Spending on logistics will increase by €7.3 billion ($10.6 billion) over three years and contract logistics (outsourcing) will grow by 89%.
“Whilst it is all to easy to focus on the negative aspects of developing an immature logistics industry across Central and Eastern Europe, such as the poor quality of the region's’transport infrastructure, or a chronic shortage of adequately trained logistics employees, the region nonetheless presents an enormous opportunity for the sustained growth of contract logistics activity,” says Analytiqa.
The study forecasts compound annual growth rates (CAGR) between 2005 and 2010 of 82% for Bulgaria, 15.2% for the Czech Repbulic, 16.3% for Hungary, 32.8% for Poland, 22.4% for Romania, and 28.5% for Slovakia. That yields a growth rate for Central and Eastern Europe of 65.3%.
“Although growing from a relatively small base makes it somewhat easier to reach ‘headline’ making growth, the figures are nonetheless impressive,” Analytiqa analysts point out. Between 2005 and 2007, the largest individual market for logistics in the region, Poland, grew by 33%. Looking ahead, Analytiqa forecasts that smaller, less developed logistics markets such as Bulgaria and Romania are set for explosive growth rates. Logistics markets in Bulgaria are set for 82% growth by 2010, as Romanian markets grow by more than 22% per year,with 3PLs set to capture a significant share of this growth.