Changing Demand Landscape in European Cold Chain Logistics
Energy, labor, and sustainability regulations have been prominent topics discussed by European cold chain logistics companies in recent years. Adding an important topic to this list of challenges, this article highlights long-term trends in European primary food production and food consumption that will significantly reshape the demand structure and growth of the European cold chain logistics sector.
The largest changes come from the animal protein sector, where there is an ongoing shift in production from the traditional producing countries – the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and France – to eastern and southern Europe. Such changes will cause a decrease in demand for cold chain logistics in those traditional producing countries but will increase demand for westbound refrigerated transportation as well as for cold storage services in countries with increasing production, especially Poland, Spain, and Italy.
