ABSTRACT
Of the 162 pages in the Integrated Transport White Paper (DETR, 1998a), only around six were specifically related to freight transport, raising concerns about the extent to which freight would be ‘integrated’ into the government’s new policy framework. The main exposition of its policy on freight emerged the following year as a ‘daughter document’ entitled Sustainable Distribution (DETR, 1999a). This differed from previous policy statements on freight in at least three important respects. First, it attached greater importance to the environment, stressing the need to balance the goals of economic efficiency and environmental improvement. A second difference is the heavy emphasis placed on integration across transport modes, between transport and land use planning and with other government policies on ‘health, education and wealth creation’ (ibid., p. 11). Third, the report adopted a broader logistical perspective, presenting freight transport as a key element in the supply chain closely interacting with production and distribution operations. This brought government thinking on freight transport into line with logistics management principles now widely applied across British industry.
