual modes of transport, the
study also showed a difficulty for the intermodal transport in Europe through the absence of a
standard legal framework. There are different national and international legal systems with
different extents of liability and claim settlements for different areas of the intermodal
transports. Partly indirect by executive order law, these different legal systems lead to very
158
different prerequisites for taking legal action regarding the documentation of goods and
transport. The study mentioned a potential of 10 % for the reduction of costs, which could be
avoided with a standard limit of liability for all transport modes.34
Another border for the implementation of the concept is yet shown through the deficit in
education for the transport sector in Germany, and through mental aversion, and missing
incentives for the individual carrier. Within the EU, Germany can be designated as the most
advanced country regarding the professional training of forwarding agents. The outcome of this
is that Germany is also advanced in the field of action of the Freight Integrator. With the
German dual system, the trainees get also theory tuition, so that there would be a possibility to
bring the concept closer to the employees even before their entrance into the company career
with this system of training. However, in Germany most companies train up their staff
according to their own main focus (which means a road haulier does not have the opportunity to
train his employees on transports with train or barges). Other European countries do have more
problems with their job training. There, the employees only have the possibility to learn a job
through practical experiences due to the absence of other training structures. As a summary, the
study shows that there is a deficiency of comprehensive and integrated elements in the
education and consequently in the personal skills of the employees who are planning und
arranging the transport.
The absence of incentives is the crucial factor for the individual carrier, mainly in times of
limited economic growth potential. The people who were interviewed in the study expressed
that the government (national or EU) has to create the right atmosphere and the legal basic
conditions for the shipper to be able to arrange the combination of the different modes of
transport as demanded by the transport policy. The individual forwarder will hardly be
convinced to be part of the intermodal transport, as long as his fleet is not working to full
capacity. This example shows that a forwarder is not able to be a Freight Integrator: Due to his
own economic interests, he would not be able to arrange the transports without prejudice in an
efficient and sustainable way (seen from the economical as well as ecological point of view).
Therefore the study points out that the concept of a Freight Integrator has not yet been achieved
by any existing company in Europe, whereas about 150 companies have come very close to the
demands. But there is definitely no room for a whole new job. According to experts, the concept
34
In this context the new settled UNCTAD/ ICC Model Rules shall be mentioned but the authors of this
study do not consider these rules to be sufficient regarding the intermodal transport.
159
can only stand the practical test by implementing consequently its basic criteria (compare with
fig. 2-1); whereas the prevailing conditions mentioned above have to be guaranteed. At the
present stage, the study regards it very difficult that logistic service providers are able to offer
this service to their clients. Here the study identifies a lack of decisive knowledge, gained from
experiences.
As a measure supporting the implementation of the Freight Integrator concept, the experts of the
survey suggest the establishment of Promotion Centres apart from the already mentioned
incentives on the transport policy level for the elimination of the deficits concerning
information, qualification, and image. The set up of an internet platform regarding the topic of
intermodal transports or the establishment of honorariums for the best practice are possible
actions. Besides, there is a need for mid-term action in the problem areas that are mentioned
above (unification of training standards, questions of liability, harmonised standards of
documentation etc.). The recommended measures, which are settled in the study, are shown in
the following figure:
Possible measures
Different framework Establishment of Promotion Offices

condition cluster
short-term
Creation of a web page about
Mentality / Attitude intermodal transport
Reward of the best performance

Deficits concerning
information und qualification Benchmarking analyses and
constitutive certification

Liability and documentation Harmonisation of training standards
medium-
term
Absence of incentives Standardisation of liability and

documentation
Infrastructure, Improvement of general infrastructure

Modes of transport and
long-term
technical problems
Harmonisation of tariff systems
Development of an intermodal transport unit
Figure 8.4: Actions by the implementation of the FI concept
The study forecasts the success of this call for action on the basis of two steps. As a first step,
the existing potential of the unimodal transport is determined for the intermodal transport by the
specific communication of the opportunities (this assessment is based on the consideration that
even today more shippers would perform intermodal operations, if they were better informed).
160
As a second step, the recommended measures (as described above) show success and lead to a
new decision of the shipper in favour of the intermodal transport. This is shown in the following
figure 8.5.
current
state 1st step 2nd step
intermodal
intermodal
intermodal
hidden
transport volume
potential
unimodal unimodal
unimodal
Improved Implementation of
information recommended measures
Figure 8.5: The basic FI concept of the potential of intermodal transport
8.2.3 Consultation Procedure and Freight Integrator Action Plan of the EC

The Study on Freight Integrator was the first important contribution for the definition and
presentation of the term Freight Integrator. In the same year, the European Commission
published a Consultation Paper with the title Freight Integrator Action Plan `Supporting the
organisers of intermodal freight transport35. Starting from the results of the study, the EU
defined four fields of action for the realisation of a Freight Integrator:
Improve knowledge, awareness and understanding of intermodal transport;
Simplify intermodal transport through further standardisation;
Foster the commitment and co-operation of transport service providers;
Clarify the responsibility and accountability in intermodal transport.36
35
Compare EU KOMMISSION (2003).
36
Compare EU KOMMISSION (2003), page 3.
161
Hereunto the commission invited all institutions which were interested to give their comments
and suggestions in order to promote the further definition of the approach.
Furthermore, the EU adopted the definition of the Study on Freight Integrators (see above)
and defined six criteria of the Freight Integrator accordingly:
1. The ability to devise intermodal transport solutions suitable for sophisticated supply
chains;
2. Neutrality in order to advise, build co-operation and mediate in the case of dispute;
3. Knowledge and experience of all transport modes, as well as storage and handling of
goods;
4. Long term relationship with shippers and operators;
5. Access to information about transport services, operators and shipments;
6. Access to a broad network of contacts and partners. 37
The criteria are meant enable the Freight Integrator to consider the oftentimes different interests
of the shipper and logistic service provider, and to offer economically attractive services,
especially for the small and middle-classed companies. As a support, the European Commission
created the Freight Integrator Action Plan starting from the recommendation of measures of
the Study on Freight Integrators.
Beside many other institutions, also the Europlatforms38 met the demand for comment. The
Deutsche GVZ-Gesellschaft (DGG) as roof organisation of the German Freight Villages
provides one of the vice-presidents of the organisation, which are organised in form of an
E.E.I.G. (European Economic Interest Grouping), which is the roof organisation of the
European transport centres and an important interest group on the European transport policy
level. In their script of comment, the Europlatform indicated the holistic acceptance of the
statements of the concept and the elementary meaning of the infrastructure. The main point in
the script of the Europlatforms was yet the excellent qualification of freight villages for the
implementation of the concept with all defined criteria:
37
Compare EU KOMMISSION (2003), page 8-9.
38
For more information about the European roof organisation of the freight villages please visit
www.freight-village.com.
162
Freight Village (FV) with their consequent Public Private Partnership approach have proved
to support freight intermodality by offering both infrastructural and organisational conditions
for modal shift. Therefore FV boast the key qualifications for the implementation of the FI
concept. (cited after the script of Europlatforms)
8.2.4 Conclusion and new definition of the concept by the European Commission
The term Freight Integrator has developed since it was mentioned for the first time in the
White Paper 2010 Time to decide from a new job to a concept that can be realized by the
implementation of the defined criteria. Regarding this, the commission pointed out:
Behind the headword Freight Integrator is rather hiding a working programme that the
commission is about to resume into an action plan. This one will imply different measures which
demand for combined efforts of the EU commission and member states, industry and
organisations [...]39
Also the training and the advanced retraining is seen as a crucial point of the concept, whereas
the target group are the small and medium-seized companies. Beside the standardisation,
harmonisation and simplification of the liability rules, also document instructions can be
adapted and simplified to enable the access and the use of the intermodal transport for the
forwarding agencies. Anyhow, a cost advantage may be achieved with the further
standardisation of containers (e.g. a pallet wide stackable box).
All these measures may only lead to the implementation of the concept on long term. At short-
term the Promotion Offices may be the better choice, also due to the positive experiences
made with the Short Sea Shipping Promotion Centres or with the promotion of inland
waterways. The concept had been discussed for a long time as being applicable for forwarders
only, but this has not been cleared yet:
The most possible amount of actors shall be able to identify themselves with this initiative and
shall like to join in at last []. [The commission see] for example freight villages with the
39 Compare DAHM, C. (2004); cited are the words (translated) of Stefan Tostmann (as partner in the interview of Dahm),
Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, page 98.
163
target to organise transports from and to the city centres. Or shippers, that in most of the cases
have a special idea on how their cargo shall be transported40
The Promotion Offices may support the establishment of co-operation activities of forwarders
or even provide a platform to coordinate the training and retraining of the forwarding agents
beside of the general information on the intermodal transport.
The Freight Integrator can therefore be described not as a person, but as an action programme
that can be implemented on three different modes. It can first be implemented by the logistic
service providers and shipper (One Stop Shopping), on long term with the successful
establishment of the necessary framework conditions regarding the legal and transport political
aspects as well as for example safety aspects and on short-term with Promotion Offices.
The new definition of the Freight Integrator is shown in the next fig. 2-6.
Freight Integrator
Freight Integrator
Action Plan
Superior Promotion
Shipper
basic conditions office
One Stop legal Focus: Freight

