DEREGULATION AND LOGISTICS SYSTEMS IN A SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET. IN: TRANSPORT LOGISTICS

This paper outlines recent policy development relating to the deregulation of road freight transport in the European Union and considers the short term impact of deregulation on sector structure, stability and efficiency, as well as structure, stability and efficiency in mature regulated markets compared with mature deregulated markets. It is suggested that mature deregulated markets are both more efficient and more stable than regulated ones, and that concentration levels are, contrary to previous perceptions, relatively high and increasing. The paper considers the development of the Common Transport Policy and access to domestic markets, discusses industrial demand for transport in a Single European Market, structural and operational changes in road freight transport, and an appraisal of the contribution of deregulation to industrial and logistics strategies.