Logistik-Initiative Hamburg

Being a port city, Hamburg is a leading hub for logistics services in Northern Europe: the city’s international shipping companies, forwarding agents, warehousing companies, handling and transport companies, importers and exporters as well as leading mail order companies provide a closely knit network with great economic potential. Goods from oversea are reloaded, stored and processed in Hamburg, or are forwarded to their final destination by rail, road, barge or ship. In terms of exports, Germany is the number one in Europe, and the port of Hamburg is the most important interface for foreign trade. The regional logistics industry is therefore a major job engine. In the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, more than 230,000 individuals are employed in the logistics industry; from among these, 154,000 work in the City of Hamburg.

As freight flows are increasing rapidly and container ships are getting larger and larger, all stakeholders along the transport chain are faced with new challenges. The Logistik-Initiative Hamburg network has set itself the task of identifying these challenges and of shaping the future in a sustainable manner in collaboration with companies and research partners from the network. This involves systematic networking between industry, science and research as well as extensive innovation transfer. With more than 500 member companies and institutions from industry, trade, service, research and development and numerous public institutions, Logistik-Initiative Hamburg is the largest regional logistics network in Europe.

Seventeen public and private universities offer diverse degree programmes in the field of logistics in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, among them prestigious institutions such as the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg (TUHH), the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) and the Kühne Logistics University (KLU).