transport policy Villages (FV)
Shopping concept
safety aspects
Source: Own figure
Figure 8.6: New definition of the Freight Integrator Concept
40
Words of Stefan Tostmann (translated), cited after DAHM, C. (2004), page 99.
164
8.3 Integrated Services in the Intermodal Chain (ISIC)
In the summer of 2004, the EU advertised a study titled Implementation of the Freight
Integrator Action Plan41. This study actually quit with the term of Freight Integrator. The
concept is now described as Intermodal Development Centre - IDC. The study was conducted
within an international expert consortium, teamed up by leading research and consulting
institutions42. The initial title of this study, Implementation of the Freight Integrator Action
Plan, was changed during the cause of the project into Integrated Services in the Intermodal
Chain ISIC. The consortium decided this name to cover better the nature of the action that
had been distinguished.
The study focused on the concept of the Promotion Office, not making any references to the
One Stop Shopping-concept anymore. But the survey restructured this concept into the new
conceptual implementation base of the old Freight Integrator into the new Intermodal
Development Centre. This process shall be illustrated by the following figure 8.7.
41
Tender N TREN G3/25/2004 of the European Commission, Contract No. TREN/04/MD/S07.38573.
42
The study had been conducted by the consortium teamed up by BMT Transport Solutions (DE), NEA
Transport Research and Training (NL), RAPP Trans (CH), TETRAPLAN (DK), AMRIE (BE),
NESTEAR (FR), Gruppo Clas (IT), European Intermodal Association (BE), NTUA (GR), ILIM (PL),
CDV Transport Research Centre (CZ).
165
Shifting from Freight Integrator to IDC
Freight Integrator IDC

Intermodal Development
Centre
Transport Service Promotion

Provider Office
Source: Own figure
Figure 8.7: Development from Freight Integrator to Intermodal Development Centre
The following fields of action were defined as work packages:
Improving intermodal liability and documentation

Harmonising technical requirements for intermodal transport equipment
Improving quality of intermodal terminals
Certification and training for intermodal transport (providers)
Promotion of intermodal transport
Socio-economic cost-benefit analysis for all integrated actions of the Freight Integrator
Action Plan (renamed: socio-economic cost-benefit analysis for all ISIC actions)
The study gives a new definition of the concept as follows:

An IDC is a catalyst non-profit organisation which neutrally works on developing
intermodal freight solutions along European corridors with a high intermodal
potential, overcoming barriers, improving communication and creating synergies
among actors, and generally supporting the shift towards more environmentally
friendly modes of transport 43
43
ECORYS (2005), page 90.
166
In the Task F of the study (promotion of intermodal transport), this concept and its
implementation is shown and explained in detail. In the following, the most important
benchmarks of the new concept shall be illustrated. The rough contents of the concepts can be
illustrated as in the following figure 8.9
Contents of the IDC-idea

IDC
Centre
IDCs shall bridge the knowledge gap between transport

supply and demand
help overcome barriers to intermodal solutions
generally improve communication between stakeholders
on the demand side (shippers, forwarders) the supply side
(transport operators, infrastructure providers) and the
policy side (authorities and regulators).
Source: ECORYS (2005), ISIC-Project final report Task F, own illustration
Figure 8.8: Contents of the IDC-idea
In consequence of the already existing research material, three customer groups for the IDC can
be identified.
1. Demand side: the user of the IDC

The users can be divided into two categories. First the shippers and those who operate
on their behalf and second independent freight forwarders.
2. Supply side: transport operators and infrastructure suppliers

The supply side is built by intermodal transport operators, infrastructure providers and
terminals, shipping lines ancillary services such as traction, rolling stock containers etc.
3. Policy side: policy makers and administration

On the policy side the stakeholder of the IDC concept are the European, national and
regional authorities, administrations and public-equivalent bodies who are able to
influence the market of intermodal transport.
167
The IDCS should provide advice and guidance to business actors and public organisations that
assist the establishment of a dynamic overall framework where competition can ensure the
application of best practice in term of technology, business and organisational practice. At the
same time the IDCs have to avoid at any stage a competitive behaviour themselves.
The implementation of IDCs on the intermodal transport development services market will fill
a market gap not met in full by other providers for specific corridors with a good intermodal
growth potential. But the IDC must not interfere with the market by offering any services that
are already adequately provided by commercially operating logistics companies.
Demand side
(shippers, forwarders)
help overcome barriers

bridge the to intermodal solutions
knowledge gap
IDC
Centre
Supply side
(transport operators, Policy side
infrastructure providers) improve (authorities and regulators)
communication
Figure 8.9: The stakeholders of the IDC-concept
The IDCs are subject to several requirements of the three groups of stakeholder. Following
table 8.1 gives an overview of the singular demands.
168
Table 8.1: Demands to the IDC (source: ECORYS (2006))
Demands of the stakeholder to the IDC
Highlight intermodal options
Show efficiency improvements

Demand side
Demonstrate systems integrations
Provide value-added information services and advanced heuristics
Demonstrate demand
Contribute to performance benchmarking

Supply side
Support infrastructure development
Advise the equipment supply industry
Support environmental goals
Contribute to infrastructure planning on an international level
Contribute to a better information infrastructure

Policy side
Contribute to increased safety and security
Provide statistics
Create research synergies
The survey recommended an implementation of an IDC umbrella organisation as the first step
towards the implementation of the singular IDCs. This procedure is experienced by the
implementation of other enabling organisations, such as Short Sea Shipping Promotion Centres
and Logistics Competence Centres.
The implementation of the concept should thus start with a slim e.g. virtual organisation
to carry out at first the core missions of the IDC concept that can be described as:
Representation
Maintain a web presentation with general information on the IDC mission and
services and summary information on all EC-approved IDCs, linking to their
singular web pages.
Contact point
Serve as a common point of reference for general inquiries.
169
Liaison function
Implement networks with the European Commission and other relevant bodies and
initiatives supporting the common transport policy, identify synergies, and
contribute to strategy development.
After the first implementation on the market, further tasks may be added if there is an identified
demand. These may be:
Public relation
Central knowledge base
IDC definition support
Network services
Auditing function
Database function

The set up and the operation of the IDC umbrella organisation should be fully funded by the
European Commission, the scope of funding depends on the tasks the umbrella organisation
shall fulfil on the markets demand.
After the implementation or even at the same time, singular organisations shall apply for the
IDC status. The survey defined two categories of services the singular IDC shall offer. The
organisations applying must demonstrate that they offer the core set of tasks, the institutional
service, in a neutral manner, neither preferring nor excluding any market actors. At all, the
institutional services are to be offered to all stakeholders on a non-discriminatory basis. By the
provision of the institutional services, the IDCs make the stakeholders aware of the
intermodal options in the respective area or range. The IDCs should be thus the interface
among intermodal potential, relevant actors and general information (knowledge) and provide
the platform for open discussions and the definition of successful transport solutions.
Beside the institutional services, the IDCs may also offer additional revenue-based services
depending on their abilities and staff equipment. The services with costs as shown below are
more or less examples, the IDCs are free to define further revenue-based services in
correspondence with the markets demands. But they have to ensure that they are not in conflict
with the provision of the core institutional service.
170
IDC institutional service and revenue-generating services
IDC - Intermodal Development Centre
Provide a platform
free Assess the feasibility of services

