Freight consolidation in the Solent Region: concepts, benefits and challenges

Freight movement and logistics activities have dramatically increased in recent years due to the increase of e-commerce and other economic activities. In addition to financial and commercial competition effects of logistical performance for businesses, freight logistics activities have significant impacts on the sustainable environment and liveability of cities such as traffic congestion, carbon emissions, noise, road safety, etc. The Solent region is of strategic economic and security importance to the UK, focussed around the two City Regions of Portsmouth and Southampton, the settlements and strategic growth areas within Hampshire between/adjacent to the cities, the Isle of Wight and the Solent waterway. The area acts as a critical gateway for international trade which underpins a thriving freight & logistics sector located around the two key cities creating particular local challenges around the movement of goods in urban environments.
The Solent Future Transport Zone Freight consolidation project, funded by the UK Department for Transport, aims to explore and demonstrate new consolidation concepts for making urban logistics more sustainable, reducing the impact goods movement has on congestion and air quality in the Solent region. The main goal of this research is to quantify the business as usual transport footprint of freight in the Solent region, develop, simulate and trial new freight consolidation concepts to achieve environmental, social and commercial benefits. The consolidation options will trial micro-consolidation for last mile parcel delivery (cargo bikes, walking porters, etc.), and macro-consolidation for first mile delivery by increasing the use of the existing Sustainable Distribution Centre in Southampton and potentially creating a new one in Portsmouth. Extensive analysis will be conducted to evaluate the business as usual freight footprint and the sustainability impacts of the consolidation concepts in the Solent region.