MULTIMODAL LOGISTICS, THIRD- AND FOURTH-PARTY OPERATORS, AND THE FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY OF INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT CORRIDORS: EVIDENCE AND POLICY FOR UZBEKISTAN

Аннотация

This paper asks how the structure of the logistics-services market and the depth
of international transport integration shape the financial efficiency of the logistics sector in a
doubly landlocked transition economy, taking Uzbekistan as its case. The analysis is organised by
an integrated three-tier framework that links the services-market value ladder (first- to fourth-party
logistics), the cost economics of multimodal corridors, and the financing architecture through
which capacity is built. Two propositions are tested. First, that realising the multimodal principle
and consolidating large national operators specialised in third-party logistics (3PL) and higher
formats raises the value added and revenue base of the sector. Second, that diversifying foreigntrade directions (by reducing border friction, delivery times and transport-logistics costs)
strengthens trade competitiveness and transit revenue. The empirical anchor is the World Bank
Logistics Performance Index 2023, in which Uzbekistan ranks 88th of 139 economies (score 2.6),
and the quantified targets of Presidential Resolution No. PQ-28 of 27 January 2025 and its Concept
to 2030. Three methods are applied: a normalised composite index for comparative benchmarking;
an additive structural decomposition that maps the official transport-cost-reduction target (10 to
15 per cent) onto four policy levers with defined units; and a compound-growth scenario projection
that links the 2024 baseline (59.6 million tonnes of international cargo) to the 2030 doubling target,
implying an annual growth rate of about 12.25%. The decomposition attributes the midpoint
reduction (12.5 percentage points) to logistics-centre consolidation (4.0 pp), digital customs (3.5
pp), multimodal route and load optimisation (3.0 pp), and an intermodal/container shift (2.0 pp).
All projected figures are reported as model-based scenarios under stated assumptions rather than
as measured outcomes. The paper concludes that a high-value-added, multimodal and
internationally integrated services market is a strategic instrument for consolidating Uzbekistan’s
position as a Central Asian transit hub, and specifies the financing instruments (public-private
partnership, infrastructure bonds and capital-market issuance) through which that market can be
built