Institutional
service Promote intermodal transport
Provide a knowledge base
Create information transparancy
with costs
Intermodal Research
Revenue Training
consulting activities
generating
services
Figure 8.10: Schematic view of the IDC services
The described institutional service covers the core services the IDC has to provide to fulfil the
mission of the concept. The quality and quantity level of the institutional service may depend on
the size of the singular organisations, their resources, location and market structure.
As pointed out so often before, it is crucial for the success of the whole concept that the IDCs
behave in a strictly neutral fashion. The IDCs should be able to arbitrate between diverse public
and commercial interests. It is therefore a sensitive issue which must be handled with diplomatic
care, that the IDCs shall also generate revenues by its own services. The revenues should hence
be reinvested to improve the institutional service. IDCs are not meant to compete with already
existing promotion and development organisations, but should actively seek to realise synergies
through cooperation and networking. In order to avoid market strains, the IDCs are defined as
non-profit organisations that do not compete with commercial logistics providers,
operators or consultants.
171
Institutional options for IDCs
Hosted IDC Stand Alone IDC
Sharing resources but creating Independent office

a separate organisational
identity
Figure 8.11: Institutional options for the IDCs
The concept of the hosted IDC implies the existence of an institution, either private or public,
public-private partnership (PPP) or trade association that are able to provide the core
institutional services (compare fig. 8.11). Furthermore, they have to demonstrate their
independence from commercial interests that may prevent the transparent and non-
discriminatory provision of the IDC service.
The hosted IDC should have its own legal status and issuing its own balance sheet. The
operational costs are to be shared with the hosting organisation.
The stand alone IDC may be realised by a public association or a public-private partnership
(PPP). The partly-commercial (additional revenue based services) role of the IDCs makes this
institutional model similar to those of logistic competence centres or regional development
agencies.
The IDC is more or less only defined by the actions and measures which are implemented either
by the IDC umbrella organisation or the singular IDCs. Therefore the singular institutional
services as core elements of the mission IDC shall be described more detailed in the following
as a conclusion of the illustration of the IDC-concept.
172
IDC-traditional tasks (members oriented) (1)
A. Platform
Initiate and organise events for cross-sector meetings and
discussion to help bridge the gap between the supply side
and the demand side and communicate requirements to the
policy side.
B. (Market) Research for the feasibility of intermodal
transport services
Analyse market opportunities in the corridor and drivers of
modal choice, research practical and costefficient intermodal
alternatives;
provide advice to potential users and suppliers of intermodal
transport.
Figure 8.12: IDC core elements Task A and B
The category of platform services is related to all activities that aim at bringing the different
actors of the transport chain (or even supply chain) together. Useful platform tools are:
Round table discussions,
Workshops (technical or organisational workshops),
Knowledge transfer (like e.g. brainstorming),
Networking with existing initiatives (be a network partner),
Community tools (discussion forums, mailing lists etc.)
The second service category (TASK B) covers measures of evaluation of the feasibility of
intermodal options, leading to the identification of gaps and opportunities.
173
C. Traditional Promotion
Promote corridor-specific intermodal demonstrators, supporting the
actors involved.
Raise awareness regarding intermodal transport, for example
through information events, presentations at conferences and
trade shows, public relations, or online and print publications.
D. Improvement of a knowledge base

Capture and communicate stakeholder requirements;
make available market analyses, training material and background
information needed to understand intermodal transport;
facilitate knowledge transfer and best practice information
exchange.
Figure 8.13: IDC core elements Task C and D
The Task C is divided into two groups of measures. IDCs can stimulate the communication
between different transport users and providers in different modes of transport. This can be
based on the feasibility assessment described above. It is also linked to the platform category
(Task A) and may results in e.g. meetings.
On a more general level, IDCs should use promotion tools to make potential customers
aware of the intermodal transport and its benefits, give information about the status quo.
Tools can be:
Targeted information events like seminars and conferences,
Promotion via print media like brochures, folders, case reports etc.,
Promotion via web pages (singular IDC web pages and homepage of the IDC umbrella
organisation) and mailing lists,
(Effective) public relations by articles in established print and online publications,
General presentation of intermodal concepts (talks, posters) and success cases,
Participation in conferences and discussions,
Networking with trade associations, policy actors and other stakeholder groups.
174
Task D provides the knowledge base to support the IDC promotion, training and consulting
activity, regarding information of the transport market, the technical infrastructure, and issues of
specific market demands (for example in specific transport corridors).
E. Information transparency
Collect and facilitate access to information on the
supply services in the relevant corridors;
seeking co-operation with transport operators,
infrastructure providers and ancillary service
providers.
Figure 8.14: IDC core elements Task E
Information transparency is crucial in all feasibility assessments of intermodal transport. IDCs

should collect ancillary information relevant for intermodal transport in the specific corridor
(each IDC after the concrete market demands).
In the long term, the IDC umbrella organisation may develop an information database as online
application, showing possible and existing transport services that can serve as elements in the
intermodal transport chain. For this the co-operation with operators is necessary. Information
will be needed on the singular transport operators (possibly including performance schemes),
terminals and infrastructure providers as well as other ancillary services contributing to the
realisation of the intermodal transport.
175
8.4 Transport and Logistic Centre as IDC
8.4.1 First approach: Logistics centres as IDC

A Logistic Centre44 is characterised by the following features: at first, by the settling of traffic
economic enterprises, logistics providers, and logistics intensive industry and trade companies
in one (or more, then functionally linked) industrial estates. Logistics Centres dispose of an
interface function or intersection respectively between local and long-distance traffic.
These Freight Villages have got a connection to at least two carriers, in particular road/ rail,
normally by Intermodal Terminals. As opposed to conventional transport industrial estates the
exhaustion of synergy potentials is pursued by neutral moderation authorities (i.e. logistics
centres development companies) purposefully in logistics centres. Beyond this Freight Villages
represent a logistic competence centre and they support the intermodal transport development.
Another important feature is the Logistics Centres tendency to co-operate nationally and
internationally and consequently create efficient transport chains and network solutions for
optimal cargo flow and distribution.
distribution centres, storage areas, offices, truck services etc.), which have been built there.
Logistics Centres allow access to all companies involved in the activities set out above.
44
In the following, the terms Logistics Centre, Freight Village - FV and GVZ as abbreviation of the
German Gterverkehrszentrum have to be understand synonymously.
176
Definition Freight Village
Spatial concentration of independent logistics (e.g.

transport, distribution, warehousing) and commercial
trade companies in an industrial estate
Intersection of two or more different transport modes;

particulary road/rail (Intermodal Terminal)
Target:
The cooperation between companies
improves the commercial and ecological
efficiency. The cooperation is
coordinated by an independent
development company (FV- managing
company)
Source: Own figure
Figure 8.15: Definition Freight Village
In economic regard Logistics Centres pursue several aims. The improvement of the economic
structure of the region is one main aspect. The employees situation, the competitive situation of
the logistics service providers and the location quality for industry and trade are further
advancements which are targeted as sub-goals.
Looking at the traffic optimisation the relief of the traffic sector is the most important factor.
This can be supported by area and modal traffic shift, traffic reduction and traffic prevention.
Logistics areas imply an increase of road goods transport which yields the possibility to reduce
the transport effects on the environment.
Concerning ecological sensitiveness the relief of the environment and the surrounding area is
the main goal. This actually means to relieve the environment from emissions and to increase
the regional scope. During the last decades ecological concerns have increased and national
legislation in terms of environmental protection became more important.
177
Model structure
Main rail lines
Container Depot Intermodal Terminal

External production activitiesExpansion areas
Post
supraregional links
Bahntrans
Operating/ parcel
Pool Repair Groupage distribution parcel
trucking
depot depot
Service
Centre
Main internal road links Main internal road links
Admini-
stration
Truck- Cafeteria Sales/ Special

Dangerous Disposal Logistics
Service Restaurant Leasing goods e.g. City-
(Truck-wash) Logistics
Basic-companies
Service station (logistic)
Warehousing, transport,
distribution
other transport modes

Source: Own figure
Figure 8.16: Freight Village model structure
8.4.2 GVZ advantages:

high-level road/motorway access and proximity to conurbations (short reaction and
delivery times)
intermodality increases commercial flexibility and investment security (present bonus
or future option)
low conflict potential (round the clock operation possible)
cooperative activities (cost savings for telecom, energy etc.)
wide service spectrum (truck service, customs clearance, etc.)
sufficient land size for logistics-intensive purposes with excellent transport access
support for SMEs by FV management
A Logistics Centre offers a multitude of advantages for companies. First of all, the proximity to
other companies and businesses is given. A basic question is the idea of cooperation between
enterprises. Moreover the proximity to several logistic interfaces is another important aspect.
178
In addition high dedication of the business development society, FV-developing company
(GVZE) and public institutions may be a determining factor for companies to settle in a
Logistics Centre.
Considering the costs admissible land prices are to be found in Logistics Centres or Freight
Villages respectively. Beyond it only few reasonable chances exist for companies to acquire
property in the above-mentioned areas due to noise-protection and the resulting restrictions of
the operating periods. E. g. new businesses are thus given the option of regional expansions.
8.5 Examples in Bremen GVZ (Freight Village) Bremen

The aforesaid is more or less a short recapitulation of the sub-work-package Analysis of
institutional and organisational solutions in the development of transport & logistics centres
(WP 3.2). Now, the example Bremen is chosen to demonstrate the synergy potential existing
for the implementation of the IDC-concept in more detail. Bremen was the first Freight Village
established in Germany and is with its long and salutary history an ideal case to monitor the
conceptual programme.
8.5.1 GVZ (Freight Village) Bremen

