Baden-Württemberg – Europe's transport hub
Baden-Württemberg as a location for logistics services
Baden-Württemberg lies at the intersection of Europe's main traffic routes.
The arterial routes of Paris-Budapest, Amsterdam-Milan, Hamburg-Marseilles and Warsaw-Paris intersect in Baden-Württemberg.
Leading consulting and real estate companies (such as Jones-Lang-Lasalle etc.) believe that the eastwards expansion of the European Union will cause the logistical center of Europe to also move to the east. This means that the best logistics locations in Europe will shift from the Benelux countries to Germany, which has sites that are well-suited for new European distribution centers.
A container being loaded by a stacker
A wide range of logistical services is a prerequisite for successfully integrating our industry into global procurement and distribution structures. This is especially true for our strong export industries such as the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and the electrical industry. Based on its importance to the job market, the logistics sector is the second most important industry in Baden-Württemberg.
The logistics market in Europe is estimated to be worth approximately €887 billion, in Germany €200 billion (Source: TOP 100 of logistics). For 2011 the prognose will see the worth of logistics market of Germany between €215 and €220 billion. However, the logistics sector is expected to grow annually in the coming years.
Baden-Württemberg is well established economically as a logistics location and is integrated in worldwide production processes. Due to the expansion of the European Union, Baden-Württemberg has moved to the center of trans-European trade relations.
The following pages describe the significance of this for Europe and Germany, the effects this will have on the logistics sector and trends and developments in logistics.