The Co-operative wants more longer semi-trailers

Morrisons has ordered a batch of 37 longer semi-trailers from Gray & Adams. The supermarket’s latest boxes are being fitted with 27-degree BPW self-tracking axles that allow them to meet turning circle requirements.

Producing a 15.65m longer semi-trailer that complies with manoeuvrability rules is one thing; building one that is a genuinely practical, real-world proposition is a different matter. So says Professor David Cebon, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Cambridge and director of Cambridge Vehicle Dynamics Consortium (CVDC), a collaboration between the university and industry.

The European logistics director at Kimberly-Clark believes operators should push the DfT to introduce “super” semi-trailers into in its longer semi-trailer trial. Peter Surtees, European logistics director at Kimberly-Clark, was speaking after the publication of a University of Huddersfield report on high capacity vehicles (HCVs) last week. Impact Assessment: High-Capacity Vehicles, which was sponsored by the firm, claims operators could cut fuel consumption and carbon emissions by between 11% and 19% per unit of load (on a pallet/km basis) by […]