With more than 1.200 companies and about 40.000 employees the German Freight Villages are
important landmarks in the logistical landscape in Germany. The Logistics Centre Bremen was
the first completely developed German FV in 1984. One of the driving factors for the
establishment was the demand for extension or removal of existing distribution and
warehousing facilities in the city area. A few years later, in 1989, the combined traffic terminal
Roland Umschlaggesellschaft mbH was opened and about 1.000 employees were engaged in
an industrial estate of 50 ha. The number of engaged people doubled between 1989 and 1992.
The Logistics Centre Bremen displays a successful concept. It disposes of 362 ha of total area.
In this industrial estate 120 enterprises are located which engage more than 5.500 employees
including 200 apprentices. Up until now 450 Mio Euro has been invested, mainly financed by
public authorities and private enterprises.
179
GVZ Bremen
Source: GVZe Bremen, 2006
Figure 8.17: Freight Village (GVZ) Bremen
Concerning the original sites of companies several difficulties existed there. One main aspect
was the fairly problematical transport connection. Beyond a shortage of space for the
companies facilities and missing expandability-possibilities subsisted. High lease rental
charges (long-term building lease) on the one hand and expiring contracts on the other hand
have also been decisive for the change of location.
Furthermore the high conflict capability and charges due to sites in or close to residential areas
have been one more crucial problem for enterprises. Bad functioning logistic transport
organisation due to unchangeable building structures is another aspect regarding problems at
original sites.
8.5.2 GVZE (Freight Village Development Company) Bremen

The Freight Village Bremen is like almost every German Freight Village managed by a
central unit, the Freight Village Development company GVZE Bremen. This central unit is
organised as a limited company in public private partnership (the public sector is one of the
shareholders of the company).
180
FV Bremen development company
GVZE (FV) Advisory council

development company Bremen
City of Bremen
City of Bremen
FV-members (_>25%)
= ppp public an independent
private expert
companies private
partnership
(i.e. DB AG) several private
FV- companies
tasks / products (internal and external FV products)

For example: General administration, creation
of logistic products, FV- presentation, PR
Source: Own figure
Figure 8.18: FV-Bremen Development Company
This management unit makes the difference between a Freight Village and an ordinary
industrial estate. The GVZE commits itself to the complex performance interlocking of the
freight villages. By taking over management tasks, the GVZE initiates and modernises activities
of cooperation recognising synergy potentials and achieving cost advantages on behalf of the
enterprises located. Apart from this, the GVZE is the service and communication platform for
the companies and institutions involved.
181
The FV- management company structure
GVZe = FV development
company
GVZe
FV
Autonomous
Enterprises
Source: Own figure
Figure 8.19: FV-development company structure
The business fields of the GVZE of Bremen can be summarised by the following keywords:
Management
o organisation of the infra- and suprastructure (e.g. traffic guidance system, local
public transport)
Services
o platform of information (capacities balancing, notes on traffic, roadworks, and
traffic jams)
o pooling / purchase service contracts (e.g. energy, telecommunications,
consumables)
o cooperation partners for special areas (e.g. dangerous goods, job safety,
company medical officers, training and retraining)
Consulting
o freight village specific issues (business conceptions, traffic facilities, central
organisational issues)
o conception and advising of commercial areas
Communication
o events/entertainment
o Personnel communication (forum internum and forum externum)
Public Relations
182
o guided tours for visitors
o lectures and site visits
o fair attendance (like transport logistic transport fair in Munich, German
Logistics Congress)
o Media (print media like folders, press releases, Internet)
Projects
o Implementation of a telematic platform disposed to Freight Villages (virtual
FV / LogSolutions)
o Waste disposal/integrated environmental management
Workshops
o good(s) idea workshop
o traffic and transport (chamber of commerce Bremen)
o customs
o regional /spatial topics like the Freight Villages in Lower Saxony
o topics of current interest or special fields of interest
Intermodal Transport Promotion centre
o intermodal transport working groups
o expert councils
The Freight Villages have to be positioned as location factors in the competition of the regions
(generation of competence). Even more chances can be realised within a national network of
logistical knots and by the inclusion of further transport industrial estates, (inner) harbours,
airports etc. A core task of the management unit is the supra-regional promotion of the Macro
logistics Concept.
8.6 Chances of implementation of the IDC concept

As said above, the IDCs can as described in the survey Integrated Services in the Intermodal
Chain be implemented as hosted IDC or on a stand-alone base, both with an own
organisational identity. The cited study also proposes an exit rule for the stand alone IDC as
public-private partnership, if the revenue-generating services the IDCs shall perform reach an
economic level not allowing anymore to fulfil the core services at a neutral base. This proposed
exit rule shows very well the disadvantage of completely new founded companies, even if
they are co-funded by the public sector. After a first start-up financial aid the institution has to
183
gain profit to exist as an organisational entity. This economic interest will then hinder the
neutral moderation function.
On the other hand, public bodies on their own are, due to their limited funds, not able to secure
the commitment on long term. The European funding programmes may be an opportunity, but
on the long term it might not be reliable for the singular IDCs that shall be established all over
Europe. So after these considerations it might be the best choice to realise the IDC concept via
hosted institutions.
This is not exactly the recommendation of the cited survey. The experts here recommended
establishing first an IDC umbrella organisation as main operational instrument for the
implementation of the concept and later on the application of the singular IDCs. The IDCs
may, according to the recommendation of the experts, be either existing organisations or new
entities. This procedure is common and known for example by the implementation of Short Sea
Shipping Promotion Centres. As emphasised before, the IDCs are not meant to compete with
already existing intermodal promotions and development organisations, but to co-operate and to
build up networks.
The experts of the survey identified several differences between the existing organisations and
the IDC concept, which may by the reason for the recommendation of a new IDC-organisation
as umbrella organisation. According to their opinion, the differences are45:
Many of the existing organisations focus mainly on the region and/or on particular
transport modes. In contrast, IDCs promote and develop European trans-national
intermodal corridors.
IDCs will reflect an active market interest as evidenced in the IDC business plans to be
submitted in an application for IDC status. In cases where IDCs are set up as Private
Public Partnership, business partners act as shareholders, thereby testifying the market
relevance of the respective IDC.
IDCs extend the focus on promotion to offer also intermodal development support,
complementing their institutional services with the revenue-generating services such as
intermodal consulting where these services are not (or not effectively) offered by the
market.
45
ECORYS (2005), page 89.
184
The fact that IDCs will operate with the support of a common EU-sponsored umbrella
organisation facilitates a well co-ordinated and integrated development.
The Freight Villages, as shown above, fulfil these criteria and, apart from this, even provide an
existing network of contacts and physical structures. With the German GVZ-Gesellschaft, the
roof organisation of the German Freight Villages for example, the Logistics Centres in Germany
have a link to the transport policy on national and European level and even in international
relations. In other European countries similar structures exists, for example the FDT in
Denmark, WZCL in Poland, UnionInterporti in Italy and ACTE in Spain. Most of the national
roof organisations are member of the European Freight Village organisation Europlatforms.
Therefore, the structure proposed by the experts of the survey already exists by means of the
Logistics Centres.
Furthermore the Freight Villages are even if they have a regional focus due to their
commitment in regional or spatial logistics programmes like city logistics activities via their
management unit part of the network and therefore also interested in general policy questions.
Most of the development companies are established as public private partnerships and used to
the demand of both economic interests of the market and public targets. Logistics Centres are in
addition not focused on one singular mode of transport, bimodal and trimodal Logistics Centres
already exist and the positive synergies which may be gained by the proximity of a cargo airport
are also granted.
185
Implementation through the FVs
Hosted IDC Stand Alone IDC
Sharing resources but creating Independent office

