Long-distance and local transport each have their own advantages and disadvantages, depending on specific requirements and needs. Here are some of the advantages that long-distance transport offers compared to local transport:
Longer distances: The most obvious advantage of long-distance transportation is that it is suitable for transporting goods or people over longer distances. While local transport is limited to shorter distances within a given region or city, long-distance transport enables transportation over several hundred or even thousand kilometers.
Efficiency: For transporting large quantities of goods over long distances, long-distance transport is often more efficient than local transport. Transport modes such as freight trains or container ships can carry a large amount of freight at once, improving the efficiency of transport processes.
Cost savings: Due to higher efficiency and economies of scale, the cost per transported unit can tend to be lower in long-distance transport than in short-distance transport. This can be particularly advantageous when large quantities of goods have to be transported over long distances.
Global trade: Long-distance transport plays a crucial role in global trade, as it enables goods to be transported between countries and continents. Without long-distance transport, international trade would not be possible to the extent we know it today.
Time savings: although local transport is generally faster when it comes to moving goods within a limited geographic region, long-distance transport can be advantageous for longer distances, as it can use more direct and faster routes in many cases, such as aircraft in air transport.
Specialization: Long-distance transportation allows companies and logistics service providers to focus on specialized areas that require extensive regional or global reach. This enables them to expand their expertise in specific markets or transport routes.
It is important to note that local and long-distance transportation often interact and complement each other in logistics. The decision for one of the two types of transport depends on the specific requirements of the transport, the distance, the type of goods and the costs. For many companies, a combination of local and long-distance transport is crucial to making their supply chains efficient and reliable.