Where the rubber meets the road: Transport and logistics within Ipswich
Ben Hayward • May 30, 2020
The connected heart of logistics in the South East
Redbank, located within the City of Ipswich and just over 30km from Brisbane, is a key logistical hub within South East Queensland. Image credit: Google Maps
You’d be surprised what products transit through the City of Ipswich on their journey through Queensland and further afield in Australia - think Officeworks, Samsung and even Apple.
It’s no surprise that many of Australia’s biggest players in logistics and transport call the city of Ipswich home. Located at the intersection of major motorways, highways, rail and relatively close proximity to airports such as Brisbane and Toowoomba - Ipswich strikes a perfect balance between accessibility and available industrial land.
E-commerce boom
The 2019 Australia Post report Inside Australian Online Shopping outlined how the Group (including Startrack Express) delivered more than 3.3 billion items to more than 12 million addresses across the country - with Ipswich a major distribution centre.
Ipswich is home to the largest distribution centre within the southern hemisphere. The $200 million high tech Australia Post Distribution centre within the Redbank Motorway Estate is simply massive - with a footprint of over 10 football fields and employing up to 500 people.
While Australia Post is the newer kid on the block, other major players also call the city home including TNT, Northline and DB Schenker all taking advantage of the A-double and B-double approved transport routes.
Keep on trucking
Across town there is another logistics business that has been family owned since 1954. With over 130 employees, JR Stephens & Co. is one of the largest haulage companies within the South East, transporting waste and other raw materials, supporting multiple industries.Taking advantage of the excellent connectivity the company continues to be known as one of the most diversified waste transporters in South East Queensland.
What’s next?
The Queensland Government
anticipates that the industry across Queensland and within Ipswich will require over 1000 additional skilled workers by 2022. The figures below are from one possible scenario outlined in the Anticipating Future Skills: Jobs growth and alternative futures for Queensland to 2022.
| Region | 2017 | 2022 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| QLD | 129793 | 142085 | 12292 |
| Ipswich | 11691 | 12814 | 1123 |
And while it's not quite clear how the COVID - 19 impact will play out on these numbers, the folks over at eMarketer have released Q1 retail ecommerce performance benchmarks which show ecommerce sales growth of 62% (represents activity on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud network, broader industry metrics may vary). Ecommerce and the logistical infrastructure required to keep up with demand will see this industry continue to grow with Ipswich playing a key role within this network.
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