Who's poised to pounce on YOUR business?

Merger and acquisition activity in the logistics sector could be set to boom, according to the latest UK Logistics Confidence Index survey from Barclays and Moore Stephens.

More than one in three logistics firms are planning to take over another business in the next six months, the survey found, the main reason being to expand their service offering and achieve economies of scale.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, large firms appear to be more interested in acquisitions than their smaller counterparts – the survey report citing XPO Logistics’ takeover of Norbert Dentressangle and FedEx’s bid to buy TNT as two recent examples.

But market conditions are likely to encourage acquisitions among smaller players too, as Moore Stephens senior director Philip Bird pointed out to The Hub.

“We’ve been saying for a number of surveys that consolidation is inevitable in terms of medium and smaller size transactions because of the challenges the operators face, including low margins and the challenge of winning and keeping customers,” he said. “Those factors are still core issues and consolidation will help overcome them.”

The report also found a pro-EU membership stance amongst those in logistics.