Abstract
Historically, most of the goods consumed in the UK were manufactured in the UK. Distribution centres were created in the Midlands, where land and labor costs were low, to serve stores in the whole country. There was no road congestion, fuel was cheap and the environmental impact of transport was not a major concern. Thus, road transport was prominent because of its flexibility and fastness.
Nowadays, the growing demand for imported products from Asia creates a trade imbalance. The UK and other European countries import much more goods than they export. In the UK, 95% of imports come via ports. The increasing sizes of vessels, especially containers ships, reduce the number of ports able to handle them. Therefore, in the UK, most of containerized goods arrive at the ports of Felixstowe or Southampton. Those Southern ports cannot grow as quickly as the traffic, so they are facing congestion problems. Some expansions are planned but the landside is limited.
