Sustainable urban logistics: concepts against urban collapse
More and more people are living in cities. Traffic is booming, not least due to e-commerce. This puts a strain on residents. The pressure on urban logistics is growing. What sustainable solutions are cities using to meet the challenges of tomorrow? Find out more.
Millions of people live in cities
More than 55 per cent of the world's population (2021) live in urban areas with more than 10,000 inhabitants, according to the United Nations. In the European Union, the degree of urbanisation is over 75 per cent (source: Statista). And the trend is rising. This development will further increase the pressure on urban logistics. It is not only the flood of parcels that is increasing, but also the volume of general cargo.
Lots of traffic competing for little space
Transport and handling for more and more B2C deliveries are competing with increasing traffic caused by retail, industry and trade. According to the HDE Online Monitor 2024, bricks-and-mortar retail is gaining ground again in Germany, with stable click-and-collect shares, among other things. Retailers are replenishing their stocks more frequently, more flexibly and in smaller quantities. At the same time, growth in online retail will remain stable at a high level of 85.4 billion euros (2023). Growth can be achieved on marketplaces in particular, but also with own online shops. The persistently high level is fuelling delivery traffic in cities. With a B2C share of 59 per cent, the BPEX CEP Study 2024 reflects this development with a slight increase in shipments of 0.6 per cent.
The delivery situation is rapidly worsening
To improve air quality, local authorities are responding with driving bans and access restrictions. This has already happened in over 840 cities within the EU. Since 2021, the EU has been supporting cities with a framework concept aimed at curbing traffic, emissions and noise. Emission-free solutions for vehicle fleets, the organisation of the last mile, multimodal hubs and digital solutions are increasingly coming into focus.
“The pressure on the logistics industry is increasing and it is not only CEP service providers that are affected, but also general cargo forwarders. They urgently need functioning concepts for urban delivery,” says Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München. “Universities, research institutes and leading logistics service providers are working with local authorities to develop and test solutions that ease the burden on urban transport and thus the environment,” Rummel continues.
Sustainable delivery concepts for urban logistics
Space in cities is becoming scarce. Local authorities, business and science are working intensively on concepts that are fair to everyone in the long term: People, the environment and the economy. Because the solutions are as diverse as the framework conditions of the cities themselves, exhibitors and specialist forums at transport logistic 2025 are once again focussing on this topic. A look back: In 2019, the world's largest logistics trade fair presented award-winning solutions from the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Environment Agency. The winners of the “Sustainable Urban Logistics” competition have successfully developed these further to date.
Emission-free general cargo delivery
In 2019, Stuttgart city centre was the first emission-free delivery area for general cargo shipments. The principle: a modular system for DACHSER branches. The goal: delivery of general cargo and heavy palletised goods using battery-powered trucks, vans and cargo bikes, with micro-hubs close to the city centre as required. “Geography, social structure, administration: every city has a unique profile that we take into account when planning and implementing an emission-free delivery area,” explains Tara Li, Project Manager DACHSER Emission-Free Delivery. “At the same time, we can already draw on experience from twelve European cities and exploit the corresponding synergies and optimisation potential.” With this emission-free city centre delivery, municipalities can improve air quality and reduce traffic noise. DACHSER aims to complete the second dozen by 2025.
Low-noise logistics at night
In the field of urban logistics, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML bundles new concepts and technologies for city-friendly, efficient and environmentally friendly deliveries to city centres. From electromobility and micro-depots to cargo bikes, practicable solutions for the last mile are demonstrated. In addition to the organisation of transport flows via micro-hubs and recipient-controlled delivery, the research work also focuses on the effects of shifting transport to free areas and times. For example, the award-winning logistics concept “Low-noise night logistics”—GeNaLog for short—with electric trucks, noise-optimised vehicle floors and loading aids as well as special drivers, focused on daytime and night-time periods. The project with practice partners REWE, DOEGO and TEDi has already demonstrated at transport logistic 2019 that low-noise night logistics is technically feasible. The Fraunhofer Institute team is currently working on a manual as part of the “Quiet Logistics” mobility project. This will make it easier for local authorities to assess the noise emissions of vehicles and equipment in the future.
Tubes for underground transport
The visionary approach of underground transport through pipelines as a “Smart City Loop” received a special award in 2019. Goods are transported on load carriers from city hubs on the outskirts of the city through pipelines to micro-depots in the city centre. The concept is based on tried-and-tested technology and can be implemented in a short space of time. The economic viability has been proven by studies. Discussions are currently underway with investors who are financing the preparations for the planning approval procedure in Hamburg. The concept of underground supply and disposal in city centres is attracting growing interest in view of the increasing pressure from traffic and environmental pollution—also abroad.
Supplying the city through the air
In 2019, some of the University of Duisburg-Essen's ideas were visionary, and many still are today. Transport physicist Prof Dr Michael Schreckenberg researched the use of delivery drones in urban logistics. The focus included the Vision Van developed by Daimler with integrated drones for autonomous air delivery, the autonomously flying Volocopter air taxi and urban cable car systems, such as in La Paz, which could also be used for cargo. "However, there are still many legal issues to be clarified for city deliveries by air," Schreckenberg admitted at the time. It was only another five years later that the Bielefeld-based drone manufacturer Third Element Aviation was able to report the first nationwide authorisation for commercial scheduled drone flights from the Federal Aviation Office.
Conclusion: urban logistics needs a variety of solutions
There are already a number of solutions to the challenges of urban logistics, some of which have already proven themselves in practice. However, there will never be a masterplan that fits all cities and regions. It therefore remains exciting to see what measures the individual municipalities and logistics service providers will use in future to respond to the pressing challenges and demands in terms of mobility, delivery readiness, climate and emissions protection. transport logistic 2025 is a platform for innovative approaches to urban logistics.
Find out more about sustainable logistics
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