The total volume of the cargo being shipped within Europe is enormous. The reasons behind this include the ease of transporting the cargo, the simplified customs and trade formalities within the European Union, as well as the globalization of the world economy, which allows for easy communication and development of the commerce as well as the mobility within the European countries. This is why the member companies of the European network for logistics are continuously working on increasing the number of service they offer and for cooperation when providing groupage transport service and complete loads.
Developments in the min transport types used for deliveries for the European countries
The development and growth of the logistics services provided have led to the development of the three main transport types used in Europe, namely: road, water and air transport. All of these transportation types have their own benefits and the European logistics companies use these specific advantages in order to offer the best routes, delivery terms and prices to their customers.
Road transport
Road transport has a number of advantages for the cargos and goods which need to be forwarded with trucks or by rail due to the specific final destinations. Unlike water or air transport, road transport offers a much wider choice of end destinations and covers most areas and destinations throughout Europe.
For example, the biggest share of available road transport is in Luxemburg followed by Lithuania. In these two countries, the use of road transport is about 85% of all types of transport available. This includes not only the forwarding within the countries themselves but the international forwarding services offered by the freight forwarders association.
The routes for the road transport can easily be adopted and combined due to the density of the road and rail transportation network within Europe. This is why this is the main type of transport used by the network of freight forwarders.
Water transport
Water transport includes forwarding via sea and river routes. Sea transport is the more commonly used type of water transport by the freight forwarders. It is the cheapest variant offered by the forwarders throughout Europe who offer it to customers who want the lowest price for the logistics services provided rather than very fast delivery. Another advantage of sea transport is the possibility to forward very big lots and loads with one ship. This is why the container buses are widely used for the freight forwarding services on the continent.
In Europe, sea transport is mainly provided for the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Great Britain where the largest European sea ports are located.
The internal water transport is another cheaper forwarding option in the cases when the destination country has internal water transport canals and rivers. For countries which lack this type of transport, the deliveries are done by sea.
Air transport
Air transport is the most expensive freight forwarding solution and is not usually used for logistics services. An exception is made when the delivery terms are very short, and when quick or express delivery is essential for the customers. The European logistics network offers air transport for the delivery of important small shipments.
The countries with the biggest share of air forwarding services used in Europe are: Germany followed by France and Great Britain.
Due to the fact that the number of cargo airports are fewer than the number of sea and river ports and the road destinations, it is often necessary to combine air transport with road transport, most commonly with truck transport for the final deliveries to be made.