Industry news – Page 184
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MT Article
Leeds and Birmingham "significantly postpone" clean air zone start dates
Leeds and Birmingham councils are to "significantly postpone" the January 2020 start dates of their clean air zones (CAZs) after a government delay to an essential online tool it is developing.In a joint statement issued today (18 June), the two councils said they had been on track to roll out ...
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MT ArticleWincanton launches VAST new warehousing initiative
Wincanton has gone live with its Virtual Access to Storage and Transport (VAST) service, a new initiative that sees the 3PL playing matchmaker for customers looking for warehouse space.Wincanton said the platform matches buyers with sellers, allowing companies seeking storage to find it quickly and landlords to advertise underutilised space ...
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MT Article
Smart tachographs will not deliver massive efficiency savings, says FTA
The FTA has refuted the European Commission’s claim that logistics firms will save a total of €500m (£447m) through increased efficiencies due to the introduction of a new generation of smart tachographs.While the FTA agrees with the EC that the requirement to fit smart tachographs to all new HGVs ...
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MT Article
Volkswagen offers 15% slice of Traton Group in IPO launch
Volkswagen has scaled back its IPO ambitions for its truck division Traton Group, which includes the brands MAN and Scania, and is now offering 15% of the company’s shares.Originally, Volkswagen had intended to offer 25% of Traton to investors.The manufacturer has now published a prospectus and launched its offer ...
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MT Article
Pallet tail-lift delivery guidance faces further delay
The long-awaited publication of the HSE’s updated tail-lift delivery guidance is facing further delay, some five years after HSE launched a review.HSE confirmed this week that it has “comments” that it wants the RHA working group on to consider, after which the guidance will be put through “internal governance procedures” ...
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MT ArticleBullet Express to build £5m multi-temperature warehouse to meet surge in demand
Bullet Express has bought 180,000sq ft of land behind its Baillieston, Glasgow storage centre with plans to build a £5m multi-temperature warehouse to meet rocketing demand from customers.The company moved to the 21,000 pallet site at Baillieston in 2016 and MD David McCutcheon said it was now at client capacity, ...
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MT Article
No-deal Brexit will cause 'paralysis at the border' in Northern Ireland with lengthy delays for HGVs seeking passage
A no-deal Brexit could result in one lorry every 30 seconds being subjected to checks at the border in Northern Ireland, according to the FTA.Seamus Leheny, FTA policy manager, predicted “paralysis at the border” if the UK crashes out of the EU later this year without a deal and therefore ...
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MT ArticleTNT and Royal Mail take Freight titles at 2019 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards
The 14 winners of this year’s everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards have been announced today (13 June), with TNT and Royal Mail taking the top spots for the Freight Award.Now in its 12th year, the awards champion women in the transport and logistics sector, recognising industry role models.The Freight ...
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MT ArticleDFDS to be first operator to use autonomous vehicle Vera in port operation
DFDS will be the first operator to use autonomous vehicle, Vera, in a delivery operation on public roads, Volvo Trucks’ has said.The fully electric, connected vehicle will be used to transport containers from a DFDS distribution centre to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden.Although the date Vera will enter full ...
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MT ArticleUK becomes first country to enshrine 2050 net zero greenhouse gas target in law
The government has committed to a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.It today (12 June) updated the 2008 Climate Change Act, which previously aimed for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions based on 1990 levels.This new law makes the UK the first major country to propose ...
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MT Article
Pallet networks remain one of the sector's most attractive investments, says Palletways boss
A continuing appetite among private equity and the entry of trade buyers into the sector is proof of the enduring attraction of the pallet network model, according to Palletways CEO James Wilson.Speaking to motortransport.co.uk, the man behind modern Palletways who retires from his role at the end of this month, ...
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MT Article
DVSA boosts staff numbers as it struggles to tackle VED backlog created by IT glitch
The DVSA has been forced to take on extra staff to address a backlog of annual test results created by an IT glitch that has prevented hauliers from paying their Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).The IT problem at DVSA, which began in March, came to light last month after RHA received ...
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MT ArticleDVSA mulls self-testing for Earned Recognition operators
The DVSA is considering allowing operators within its Earned Recognition scheme to conduct their own annual tests.Speaking to motortransport.co.uk at last month’s Microlise Transport Conference, Marian Kitson, director of enforcement at the DVSA, said: “The minister is telling us he is not confident of the ability of the industry to ...
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MT Article
DfT issued less than half of its haul of vital EU haulage permits to international operators, despite huge demand
Hauliers have criticised the DfT over the way it allocated European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) permits after motortansport.co.uk discovered that it issued less than half of the UK’s share.The permits are the only device that will allow international hauliers to operate on the continent if the UK leaves ...
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MT ArticleEuropa Worldwide Group spends £2m on expanding Dartford hub's storage ready for Brexit
Europa Worldwide Group has spent £2m expanding its Dartford hub to cope with any customs backlog after Brexit.The company, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary at its Dartford headquarters, fast-tracked plans to expand the 86,509sq ft facility to ensure it was "Brexit ready".Under the recently completed expansion programme, the central ...
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MT ArticleMichael Ellis replaces Jesse Norman as transport minister at DfT
Michael Ellis has been appointed minister of state for transport, taking over the role from Jesse Norman, who has joined the Treasury after two years at the DfT.Ellis previously served as parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from Jan 2018 to May ...
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MT ArticleFTA and RHA blast Welsh minister's decision to scrap M4 relief road build
The industry's leading trade associations have slammed the Welsh government’s decision to ditch plans for a £1.4m M4 relief road, announced today (4 June).The scheme would have seen a new 14-mile stretch of motorway built, parallel to the existing M4 motorway between J23A at Magor to junction 29 at Castleton, ...
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MT ArticleNew book reveals inside story of how TNT and Murdoch broke the union stranglehold over Fleet Street
A new book telling the inside story of how TNT UK worked with newspaper publisher Rupert Murdoch to break the union stranglehold on Fleet Street has already been reprinted.‘The man who never sleeps’ is the autobiography of Tom Bell OBE, then MD of TNT UK, who famously ran trucks across ...
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MT Article
Truck drivers 'worst affected' by air pollution
HGV drivers have the highest overall exposure to air pollution and yet are being overlooked in the air quality debate, according to scientists at King’s College London.Research by environmental charity Hubbub in cooperation with the college and The Times newspaper examined how poor air quality affected people living and working ...
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MT Article
Hauliers must use apprenticeship funding or lose it to the Treasury, warns training provider
Millions of pounds of unspent apprenticeship funding is in danger of being diverted into the Treasury’s coffers, with many operators unaware that they can transfer a quarter of their funding to subcontractors to help pay for their apprenticeship schemes.The warning came from Tony Higgins, MD of SP Training, a Carlisle ...