a separate organisational
identity
IDC hosted by the

Freight Villages
Figure 8.20: Idea: implementation of the IDC concept through the FVs
Due to the fact that Freight Villages often have a comparatively long history, several Freight
Village development companies are known by their consulting activities on the sector of
intermodal transport solutions. They thus can provide a specific know-how, which is
appreciated and provides revenues.
Therefore it can be said that Logistics Centres are the ideal solution for the implementation of
the IDC concept. A Freight Village is more than an industrial estate which by instance
has the possibility of an intermodal interface, but provides a neutral moderation unit via
the management unit (GVZE) and an existing network of contacts, reputations, references
or additional opportunities to gain revenues by consulting and development activities due
to their experiences!
The chances for the IDC concept by the implementation through the Logistics Centres in
Europe are first of all a considerable saving of time. The implementation process as proposed by
the IDC-survey needs not only time to establish the roof organisation, but also to develop a
criteria scheme to identify possible IDCs and to nominate them. In a first approach by using the
Logistics Centre Network, this time can be saved.
186
8.7 Summary and perspectives
Even if after this summarisation of the conceptual base of the IDC concept and the strong
possibility to implement the concept via the existing structure of the Logistics centres it may not
be a dissipation to emphasize once again why this gives more or less a guideline to the
possibilities of promotion strategies for the intermodal transport.
The institutional services of the IDC as described above generate the public awareness, even by
the specific promotion as well as by the implementation of the concept itself. A strong position
on the market may just as well be a promotion as for example a workshop, a lecture or media
presentation. One has to keep in mind that the actors that should be informed and affected to use
the intermodal transport are not driven by academic interest but by economical necessities.
Within the recent consultation paper on Logistics for Promoting Intermodality intermodal
logistics is considered as the transport part of the whole supply chain. This implies the need for
an integrated view on intermodal transport solutions and the need for door-to-door promotion
activities over the whole supply chain.
The above said gives a first indication of the diversity of intermodal promotion on regional,
national and European level. Aiming to support intermodality there is the need for co-operation
and co-ordination of activities leading to the vision to establish a strong network of co-operating
national intermodal promotion centres being a focal point for promoting intermodality.
Already in June 2002 this development started with the Short Sea Shipping Promotion Centres -
SPC. Then the European Union Transport Ministers discussed in Gijn the possibility of an
action plan on the key issues for developing the political priority given to Short Sea Shipping. In
the following, the Commission released a Communication in which one key strategy for
promotion of Short Sea Shipping is identified with the SPC. Presently 20 SPC are installed and
horizontally co-ordinated by the European Short Sea Network (ESN). In this respect the short
sea mode clearly is a step further in terms of international organisation and co-operation of short
sea promotion in Europe. It is therefore a logical step to take also the SPC network as a starting
point for the extension of promotion of intermodality by means of integrating or co-operating on
the promotion of intermodal transport options using rail and inland waterway transport.
In countries where no sea access is given and no SPC are established different intermodal
promotion models are in place. The EU Commission recently for example approved the
extension of the Austrian programme for the promotion of intermodal traffic. The promotion
campaign will apply to all EU transport enterprises that operate in Austria. It is targeting at
transport, handling and logistics enterprises, intermodal operators, terminal and port operators,
as well as shipping and railway enterprises. The programme promotes the acquisition and/or
187
leasing of equipment for IT services, innovative technologies and systems, feasibility studies for
concrete measures as well as the costs of external training courses (information and
communication systems).
The EU has become aware that the already existing SPC the Short Sea Shipping Promotion
Centres may generate impulses for the intermodal transport. These impulses are less
concentrated on the classis intermodal interfaces road/rail. Therefore the EU aims at a shift or
transfer of the SPC-concept into the hinterland. The SPC approach are thus the interesting basic
framework. Even a closer relation the EU hopes to gain by the new developed concept,
established as IPC Intermodal Promotion Centre.
The ISL is partner in the recently assigned Study on the Feasibility of Extending the Activities
of Existing Mode-Specific Promotion Centres in Europe to Encompass the Wider Concept of
Intermodal Transport46. A further focus of the study is to attempt action of co-ordination. The
general idea behind a Coordination Action, is to encourage the co-operation between key
actors and stakeholders, research and consulting institutions, governmental authorities and other
interested groups at national and European level. The consortium, the ISL is a member of,
comprises the project partners, ensuring that continuity is maintained in the activities and work
on the project. In this way repetition will be avoided and documents and experiences from the
project will be used and further integrated as needed.
The study to be carried out is divided in two phases following the two main objectives:
Phase I: Giving guidelines on how to proceed in extending the activities of existing

mode specific promotion centres in Europe to encompass the wider concept of
Phase II: Demonstrate it in a number of targeted countries.
The results of this work-package may be an important share of the analysis of existing
promotion strategies in phase I of the newly assigned study. The results may then be reused for
the SUTRANET region and induce synergy-potential of high value.
The showed promotion strategies for intermodal transport solutions may then be implemented
and measured. Then perhaps a sustainable evaluation of the IDC-concept, implemented through
46
EC Tender No. TREN/G3/367-2006.
188
the networks of the Logistics Centres may contribute to the promotion of intermodal transport in
the most efficient way: the identification of best practice.
From IDC to IPC
IDC IPC
Intermodal Development Intermodal Promotion
Centre Centre
Focus: Conceptual base Focus: Realisation of the

concept
Demand side
(shippers, forwarders)
IPC
SPC
help overcome barriers
bridge the to intermodal solutions
knowledge gap
IDC
FV FV
Centre
IPC
Supply side
(transport operators, Policy side
IPC
infrastructure providers) improve (authorities and regulators)
communication
SPC
Source: own illustration
Figure 8.21: From IDC to IPC
189
9 Overall recommendations
In overall the following recommendations can be made based on the four main chapters. First
the recommendations for each of the part-reports will be given. Afterwards a summed up
recommendation based on all four recommendations will be given.
9.1 Recommendations Erasmus

The logistics facilities that are involved in the case studies give a low congested road network as
one of the main location factors. The congestion in seaports increases, which has negative
influences on the costs and reliability of the hinterland transport. Inland logistics locations are
often chosen for the low congested road networks and the lower costs of logistics (for example
the costs of land. The importance of low congested road networks and the importance of
logistics cost together with logistics concepts (slowly) developing towards hybrid distribution
show that port locations are no longer the ideal location for logistics centres.
Another important recommendation is that the use of intermodal transportation should be easy
and especially competitive with road transport in terms of costs and time.
The study gives strong indications that the development of logistic parks in large seaports does
not add to the use of intermodal transport. Seaports that want to develop logistic centres have to
take into account that doing so will have an effect on the modal split towards more use of
trucking. When increasing the use of intermodal transport is the aim in a country, it is probably
more effective to develop logistic centres in the hinterland of the port, or at least closely to the
market. This will give more opportunities for bundling of cargo and use of rail and barge for
transport between the port and the logistic centre.
9.2 Recommendations FDT

The study has shown that in order to develop efficient Transport and Logistics Centres it is a
good idea to focus on the following aspects. Therefore well functioning Transport and Logistics
Centres very often:
are placed on the TEN-T
have a clear legal entity
190
with active co-operation between private and public
with a strong focus on innovation, intermodality and business orientation
that at the same time meets the increasing political demands to the sector
By following these advices the first step is made to enhancing the role of Transport and
Logistics Centres in the NSR. Another good idea is to make contact with person and companies
that have the knowledge and the skills in relation to developing Transport and Logistics Centres
in the most beneficiary way. Therefore there is also much to learn from the different good
examples of how to develop and maintain good and efficient Logistics Centres.
9.3 Recommendations IVL

Reducing emissions of both SO2 and NOX from shipping is very cost-effective compared to
many other measures to reduce these emissions. Policies need to be developed that take
advantage of this fact, so that maritime emissions within the next decade are more in line with
corresponding emissions from road transport per unit goods transported. Here, both the
European Commission, national governments as well as local governments, including ports and
port authorities, can play a significant role. An interesting initiative is that by the Swedish
Maritime Administration on environmental fairway dues (www.sjofartsverket.se).
Research and standardisation work that aims at finding technical solutions on how noise
emissions from port activities, e.g. loading and reloading of ships, can be reduced substantially,
but need to be strengthened. The European Commission is in this case a key player.
The railway network and associated railway transports connecting to ports should be improved
by e.g. new infrastructure, improved transport efficiency and transfer of goods between
transport modes, electrification of tracks, etc. Local governments together with railway and port
operators can present good examples.
Another important issue is careful and advanced planning and protection of natural habitats and
cultural heritage when ports expand spatially. Local governments, ports and NGO's in co-
operation can help with this planning.
191
9.4 Recommendations -ISL
Due to the fact that Freight Villages (Logistics Centres) often have a comparatively long
history, several Freight Village development companies are known by their consulting activities
on the sector of intermodal transport solutions. They thus can provide a specific know-how,
which is appreciated and provides revenues.
Therefore it can be said that Logistics Centres are the ideal solution for the implementation of
the IDC concept. A Freight Village is more than an industrial estate which by instance has the
possibility of an intermodal interface, but provides a neutral moderation unit via the
management unit and an existing network of contacts, reputations, references or additional
opportunities to gain revenues by consulting and development activities due to their
experiences.
The chances for the IDC concept by the implementation through the Logistics Centres in
Europe are first of all a considerable saving of time. The implementation process as proposed by
the IDC-survey needs not only time to establish the roof organisation, but also to develop a
criteria scheme to identify possible IDCs and to nominate them. In a first approach using the
Logistics Centre Network can save this time.
9.5 Overall recommendations based on all four reports

