As an added incentive and subsequent bonus, the NGCT will also substantially contribute to reduction in congestion on UK roads and lowered carbon emissions caused by traditional inland cargo transport via lorries.

'There is already a strong trend away from road haulage in the UK and towards more environmentally friendly and operationally beneficial alternatives, said Martyn Pellew, group development director of PD Ports (PDP). 'Retailers and logistics companies are increasingly favouring rail and water transport. What we know as Portcentric logistics is definitely going to be the next major logistics trend in the UK.'

Portcentric Logistics, a concept pioneered by PDP, provides all processing associated with container shipping at the UK port closest to the final UK destination of the product. Unpacking, storing and loading goods at the port for onward delivery to stores directly benefits the supply chain at multiple levels. By eliminating road miles travelled from southern UK ports to distribution centres often based in the Midlands and the North, the environmental footprint of the entire supply chain is minimised.

Portcentric Logistics can also provide financial and operational advantages such as decreased costs of demurrage, storage and distribution. 'Retailers will also see a reduction in their shipment delays because their products won’t be caught up in UK southern port and road congestion. There’ll be a marked increase in the accessibility of inventory', added Pellew

Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, recently announced plans to build a 1.2m sq/ft import centre on land at Teesport and the approach has already proved successful for rival ASDA, owned by American retailing giant WalMart.

In 2005 ASDA decided to invest £20 million in a new 350,000 sq/ft import centre at Teesport, to allow the company to be more flexible and responsive to customer needs. The benefits of this strategy created estimated savings of an additional two million road miles per year by shipping 70% of ASDA’s non-food imports directly to Teesport as opposed to transporting them from the south via road when destined for northern consumers. By virtually eliminating these inland container movements, ASDA has not only reduced costs significantly, but has also cut the environmental impact of its distribution operations.