With such a large logistics industry here in the UK, it is no surprise that there are many transit routes running throughout the country. Some of the busiest and most commonly used transit routes include those connecting each major city in the country. This includes London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow, and beyond. Couriers also regularly visit busy seaports to collect goods from incoming cargo ships to take inland and deliver to a wide range of customers.
As an island, a large majority of goods in this country are imported from overseas. The total imports of goods in 2021 were valued at £465.5 billion, seeing an increase of 8.4% compared to figures from 2020, despite Brexit and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the main seaports in this country include Immingham, Felixstowe, Tees, Liverpool, Southampton, Milford Haven.
The Port of Felixstowe is the biggest container port in the UK. It is also considered one of the biggest ports in Europe. Seeing around 2000 ships per year. Thanks to the Port’s strong connections with rail and road links, such as its road links to the midlands, the Port of Felixstowe plays an important role in the distribution of goods throughout the country. Couriers will often make journeys between this port and others to distribution centers throughout the country. Including major hubs, such as those found in the Midlands.
Conveniently located between the Midlands and London, Milton Keynes has fast become a popular location for companies to locate their distribution and warehousing centres. This makes roads connecting major cities to Milton Keynes some of the busiest routes for delivery drivers. Companies like Amazon, John Lewis, H&M, Waitrose, and Tesco all have distribution centres in Milton Keynes. Allowing couriers access to both the high-income areas of London and Greater London, fast routes into the Midlands with close links to the M1 motorway.
After Milton Keynes is the key location of the Midlands. With close links to so many of the UK’s major transit routes, such as the M1, M6, and M5, the Midlands is a well-connected area of the country. Known as the ‘golden triangle’ in the logistics industry, the area combining key cities of both the East and West Midlands is popular and allows 90% of the UK population to be reached within a 4-hour drive.
The Strategic Road Network (SRN) in the UK is serviced and managed by Highways England. These stretches of road include 4,300 miles of motorways and major A roads. Those of which are most commonly used by long-distance haulers and couriers. These are considered to be the most important and potentially the biggest piece of our transport infrastructure. All the A roads and motorways that make up the SRN connect large cities and major towns across the country, helping to connect people and carrying a third of all traffic and two-thirds of all freight.
Some of the busiest regions that are covered by the SRN include, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, Essex, and Hertfordshire. Something you will notice with all of these counties is that they provide excellent access to areas of Greater London, as well as the country’s key seaports. Running through these counties is one of the biggest and most congested motorways in the UK, the notorious M25.
The M25, also known as London Orbital Motorway is the major road that encircles almost the entirety of Greater London. Providing access points into and out of the capital with links to other major motorways connecting the rest of the country. The M25 is a 117-mile motorway, considered to be one of the most important and busiest transit routes in the country. This is a heavily used motorway by couriers who are heading into, out of, and around London, into high traffic areas such as those in Kent and Surrey, or to reach distribution centers in the Midlands from the ports in the south of the country.
Written by DeliveryApp