The area with logistics and co-modality is very important at the moment. Logistics Centres
could be the engines for development of intermodal solutions in a region. Three aspects, which
it is recommendable to focus on when developing NSR ports and terminals into integrated
intermodal logistics centres, are therefore:
Identification of environmental and spatial barriers for intermodal transport
development.
Recommendations and measures for increased use of sustainable and effective
intermodal solutions.
The performance of supply chains can be improved through co-operation and
communication between various supply chain partners on a regional level.
192
The more focus there is both the medias and in political circles, the larger possibility there is of
enhancing the promotion of the Logistics Centre concept. This report has in overall given some
perspectives on how to develop the concept of Transport and Logistics Centres.
193
10 Overall conclusion
The conclusion chapter is structured in the same way as the overall recommendations chapter.
First the conclusions of each of the part reports are given. Afterwards a common conclusion for
the whole project is stated.
10.1 Conclusions Erasmus

The main conclusions of the case studies on the developments of the logistics centres in the port
of Rotterdam can be summarised as follows:
In global logistics a trend towards more hybrid distribution systems is expected. Hybrid
distribution means that there are several DCs in Europe that serve a few countries, but that
there is a strong central planning at the same time. This provides companies with the possibility
to manage their supply chain more efficient and to make more use of large scale intra-European
transport.
Most of the facilities in Rotterdam acknowledge a development towards hybrid distribution

concepts but not all logistics facilities are actually developing a hybrid distribution function.
The Port of Rotterdam expects a relatively stable development in the coming 5 years for the
distribution concepts in the port of Rotterdam. The port location remains important for most of
the logistics facilities. The location factors that are considered most important by the logistics
facilities are a low congestion road network and logistics costs.
Intermodal transport for logistics facilities with a regional distribution function is seen as
essential even though the companies do not all use intermodal transport. Most logistics facilities
at the distriparks do not make use of intermodal transportation for both incoming as well as for
outgoing goods. The main reasons they give for this limited use of intermodal transport are
higher costs due to extra handling of the goods and time loss. The Port of Rotterdam tries to
stimulate the use of intermodal transportation with the available means and the presence of
intermodal transport is seen as important for both regional and multinational distribution.
However, the use of this intermodal transportation lags behind. There is actually a weak relation
between the logistics centres in the port of Rotterdam and the use of intermodal transport.
194
10.2 Conclusion FDT
Logistic centres are oriented to the requirements of the transport and logistics industry, therefore
it is often important with sufficient road and rail access. Often the location of a Transport and
Logistics Centre is close to a motorway junction, and the centre almost always has direct access
to the main road network. As far as rail and sea access is concerned, the terminals are preferably
located close to railway mainlines and if possible also main ports.
It has in many cases been proved helpful for the Logistics Centres developer to gain competence
in the logistics sector. This can be an important advantage in the cooperation with other
transport and logistics companies. In overall the conclusions of FDT can be summed up to the
following:
The peripheral regions access to the main European corridors.
Improve sustainable freight mobility.
Improved use of existing infrastructure.
Reduce empty loads by consolidation of freight.
City distribution concepts and solutions.
Improvement of the whole transport chain.
Strengthen the SMEs.
Increased use of telecommunication.
Improved business opportunities
A successful Transport and Logistics Centre is most often based on a public private partnership.
10.3 Conclusions IVL

Sea ports play an important role for trade and societal development in the North Sea Region -
this was true in the earlier days, and is even more so today with the increasing globalisation.
Thus, ports develop in order to meet an increasing demand of goods transport. However,
although this might have been the case in the past, port development today is no longer only
synonymous with a raw expansion, mainly since the general concern in the society of health and
195
environmental issues keeps growing. As promoters of sea transport and of modal shifts from
road to sea, ports are important in this respect, since transport at sea is roughly three times more
energy efficient than road transport, which means that the impact on global warming is equally
smaller from sea transport compared to road transport per unit goods transported. On the other
hand, ports and sea transport cause other emissions than CO2 that are hazardous for both human
health and the environment, in which case sea is less favourable than road transport (per unit
goods transported). Thus, for port development and the increasing transport of goods by sea to
move in a more sustainable direction, substantial measures need to be taken within the next
decade to reduce emissions of primarily SO2 and NOX from shipping. It is also important, since
many ports co-exist with major urban settlements, that noise emissions from port activities are
reduced. To reduce both congestion and population exposure for health hazardous air pollutants
in these settlements, a modal shift for transport of goods to and from the port from road to rail
needs to be promoted. Simultaneously, an increasing share of rail transport to and from the port
should be operating on electricity rather than on diesel. Furthermore, in order to avoid conflicts
from land use and deterioration of cultural heritage and natural habitats, the needs of ports'
physical expansion must to a much larger extent than before be met by more efficient use of
existing port areas.
emissions from port activities, e.g. loading and reloading of ships, can be reduced
substantially, need to be strengthened. The European Commission is a key player.
The railway network and associated railway transports connecting to ports should be
improved by e.g. new infrastructure, improved transport efficiency and transfer of
goods between transport modes, electrification of tracks, etc. Local governments
together with railway and port operators can present good examples.
Careful and advanced planning and protection of natural habitats and cultural heritage
when ports expand spatially. Local governments, ports and NGO's in co-operation.
10.4 Conclusion - ISL

The IDC concept and the strong possibility to implement the concept via the existing structure
of the Logistics centres (e.g. FV) emphasize why this gives more or less a guideline to the
possibilities of promotion strategies for the intermodal transport.
196
The institutional services of the IDC generate the public awareness, even by the specific
promotion as well as by the implementation of the concept itself. A strong position on the
market may just as well be a promotion as for example a workshop, a lecture or media
presentation. One has to keep in mind that the actors that should be informed and affected to use
the intermodal transport are not driven by academic interest but by economical necessities.
Within the recent consultation paper on Logistics for Promoting Intermodality intermodal
logistics is considered as the transport part of the whole supply chain. This implies the need for
an integrated view on intermodal transport solutions and the need for door-to-door promotion
activities over the whole supply chain.
The study gives a first indication of the diversity of intermodal promotion on regional, national
and European level. Aiming to support intermodality there is the need for co-operation and co-
ordination of activities leading to the vision to establish a strong network of co-operating
national intermodal promotion centres being a focal point for promoting intermodality.
10.5 Overall conclusion for the four part reports

In order to meet the market demand for new, commercial transport and logistics solutions,
which at the same time can meet the increasing political demands to the transport and the
logistics sector, e.g. concerning environment and utilization of capacity it is important to focus
more on the concept of transport and logistics centres. There should therefore be more focus on
Logistics Centres facilities to support supply chain development and efficiency. The
performance of supply chains / transport corridors can be improved through co-operation and
communication between Logistics Centres. The more open structure the Logistics Centre has,
the better opportunity there is of increasing the use of Transport and Logistics Centres in the
supply chains, because more companies have the opportunities of utilising the facilities of the
different Logistics Centres.
It is of most importance to bear in mind that the modal shift not will occur automatically. As the
study of distriparks in Rotterdam has shown, the transport companies often have little interest in
using intermodal transport solutions. The study from Rotterdam also shows that logistics parks
in large seaports does not add to the use of intermodal transport. Instead there seems to be an
197
inclination towards an added use of trucks in the transport chain. Another very interesting result,
which emerged from the case study conducted by Erasmus, is that access to a low congested
road network seems to be a key location factor for the logistics parks a result, which also
estimates the need for a mentality shift in the mind of the transport haulers, if the transport chain
should be based on the use of intermodal transports.
It is therefore of much importance that the focus on the benefits of intermodal transport and
hereunder the use of intermodal transport centre, which can facilitate this modal shift, is
strengthened. For this strengthening of the intermodal solutions, the report of ISL supply an
approach for, how to increase the focus on intermodal transports and how the development of
IDCs can support this.
The use of transport and logistics centres can under the right conditions, which would say when
the transport companies are willing to utilise the benefits of the centres and acknowledge the
constraints of them, help to enhance a modal shift, or at least be beneficiary to supply the right
framework conditions for a model shift between road, rail and waterborne transport. But the last
step towards a greater use of intermodal transport should be found in the minds of the shipping
agents.
One of the prerequisites for an effective dissemination of the logistics Centre concept is that
people within the transport sector has a common understanding of the concept Transport and
Logistics Centre. This report has stated the following definition of a Transport and Logistics
Centre:
A Transport & Logistics Centre is a centre in a defined area within which all activities
relating to transport, logistics and the distribution of goods both for national and
international transit, are carried out by various operators on a commercial basis.
distribution centres, storage areas, offices, truck services etc.), which have been built there. In
order to comply with free competition rules, a Logistics Centre must be open to allow access to
all companies involved in the activities set out above.
198
A Logistics Centre must also be equipped with all the public facilities to carry out the above-
mentioned operations. If possible, it should include public services for the staff and equipment
of the users. In order to encourage intermodal transport for the handling of goods, a Logistics
Centre should preferably be served by a multiplicity of transport modes (road, rail, deep sea,
inland waterway, air).
To ensure synergy and commercial cooperation, it is important that a Logistics Centre is

