The Logistics Industry Looks Optimistically to the Future

A short survey by the initiative ‘Die Wirtschaftsmacher’ sheds light on the labor market situation in the logistics sector. The results show: Despite various restrictions on business activities during the Corona pandemic, the willingness to hire in logistics remains high. The shortage of skilled workers will continue to be a major challenge in the future.

(Bremen) The Corona pandemic has left significant marks on the German labor market: Despite high expenditures for short-time work benefits, around 1 million people lost their jobs in 2020, particularly in the hospitality and gastronomy sectors. The summer of 2021 brings more optimistic news, the economy is picking up again, and the ifo Institute reported a significant increase in the employment barometer in May 2021. This means that the willingness to hire among companies has increased again.

But what about logistics, the third-largest economic sector in Germany with over 3 million employees? Is the general optimism regarding the advancing vaccination campaign and declining incidence rates also noticeable here in the form of an increased demand for labor? The initiative ‘Die Wirtschaftsmacher’ conducted a sample online survey in early June 2021 to gather assessments from representatives of the logistics sector.

Survey Responses Indicate Complex Developments

The anonymous short survey consisted of three questions that participants could answer with ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Don’t know’. Initially, it asked for an assessment of the ‘business climate’ in their own company and whether there was a noticeable decline, stagnation, or even growth due to the Corona pandemic. More than half (52.5 percent) indicated that despite the crisis, a positive balance of business activities could be drawn and growth was recorded. Nearly a quarter (22 percent) assessed the development as stable, while a quarter (25.4 percent) noted a decline. This ambivalent result reinforces the impression that logistics, as a sector closely linked to trade, has benefited from the enormous boom in online commerce. At the same time, many companies were affected by restrictions, bottlenecks, and congestion in both transnational and global transport networks, as well as by the impacts of the Corona crisis on the economy.

Secondly, the survey participants were asked whether their company plans to make new hires in the coming quarters. A clear majority of 78 percent answered this question affirmatively, indicating that the positive recovery sentiment in the economy also includes logistics. 15 percent of the responses were ‘No’. The data also suggest that nearly half of the companies that do not plan new hires have experienced a declining business development.

Shortage of Skilled Workers Remains a Major Challenge

Finally, the short survey looked at a long-term determining trend in the labor market – the shortage of skilled workers. An overwhelming majority of 85 percent indicated that further escalation is to be feared in the coming quarters. Logistics offers entry opportunities at all qualification levels, from operational staff to upper management. At the same time, new areas of work are emerging due to advancing digitalization and the development of digital business models, for which qualified workers are needed. Many companies are already addressing this by early recruitment of apprentices and offering further training measures throughout the entire job career.

“The survey results provide grounds for a positive summary on one hand, but on the other hand, they highlight areas of action for the economic sector and for us as an initiative that cannot be ignored,” comments Frauke Heistermann, spokesperson for the initiative ‘Die Wirtschaftsmacher’, on the results of the short survey. “We must continue to work together with our participants to ensure that logistics in general and its diverse employment opportunities in particular come further into the public eye.”

The survey was online for nearly two weeks and received 59 responses during this time.

Photo: © Die Wirtschaftsmacher