Industry News

Acas fuel tanker driver talks reconvene

April 10, 2012 Hayley Pink

Haulage bosses from six fuel distribution firms are due to resume talks with the Unite union this morning (10 April) following the Easter weekend. Conciliation service Acas is leading the discussions, which kicked off last Wednesday (4 April) and continued for two days, over tanker drivers’ training, safety and employment conditions. Acas chief conciliator Peter Harwood says of the talks so far: “The discussions have been constructive, with the parties positively engaged and committed to the process.” If talks fail, […]

Pall-Ex fires up young Dragons

April 5, 2012 Laura Hailstone

Pall-Ex has been playing its part in raising the profile of the logistics industry with a Dragons’ Den style workshop for local school children at its central hub in Ellistown. Year Six students from 10 local primary schools were split into groups and tasked with creating a new business product or service. They were asked to develop a business brief, including details of their concept and its target audience, and to create a brand name and logo. At the end […]

Abbey Logistics reveals two-for-one trailer

April 5, 2012

Abbey Logistics Group has taken delivery of a revolutionary new combined road tank and curtainsider trailer designed to slash empty running. The twin cargo trailer, developed by Clayton Commercials, has a tanker at the bottom with two separate compartments that can take a total of 21,000 litres, while on top is a pallet deck that can carry 26 standard pallets. Abbey will initially run two of the trailers on its bulk liquid food ingedients contract with Cargill, based at Trafford […]

News Extra: The long and short of it

April 2, 2012

When the government launched its longer semi-trailer trial in December last year the question posed by many of the 180 hauliers involved was: 14.6m or 15.65m? As part of its 10-year pilot scheme, the DfT has handed out 1,811 permits, approximately 900 of each size. However, the RHA tells MT that its members – who make up two-thirds of the operators in the trial – have expressed a preference to run the longest option. RHA policy director Jack Semple says: […]

Road transport sector not cool enough

March 29, 2012 Laura Hailstone

The transport and logistics industry is simply not ‘hip’ enough to attract new talent and needs a complete makeover if it is to compete successfully with other sectors for new recruits in coming years, professional services firm PwC has warned. In a new report, Winning the Talent Race, PwC suggests the transport and logistics sector is suffering from a poor image, including the perception of low pay and poor prospects. Pay is a particular sticking point: while the average salary […]

Olympics a huge opportunity on night-time deliveries

March 28, 2012

The Olympics are a significant opportunity for operators to overcome opposition to routine night-time deliveries, according to London’s transport commissioner. Speaking at Road Transport Media’s Summer Freight Planning Conference last week, Transport for London (TfL) commissioner Peter Hendy told delegates that while the Games will bring huge challenges there are also huge opportunities, not least the potential to change attitudes towards night-time deliveries. “If we do our job well this summer we can establish a better way of working and change […]

BP tanker drivers set to join national strike

BP disappointed over strike action

March 26, 2012

BP says it is “disappointed” that the Unite union’s tanker driver members have voted in favour of industrial action over safety, training and terms and conditions. The company says that it, along with other fuel distribution companies, has been working with Unite since 2010 to discuss the union’s proposal to form an industry wide bargaining forum. A spokesman for BP says: “Despite the fact that joint working groups have been established and discussions are still on-going, Unite has decided to go […]

Bandvulc add QR codes to tyre labels

March 26, 2012 Laura Hailstone

Independent tyre retreader Bandvulc has come up with an intelligent solution to future tyre labelling worries by incorporating a QR code onto all of its new labels. From November 2012, European legislation will require all new tyres to carry labels to better inform customers of the efficiency, grip and noise of a particular model. By adding a QR code to a tyre’s label that same information will be available to customers and fitters using a mobile device to electronically read […]

Tell us your view of the Olympics – and win £100

March 21, 2012 Peter Steele

With a little over four months to go before the Olympics starts, Motor Transport and Commercial Motor want to know how prepared you are for the disruption the Games will cause to deliveries. How much impact do you expect the Games to have? What actions have you taken to prepare your operation? As part of our monthly Trucking Britain Out Of Recession survey, we also want to know about your relationship with your bank, and whether you’re finding it difficult […]

Ian Jones retires from Mercedes Benz

March 21, 2012 Peter Steele

Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles MD Ian Jones has retired with immediate effect. In a statement the Executive Board of Mercedes-Benz UK says it wants to offer Jones “best wishes for the future”. Under Jones’s reign the Sprinter won the Motor Transport Award for Fleet Van of the Year for four consecutive years. The firm adds that under Jones’s leadership Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles had “a number of notable successes, including putting Mercedes-Benz on the top spot for the UK tractor market”. A […]