managed in a single and neutral legal body (preferably by a Public-Private-Partnership).
Finally, a Logistics Centre must comply with European standards and quality performance to
provide the framework for commercial and sustainable transport solutions.
This definition is regarded as a good description of well functioning a Transport and Logistics
Centre and can hopefully supply transport planners and other interest with a common
understanding of what facilities the Logistics Centre can supply.
The dissemination of the results of this contemporary report can hopefully increase the focus on
Transport and Logistics Centres and intermodal solutions. For this process of putting more
emphasis on the role of intermodal transport and the associated facilities the introduction of the
concept IDC can hopefully play an active role.
199
11 Perspectives
A basis for further research is initiated by this Sutranet project. The topic of the developments
in logistics centres and the use of intermodal transport can be further explored in depth by:
Research in multiple countries, which can increase the value of the research on the
development of integrated intermodal logistics centres.
Involve more parties along the supply chain, for example the shippers, which can
provide more scope on the modality choice and reveal the preferences of all decision
makers.
Include inland logistics facilities in the research, which can possibly reveal differences
in characteristics between inland and port locations due to the different composition of
the trades handled there.
The EU has become aware that the already existing SPC - the Short Sea Shipping Promotion
Centres - may generate impulses for the intermodal transport. These impulses are less
concentrated on the classis intermodal interfaces road/rail. Therefore the EU aims at a shift or
transfer of the SPC-concept into the hinterland. The SPC approach is thus the interesting basic
framework. Even a closer relation the EU hopes to gain by the new developed concept,
established as IPC Intermodal Promotion Centre (from IDC to IPC).
It is very important to enhance the focus on Transport and Logistics Centres and intermodal
solutions. Especially in a time where there is plenty of space on the sea and insufficient capacity
on the roads. The Transport and Logistics Centres can in this occasion play an important role in
developing the supply chain by facilitating a modal shift towards more sea based transport.
Enhancing the focus on Transport and Logistics Centres are not the overall solution to the
increasing transport problems on the European roads. But an increased focus on intermodal
transport and Transport and Logistics Centres, could be a step in the right direction for a more
sustainable goods transport sector.
200
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202
ECORYS (2005) Integrated Services in the Intermodal Chain (ISIC), final report Task F: Promotion of
intermodal transport, dif. authors, co-ordinator ECORYS Transport, Hamburg
EU COMMISSION (2001) WHITE PAPER European transport policy for 2010: time to decide,
Brussels.
EU KOMMISSION (2003)Consultation Paper Freight Integrator Action Plan Supporting the organisers
of intermodal freight transport, Brussels.
KLAUS, P. (2003)Die Top 100 der Logistik, Marktgrssen, Marktsegmente und Marktfhrer in der
Logistikwirtschaft Deutschland und Europa, 3. Auflage, Bremen / Nrnberg.
KLOTZ, H. (2003)Freight Integrator soll mit Leben erfllt werden, in: DVZ, Nr. 32, Seite 5, Hamburg.
ZLU ET AL (2003) Study on Freight Integrators, ZLU-Zentrum fr Logistik und

Unternehmensplanung, Internationale Schelde Faculteit (ISF), Kravag-Logistics, European
Intermodal Association (EIA), European Logistics Association (ELA), Berlin.
203
Index of Abbreviations
CEP: Courier, express and parcel services

DGG: Deutsche GVZ-Gesellschaft (German Freight Village
Organisation)
EEIG: European Economic Interest Grouping
FI: Freight Integrator
FV: Freight Village
GVZ: Gterverkehrszentrum (= Freight Village)
GVZE: Gterverkehrszentrum Entwicklungsgesellschaft (Freight Village
development company)
IDC: Intermodal Development Centre
IPC: Intermodal Promotion Centre
ISIC: Integrated Services in the Intermodal Chain
ISL: Institut fr Seeverkehrswirtschaft und Logistik (Institute of
Shipping Economics and Logistics)
PPP: Public Private Partnership
SME: Small and medium sized enterprises
SPC: Short Sea Shipping Promotion Centre
TLC: Transport and Logistics Centres
Digital references:
www.portofrotterdam.com
www.nipponexpress.com
www.geodisvitesse.com
www.zibb.nl
www.logistiek.nl
www.stadshavensrotterdam.nl
www.barwil.com
www.prologis.com
www.zieglergroup.com
www.ziegler.nl
Anledning og forml (204)
Version 4 // c:\home\mnijdam\afgeronde projecten\interreg\wp3\final_wp3_report.doc // Friday, 7. May 2010, 13:11

www.mitsui-soko.co.jp
www.europa.eu.int
http://worldbank.org
www.aoc-europe.com
www.vvv.rotterdam.nl
205
Appendix
Companies at the Distripark Eemhaven

The companies that are located at the distripark Eemhaven are:
Nippon Express Co., Ltd.

International air/ocean freight forwarder, which offers: business-to-business transportation,
distribution and logistics services. Nippon Express Nederland is strongly developing in
Warehousing. Nippon Express Europe has over 50 cargo consolidation and distribution
locations.
Maersk Logistics Benelux

Maersk logistics is a logistics service provider which offers solutions for: supply chain
management, warehousing and distribution, landside services and ocean- & airfreight,
warehousing and distribution. Maersk logistics owns 2 warehouses in the Rotterdam port area
with a surface of approximately 17000 sq.m. Maersk logistics has chosen the location in the
seaport mainly for the close distance to the container terminals. A large share of the products
they are involved with have an origin in the far east.
VAT Logistics
The VAT Logistics group offers a worldwide network for road-, sea, and air transport and
performs value added activities; inspection of goods, financial activities that are incorporated in
the process and value adding activities like packing and pricing of goods. VAT Logistics
operates on a worldwide scale.
Menlo Logistics
Menlo Worldwide mainly deals with (IT) solutions for chain logistics. Systems used are
implemented across regions in order to meet international trade requirements. The main office
in The Netherlands is in Amsterdam.
206
Kloosterboer bv.
Kloosterboer is a Logistic Service Provider for temperature controlled food-related bulk cargo.
The services of kloosterboer are amongst others: warehousing, stevedoring, forwarding,
customs, product insurance, agency, dedicated ICT solutions and barge operation. Kloosterboer
bv. does consolidation, distribution, road transport and value adding activities (mixing,
blending, repacking) in own operation. Per year, a goods inflow of 1.6 million tons is handled.
Geodis Vitesse
Geodis Vitesse focuses on end-to-end supply chain management and offers value adding
services. Geodis has a global focus and their customers are mainly in: life sciences, electronic,
apparel, and consumer packed goods.
Eurofrigo BV Rotterdam is a daughter of the Japanse Company Nichirei. This Japanese
company is in one of the main producers of frozen products in Japan. In Rotterdam, Eurofrigo
chose the distripark Eemhaven as physical location which has advantages like the close distance
to the Home Terminal (high density of goods and low trucking costs) and the connections to the
European hinterland, especially via the highway A15. Eurofrigo has cool storage areas at the
distripark Eemhaven since 1994 (financieel dagblad 1997). Eurofrigo consolidates goods and
performs value adding activities in own operation for third parties. The products that are
handled by Eurofrigo are mainly: meat, fish, poultry, vegetables and fruits.
Barwil Unitor Ships Service

Barwil Unitor Ships Service is originated as result of a merger between Barwil and Unitor and
is part of Wilhelmsen Maritime Services AS, a Wilhelmsen Group Company. Their activities
are: consolidation, distribution, road, sea and air transport. Their facility in the port of
Rotterdam is 2.1 HA and they they employ 200 people. Barwil Unitor Ships Service is
geographically organised into eight regions, all linked to IT and logistics infrastructure to
operate on a global level with local expertise. The distribution of Barwil Unitor Ships Service
has a hybrid character which corresponds with the presence of 8 regions to be able to work on a
global level and have local expertise.
207
Ziegler
Ziegler in Rotterdam is a intermodal logistics operator that operates on the European market.
Their strategy is: think global, act local. Ziegler operates with a hub system and has
decentralised their activities to be close to their markets and their customers. In Rotterdam,
Ziegler Sea Freight acts as a forwarder, as a container consolidator and Ziegler offers Short Sea
services. The Ziegler department in Rotterdam also offers road transportation and logistics
services (amongst others: value adding and warehousing).
Prologis
Prologis provides industrial distribution facilities and services. The Global Development Group
of Prologis is engaged in research and development of distriparks and buildings. The Eemhaven
location offers added value in European distribution.
Mitsui Soko
In the Eemhaven, Mitsui Soko offers amongst others :storage, delivery (truck and container) and
forwarding.
Hudig & Veder

