Munich. The Netherlands enjoys an excellent standing among Germany’s freight forwarders, as was recently determined in a survey conducted by the Lüdinghausen-based market research institute Kleffmann on behalf of the Munich-based weekly magazine VerkehrsRundschau. Scoring 748 out of a possible 1,000 points, the Netherlands tops the list of most attractive European logistics locations; Austria (705 points) came in second, while Belgium (684 points) took home third. The three lowest-scoring countries were Turkey (13th place, 471 points), Rumania (14th place, 453 points) and the Russian Federation (15th place, 416 points). In the context of the “Image Ranking 2016” study, Germany’s logistics decision-makers from industry and commerce rated the appeal of Germany’s fifteen most important trade partners in continental Europe. (Germany itself was not part of the ranking.)
Service providers and motorways are key
Those freight forwarders surveyed cited the quality and availability of logistics service providers, as well as the good connection to motorway networks, as the most important factors in determining a country’s value as a European location for logistics and distribution. In addition, they expect as little bureaucracy and corruption as possible. Factors considered of lesser importance included connections to rail or inland water transport networks.
Awards ceremony at the VerkehrsRundschau Gala
In the course of the VerkehrsRundschau Gala, held on 18 February in Munich, the Netherlands was honoured with the 2016 Image Award for best European Logistics Location, which was presented by VerkehrsRundschau Editor-in-Chief Gerhard Grünig and Dorothee Bär, Parliamentary State Secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.
Extensive brand study
In the study “2016 Image Ranking for Transport and Logistics Services” the market research institute Kleffmann surveyed a total of 400 logistics decision-makers at German industrial and commercial companies (carriers) on behalf of the Munich-based weekly magazine VerkehrsRundschau, asking them to share their views on the relative appeal of Europe’s fifteen most important logistics regions. Further, the study explored the image of the 79 most important brands, including logistics companies and regional medium-sized forwarders in five market segments.
The brand study “Image Ranking” has been regularly commissioned by VerkehrsRundschau since 2002; survey data for the “Image Ranking for Transport and Logistics Services” study is currently gathered every two years.
From 19 February 2016, all rankings and data from the new “Image Ranking for Transport and Logistics Services” study, and those from previous years, are available free of charge to all VerkehrsRundschau subscribers at www.verkehrsrundschau.de/image-tl. (gg)