The Sector Now
The transport and logistics sector is significant for Essex, with two airports, ports, road and rail connections playing a national and international role. Nearly 60,000 people are employed in transport and storage roles across Essex, at levels above the national average. In Thurrock, a quarter of the total workforce are in roles in the sector, reflecting the presence of notable hubs such as DP World London Gateway, Thames Freeport and large employers such as Amazon. Other notable names in the sector include Southend and Stansted Airports, and Harwich International Port.
Logistics is important to other sectors and key to ensuring goods can move locally, nationally and internationally in the most efficient way. It is therefore important to manufacturing and engineering and also sectors such as retail. Technology is increasingly used in areas such as tracking, visibility and automation which helps with efficiencies and streamlining. Clearly, investments in infrastructure are important also -including roads, ports, and airports and contributing to the industry’s growth. Consumer trends are also impacting, with factors such as online shopping driving demand. As a result, investments in warehousing, last-mile delivery, and fulfilment centres have increased and this is likely to continue.
As well as ports, Essex has an extensive network of major highways and motorways that cross the county. The M25 motorway, a notable feature of this network, circumnavigates Greater London and intersects Essex, playing an indispensable role in facilitating the transit of goods to and from the capital and other parts of the United Kingdom. In addition, key arterial routes such as the A12, A13, and A127 provide seamless connectivity between Essex, London, and the broader national landscape. The Dartford Crossing and Tunnel are also important in terms of logistics and a key road crossing the River Thames, connecting Kent to the south with Essex to the north. This is seen by the Highways Agency as nationally significant given the volume of traffic (routinely up to 160,000 vehicles). The Lower Thames Crossing (due to open in the early 2030s) will add significantly to the capacity of traffic across the Thames and which is described further in the advanced manufacturing and construction sector insights.
Rail also plays an important role, with freight trains running from the ports to deliver goods to London and other locations and carrying various goods including consumer and also construction materials, agricultural products and other essential commodities. There are various operators currently covering Essex including Greater Anglia (now under public ownership) and c2c and with some areas (e.g. Epping, Shenfield) covered by the London tube network. As of October 2025, there is also a new station on the Greater Anglia line – Beaulieu Park, which is the first new station on that line for over 100 years.
