Logistical Restructuring of Supply Chains of Building Materials and Road Freight Traffic Growth

ABSTRACT

Explaining increasing road freight demand solely in terms of growth of Gross Domestic Product and road tonne-kilometres is not sufficient. The objective of this article is to identify how changes in logistical decisions of firms in the building materials industry affect the resulting demand for road freight transport in this industry. Based on the analysis of national and international transport statistics (research on a macro level), it is first estimated how much the growth in lorry traffic is a function of economic growth and how much is attributable to changes in the logistical organisation. Second, it is analysed whether a multiple case study of supply chains in the building materials industry (the micro analysis) supports the outcomes of the macro analysis. The relationships between changes in the logistical decisions of firms in these supply chains and the key parameters affecting the increased demand for road freight transport in the building materials industry are demonstrated.