The logistics and transport sectors in Lyon and its region

Located at the intersection of major trade routes, and recognised for its dynamic economy, Greater Lyon is well placed for shipping and warehousing goods. France’s second ranking region in terms of logistics jobs and warehousing capacity, Lyon puts special emphasis to developing multimodal transport.

Transport and logistics in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: key figures

2^nd region for people hired in this sector
163,263 workers in transport and warehousing in the Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes region, i.e. 12% of the national total in these sectors (source: Acoss-Urssaf as of 31-12-2017)
23,290 salaried jobs in the Lyon metro area alone – a 6% rise in 10 years (source: Acoss-Urssaf as of 31-12-2017)
200 hectares available for airport, rail and road transporters (source: Aderly)
4.5 million sq. m of logistics facilities in the Lyon Urban Region (RUL) (source: Aderly)
By road: 235.7 million tonnes of goods shipped in 2017
Rail and river/sea: 2.6 million tonnes handled by public ports in 2017
(sources: General Directorate of Civil Aviation, DREAL, SITRAM, SNCF, ports des CCI d’Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Édouard-Herriot port in Lyon, VNF)

A strategic, well-structured sector

Fuelled by the e-commerce boom, the logistics and transport sector is an essential competitiveness lever for businesses and territories. Boasting a strategic location and good road, river, rail and air infrastructure, Greater Lyon has placed this sector in the front rank of its economy. The sector also offers extensive opportunities for firms offering services and tech solutions.

Discover the Lyon area’s roadways, infrastructures and transports

Specialized networks in the transport sector

Players in the logistics and transport sectors can count on the networks the region’s transport innovation hubs and specialized clusters are part of.

CARA European Cluster for mobility solutions
- Innovation hub specializing in passenger and freight transport (industrial vehicles, automobiles, cable transport, waterway transport, active & sustainable mobility and railways)

Cutting-edge facilities to innovate and experiment

The Lyon region has Europe’s only shared platform for the innovation and development of safe, sustainable vehicles and infrastructures:

130 hectares for tests (cities, rural roads, freeways, autoroute, tracks and obstacles,
3 crash test zones,
2 plots of land located in Plaine de l’Ain.

Transpolis

Training talents in the logistics and transport sector

In Lyon, several independent training centres run courses specific to the logistics and transport sector. These are aimed equally at students and professionals – with topics such as transporting hazardous materials. Lastly, each year, the metropolitan area also hosts big trade fairs around logistics and transport: Europack, Industrie Lyon and Solutrans.

Logistics and transport industry events

Finally, every year the Lyon metropolitan area plays host to major trade shows in the logistics and transport sectors:

Prod&Pack, the exhibition for the packaged product ecosystem (process, packaging, logistics and recycling)
Global Industrie, the international industrial exhibition
Solutrans, the world exhibition for industrial and urban vehicles

Top spots for logistics jobs in the Lyon metropolitan area

Greater Lyon is conducive to developing logistics activities. It hosts the second largest stock of logistics facilities in France – a very attractive proposition given the area’s high population and consumption, and its dense transport infrastructure. The top spots are in various territories:

Nord-Isère: the biggest terrestrial logistics platform in France, and among the biggest in Europe, with 2.3 million sq. m of warehousing, 131 sites, 10,000 jobs, and a network of expertise in factory logistics and its roles: the Logistics Intelligence Hub (PIL);
Plaine de l’Ain Industrial Park. With about 520,000 sq. m of warehousing, logistics is one of four big business sectors in this territory.
The Lyon metropolitan area: a region for urban logistics (local logistics, first and last mile, optimization of chains and circuits), environmentally friendly transport and green transport.
- City of Lyon and Villeurbanne, with 6,000 jobs, i.e. 28% of the metropolitan area’s logistics jobs, due chiefly to big sites run by La Poste (eight sites with 100-plus staff) and SNCF Réseau (nine sites).