Logistics hubs: an integration of transport infrastructure

Abstract

Logistics hubs are very well established internationally and many examples exist where these have been successfully built and implemented. This success have lead to the proliferation of such hubs and in South Africa there are many "decision makers" that have jumped on the band wagon pushing for logistics hubs to be established in their regions or within their areas of jurisdiction. The feasibility of a logistics hub is dependent on a number of criteria with access to ideally more than two but preferably three modes of transport plus a whole range of other very critical conditions. This paper will define the concept of a logistics hub, outline the criteria that should be used to evaluate any proposed development of such a hub and outline conditions that need to exist to ensure success of any endeavour to establish a logistics hub. A local real-life case study will be used to illustrate and demonstrate how the authors went about to assist a local authority in determining the feasibility of a proposed location for a logistics hub.