About the Sector

Overview

The Freight, Logistics, Shipping and Distribution sector is a service provider industry, facilitating the effective movement of goods into and out of Ireland. As an Island nation, the Irish Logisticians are and have a need to be among the most skilled in the global economy.

The short reason for International trade is resource management; countries around the world have different natural resources, different skilled industries and countries trade with one another in order to profit on their surplus, thereby allowing them funding to import what resources and skills they do not have.

With a population of 4.7 million people, Ireland’s Sea and Air Ports are vital gateways for Ireland's key exports and imports.

What is logistics and supply chain?

Logistics and supply chain is about organising, co-ordinating, managing and moving goods from their point of origin to their destination point. This involves planning, implementing, and controlling the movement of products and information to and from each part of the supply chain.

The supply chain lays out all aspects of the production process, including the activities involved at each stage, information that is being communicated, natural resources that are transformed into useful materials, human resources, and other components that go into the finished product or service.

Logistics and supply chains are in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week and support all sectors of the economy through facilitating both international and domestic trade. Getting items in the correct quantities from the source to the factory, or from the factory to the shop/consumer on schedule is very complex and involves not only the actual movement of goods around the world by road, rail, sea and air, it is also involves managing the supply, demand, distribution and procurement operations too.

The diagram below helps to illustrate the supply chain. At all stages of this life-cycle, the logistics and supply chain industry plays a vital role:

 

Size and scope of this sector

Ireland’s International Trade at a glance

– Goods exported €117 billion 

– Goods imported €69 billion 

– Trade surplus €47.3 billion

The Haulage industry in Ireland is made up mainly of small to medium enterprises with the average company having five trucks. 

Current issues

Logistics and Supply Chain Staff Shortages

From 2019 to 2022, employment in the Transport and Logistics sector grew by 5% to 113,100 persons employed, representing 4.4% of the national workforce.

Need for Greater Diversity in the Sector

Approximately 80% of employees in the transportation and storage sector, which includes logistics and supply chain, are male. This percentage is even higher in the sub-sector of commercial driving, where only 2.2% of qualified HGV drivers are female. Furthermore, the share of workers aged 55 years and over was 27%, well above the national average of 19%.

Changing Skills Needs

Emerging factors such as technological change, and automation and the central importance of sustainability, will require upskilling and reskilling requirements across many existing logistics and supply chain roles.

Brexit

In response to Brexit new routes have been opened and demand for skills in Transport and Logistics is rising, more direct routes to the continent means language skills are in increased demand, especially in administrative roles.

The government has indicated that up to 1,000 new customs officials staff and veterinary inspectors will be needed to prepare Ireland’s ports and airports for Brexit.

However this sector, as a career choice often appears to be unattractive to young people. The transport sector in particular has been less successful than others in recruiting younger workers due to many factors including a perception that it is made up of predominantly low skilled jobs and long hours. This perception must change. The transport and logistics sector unfortunately is suffering from a serious skills shortage across all levels which hinders progress and makes dealing with change extremely difficult.

Sustainability in logistics and supply chain

There are many opportunities to help reduce emissions and promote sustainability which we are working hard towards within the logistics and supply chain sector, including work in key sustainability concepts within logistics.

 

 

Green logistics refers to systems and practices implemented in the transportation and logistics industry to promote sustainability, reduce carbon emissions, and come up with environmentally friendly solutions to industry challenges.

Reverse Logistics refers to when goods are moved from the consumer back to the original manufacturer or on to a third party for recycling, repair, or for re-use. 

The Circular Economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible.

Interesting statistics

Read Logistics and Supply Chain Fact Sheet

With Ireland home to a high number of global companies, there is a strong demand for importing and exporting goods:

• 9 of Global Top 10 Technology Companies based in Ireland
• 9 of Global Top 10 Pharmaceutical Companies based in Ireland
• 10 of Global Top 20 Insurance Companies basin in Ireland
• 17 of World’s Top Medical Technology Companies
• 8 of Global Top 10 Aircraft Leasing Companies based here

A large proportion of the current labour force in the sector has less than upper secondary education qualifications. Despite this, the wage for the transportation sector remains competitive, ranked seventh out of 14 different sectors in terms of regular earnings.

Current skills shortages

The Freight, Logistics, Shipping and Distribution industries are all interlinked yet their vital operational work in background goes largely unnoticed. As a consequence, these industries are facing a Labour and Skills shortage as the economy grows with a need for over 30,000 entrants by 2025.

To deal with this Commerical Vehicle Fleet operators are investing in training, offering drivers around five and a half days of training per year with Transport staff receiving a similar number of days. Other measures being taken to address this shortage include highlighting the pay and conditions available in the sector and the expansion of apprenticeship programmes such as the Logistics Assosiate Apprenticeship and Transport Operations and Commercial Driving Apprenticeship

 

There is demand for more graduate level entrants to the FTDL sector to ensure a future provision of managers, planners and associated professionals with adequate skills.

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