Fast, flexible, efficient and cost effective delivery of goods is what businesses and consumers expect these days. That’s what transport logistics is all about. Yet if you were to ask ten people what transport logistics actually involves you'll get ten different answers.

Basically, it involves planning the collection and delivery of goods to and from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers by road, rail, water or air. It involves choosing the most efficient and cost effective mode or modes of transport, working out the optimum route, the number of drops or pick-ups, the size and weight of the packages, customer delivery/collection requirements, and so on.

It also involves communication between producers and warehouses and all other parties in the supply chain to ensure every link is in place for successful deliveries andeveryone is notified of any delays should problems arise.

Most transport logistics operations, whether in-house or outsourced, rely on distribution centres (DCs) and/or a hub and-spoke pattern. DCs store goods for local businesses or retailers to enable fast, frequent deliveries. Hub-and-spoke distribution involves trunking goods in bulk to a hub, wherethe load is broken down, goods consolidated with those from other loads, and made up into factory or store deliveries.

The Port of Liverpool reckons 8,000 vehicles come in and out of its gates every day, with more freight carried on the 100 or so trains serving the port per week. Manchester Airport handles 130,000 tonnes of flown freight a year, with another 65,000 tonnes believed to be trucked to and from other airports.

Freight provision in the region is strong. Liverpool is one of the country's major seaports, with Heysham and Fleetwood also moving substantial amounts of cargo. The Manchester Ship Canal, while not recording the tonnages of its heyday, has the potential to re-build business, while smaller ports Garston, Workington, Barrow-in-Furness, Silloth and Glasson Dock all have niche roles to play in the region's freight network. Manchester Airport is the second largest airfreight carrier in the country, while Liverpool Airport has a niche market in express and mail consignments.

Railfreight is generated by two main carriers: English Welsh and Scottish Railways (EWS) and Freightliner; other companies, such as GB Railfreight and Direct Rail Services, also serve the region. Major intermodal (road/rail) terminals are located, two each, at Trafford Park and Widnes.

In 1999 the North West Regional Freight Group (NWRFG) was established to consider the best way to serve all sectors of the logistics community. The group comprises the North West Regional Assembly, trade and institute bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), Freight Transport Association (FTA), and the Road Haulage Association (RHA), the Highways Agency, local ports and airports and major freight users. It's mission is “to promote the integral role of freight transport in furthering economic growth in the region and seek suitable freight transport solutions through partnership".

As Stephen Kelly, regional policy manager for the FTA, puts it: "The North West Regional Freight Strategy is trying to improve efficiency in the region across all modes of transport; it is the first group of its kind in the country and we hope it will act as a model for other regional freight groups and strategies."

Freight Quality Partnerships (FQP) have also been set up to cover Greater Manchester and Merseyside, as part of a national programme to facilitate local communities working together to address specific freight transport problems and ‘advise best practice in environmentally sensitive, economic, safe and efficient freight transport’.

They have a lot of work to do. Road freight users - the biggest section of transport logistics - face a number of problems, not least congestion and access to local businesses. Congestion charging and road tolls are unlikely to stop freight vehicles accessing our cities or using our roads: the goods have to be delivered and roads remain the most efficient and cost effective way of delivering. Transport logistics companies such as DHL sends vehicles into London's congestion charge zone as much now as they ever did.

Environmental and other concerns surrounding road building have to be balanced against the benefits these roads bring. The proposed second Mersey crossing, for example, could ease the bottleneck on the Widnes-Runcorn bridge; by speeding up delivery schedules, transport logistics companies will be able to better plan routes and achieve better utilisation of vehicles, ultimately leading to fewer lorries on the road. Advance warning of road works and lorry lanes on motorways would bring the same advantages.

While lorries add to daytime congestion, there are often restrictions on night operations near to residential communities. Although transport logistics companies wouldn't want to site their DCs near to houses, schools or hospitals any more than local residents want them to, they do need to deliver to retail units and other businesses. The same consumers who complain about lorries clogging up the roads during the day don’t like their sleep disturbed at night - but still want their supermarket to stock fresh produce every morning. Consumer and business trends for online and mail order purchases has also created a new growth sector of transport logistics - the use of smaller delivery vans is growing and more depots have to be built closer to consumer populations.More