Hudig is as a logistics service provider engaged in the IT related materials, aircos and papers.
The activities that Hudig Forwarding & Warehousing B.V. does in own operation are:
Consolidation, distribution, VAL, and road transport.
TPV International (Netherlands) BV

The service & support department of TPV International (Netherlands) BV is located at the
Eemhaven. They handle mainly spare parts and commercial units. The size of the logistics
facility is 6000 SQM and around 30 people are employed by TPV in the Eemhaven. The
activities that are done in own operation are: consolidation, distribution, value added logistics,
road transport and they have a spare part buffer for the whole service network in Europe.
208
Companies at the distripark Maasvlakte
Eurofrigo BV Rotterdam is a daughter of the Japanse Company Nichirei. This Japanese
company is in one of the main producers of frozen products in Japan. Since 1998, Eurofrigo has
an establishment at the distripark Maasvlakte.
Kloosterboer
Kloosterboer is a Logistic Service Provider for temperature controlled food-related bulk cargo.
The services of kloosterboer are amongst others: warehousing, stevedoring, forwarding,
customs, product insurance, agency, dedicated ICT solutions and barge operation. The
warehouse at the Maasvlakte distripark is especially used for fries.
Nippon Express
Nippon express is engaged in consolidation, distribution, road transport and value adding
activities for printers en copiers. The facility at the Maasvlakte employs around 100 people and
the size is 5 HA.
Epson
Epson is a producer of printers with a Japanese origin. Epson is relocating its distribution centre
towards Tilburg. The management of the DC at the Maasvlakte is done by DHL/EXEL Supply
chain.
Reebok
Reebok is a manufacturer of sports shoes with the production locations in Asian countries.
Reebok opened a European distribution Centre at the Maasvlakte distripark near the Home
terminal of the ECT, which has a positive influence on the transport time towards the
distribution centre. The products all arrive by the EDC facility at the Maasvlakte is 10 hectares
en employs 250 people.
Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM)
ADM is one of the largest producers of natural raw materials for the amongst others the food
industry. At the Maasvlakte location, soybeans are converted to oil products, soy protein and
other semi manufactured products.
209
Pro Logis
ProLogis is a development and investment company for distribution facilities.
Hankook
Hankook is a Korean producer of tires. Hankook build their European Distribution Centre at the
distripark maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam. Hankook makes use of intermodal transportation
depending on the destination of the products.
DHL Exel supply chain

Offers supply chain services to third parties on a worldwide basis. DHL Exel operates the
logistics for amongst others Epson.
210
Questionnaire individual logistics facilities
Information on respondent
What is your job title

How many years have you been involved in this
job?
Information on company
Type of the facility/warehouse operating Logistics service provider

organization Logistics division of manufacturing company
Other,
Name of the company
Amount of total facilities/warehouses in
operation
Information on facility
Size of the facility (in m2)

Number of employees (2005)
Added value per year (2005) in Euro
Type of handled goods
Goods inflow per year (in tonnes, 2005)
Activities done in own operation consolidation
distribution
value added logistics
road transport
other ..

211
Specific questions
1. What is the character of the distribution function of the logistics facility?

(national/local, central/multinational, regional, hybrid)
Character of distribution function*

Actual national/local centralised regional hybrid
situation
Ten years national/local centralised regional hybrid
ago
Five years national/local centralised regional hybrid
from now
* see attached figure for illustration
Figure 1: four continental distribution concepts
1 National 2 Centralised
3 Regional 4 Hybrid
Source: Ferrari et al, 2006
212
2. What is the nature of the incoming and outgoing flows of the facility? Can you specify
this in percentages for both incoming as outgoing flows?
Incoming flows Outgoing flows

% Containerized
% Palletized (but not containerized)
% Bulk
3. Can you specify the use of intermodal services (barge/short sea/rail) of the facility as
percentage of the total incoming and outgoing goods flows of the facility?

% Use in actual situation
% Use ten years ago
% Use Five years from now
4. What is/are your main reasons for making use of intermodal transport for either your
incoming or outgoing flows?

First reason for
making use
Second reason
for making use
Third reason for

making use
5. If you do not, or hardly make use of intermodal transport what are main reasons for
this?

First reason for
not making use
Second reason
for not making
use
Third reason for
not making use
213
6. What is the importance of the following location factors for your logistics facility?

Not at Slightly Moderate High Very
all high
Centrality to a multinational market
Closeness to a regional market
Proximity of seaport
Availability of rail transport
Availability of barge transport
Low-congestion road network
Logistics costs (land prices, labor costs, etc)
Availability of knowledgeable labor force
7. Can you specify three reasons why you are located within or very close by the seaport
area?
Reason 1
Reason 2
Reason 3
8. Would you please give your opinion on the following statements?
Indication of importance*
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
Distribution concepts are shifting from either
national or central to a more hybrid form
combining central/regional with national/local
facilities
Logistics facilities with a central (multinational)
distribution function can best be located in
seaport areas
Logistics facilities with a regional distribution
function can best be located at an inland
location
For logistics facilities with a regional distribution
function the availability of multimodal transport
is not essential
For logistics facilities with a central
(multinational) distribution function the
availability of multimodal transport is
increasingly important.
214
215

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Transport and Logistics

The consolidated WP 3 Final Report

The report consists of 11 chapters.

Kent Bentzen, FDT

Michael Stie Laugesen, FDT

Vaida Cerneckyte, FDT

FDT Association of Danish Transport Centres

3 Guidelines for how to read the report 14

4 The four part reports written by the WP3 partners 17

5.1 Case study on logistics centres in Rotterdam - ..................................................................19

6 Analysis of institutional and organisational solutions in the development of

6.1. Background, Definitions and Method...............................................................................45

8 Promotion strategies for intermodal transport solutions 152

9 Overall recommendations 190

9.1 Recommendations Erasmus.............................................................................................190

10 Overall conclusion 194

10.1 Conclusions Erasmus.....................................................................................................194

Figure 6.1: Definition of Transport and Logistics Centres

Figure 7.1: Pattern of port expansion and possible areas of conflict.

Figure 8.1: Core elements of the Freight Integrator Concept

Table 6.1: Modal split (%)2

Table 8.1: Demands to the IDC (source: ECORYS (2006))

AD2: Analysis of institutional and organisational solutions in the development of transport

AD4: Promotion strategies for intermodal transport solution.

Case study of the economics and logistics of

Analysis of institutional and organisational solutions in the development of transport &

Promotion strategies for intermodal transport

5.1 Case study on logistics centres in Rotterdam -

5.1.1 Developments in logistics concepts

5.1.2 Strategy of companies

Figure 5.1: Development of MNCs strategies

5.1.3 Developments in logistics concepts

Origin Country B Country D

Origin Country B Country D

Figure 5.2: Evolution of import related logistics concepts

Figure 5.3: Development in distribution concepts. Source: Ferrari et al, 2006

5.1.4 Relation with seaports

5.1.6 Case methodology

The activities in the case studies are:

5.2.1 Intermodality in the port of Rotterdam

5.2.2 Distripark Eemhaven

5.2.3 Distripark Maasvlakte

5.3 Case studies distriparks Eemhaven and Maasvlakte

5.3.1 Developments at the distriparks - Distribution

Table 5.2: Distribution characteristics of the companies at the distripark Maasvlakte

5.3.2 Intermodal transportation

Name of Company Nature of goods flows Use of intermodal services

Maersk Logistics benelux 80% 20% 0% 20% 80% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 15% 20%

Location factors Indication of importance

Location factors Indication of importance

The managers of the logistics facilities acknowledge a development in distribution towards a

5.4 Logistics facilities in Sweden, Norway and Germany

6.1. Background, Definitions and Method

Table 6.1: Modal split (%)11 in the EU

Road Rail Inland Pipelines Sea Air

In addition to location an important issue to consider is environmental protection. A conflict

To ensure synergy and commercial cooperation, it is important that a Logistics Centre is

Figure 6.1: Definition of Transport and Logistics Centres

Figure 6.2: Definition of Intermodal Transport

Physical Transport & Logistics Centres

Virtual Logistics Centres

Figure 6.3: Transport & Logistics Centres Development

The activities of a Transport & Logistics Centre should include:

The most common characteristics of a Logistics Centre are: