A case for incorporating logistics services in urban and regional policy: Some insight from US metropolitan areas

Abstract

Firms and jobs in producer services are often part of the target in some urban and regional policies. Although metropolitan areas (and the small core region within them) have long been the focus for these activities, there has been research to show that they can operate from smaller cities and indeed remote locations. This paper explores whether this outcome is likely for logistics services. Though these too have been seen as anchored to transport infrastructure, the research here shows that logistics services associated with supply chain management have weaker ties to the major transport centres. Jobs in this activity have been expanding recently. Taken together, these aspects suggest that urban and regional policy could begin to target logistics services as a way of attracting higher firms and jobs. For smaller cities that effort will be more effective where there is established road, rail or airport infrastructure. JEL classification: R58, R40, O32

Logistics Services: Global Functions and Global Cities

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“…This case will rest on the idea that modern logistics services are indeed a “new organisational format” and need to be seen as one of the producer services that are central to the character of global cities. The North American Industrial Classification confirms this view as it now counts some logistics services within the Services part of its classification system as well as within Transportation; the implications of this approach are discussed by O'Connor, Holly, and Clarke (). Hence, the objective of this paper is to identify the producer service elements of modern logistics service firms and establish whether these firms locate their offices in global cities.…”

Tracking the Van: The role of forward linkages in logistics MNEs' location choices across European NUTS 3 regions

“…Still, little is known in terms of logistics location decisions in Europe. We also believe that including the retail and wholesale industry in the analysis might be worth it given the increasing global trend of retailers to hold their inventory and integrate with logistics providers to meet customers' demand for quicker deliveries (Mangan, 2019; McKinnon, 2009; Mesic, 2015; O'Connor et al, 2012).…”

Logistics global network connectivity and its determinants. A European City network analysis

“…More specifically, the Globalization and World City Research Network (GaWC) inventory classifies global cities into four groups (Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Sufficiency) according to their connectivity with one another through the APS activity. Recent papers have suggested this approach could be applied to advanced logistics services (Antoine et al, 2017;O'Connor, 2010;O'Connor et al, 2012O'Connor et al, , 2016Wang and Cheng, 2010), which play a prominent role in the management of both physical and information flows of the global economy (Hesse and Rodrigue, 2006;Jacobs et al, 2010).…”