All Industry News articles – Page 227
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ArticleNews Extra: Will it be super in the end?
A new report claims UK operators could make significant savings if they were allowed to add overlength vehicles to their fleets.A new study published last week suggested that allowing the use of ‘super’ semi-trailers could save the haulage industry £226m a year in reduced running costs.Such findings appear to strengthen ...
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ArticleFortec gains Investors in Excellence
Pallet network Fortec has achieved The Investors in Excellence Standard.It joins the likes of DHL Supply Chain within the road transport sector, and professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, credit checker Experian and manufacturer Bombardier beyond.The standard is a framework to help businesses assess their performance and improve it.Ian Nield, chief executive ...
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ArticleMinister praises SfL's military recruitment drive
Roads minister Stephen Hammond has praised Skills for Logistic’s (SfL) “innovative” new initiative to recruit armed forces personnel into the road transport sector.Speaking at the official launch of the Military Transitions to Logistics programme at London’s Imperial War Museum earlier this month, the minister added: “I’m delighted to be a ...
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ArticleNews Extra: It’s all about the money
There’s a funding issue to be addressed in 2013 according to the transport commissioners’ annual reports, but operators aren’t expected to foot the bill. Roger Brown reports.Senior traffic commissioner (TC) Beverley Bell said her top priority during the coming year will be to hold talks with Vosa chiefs to ensure ...
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ArticleMPs vote against 3ppl fuel duty rise suspension
MPs voted against a suspension on the proposed 3ppl fuel duty rise yesterday (12 November), despite pressure from Labour MPs, Tory backbench campaigners and lobbying from FairFuelUK (FFUK).A Labour-led motion to suspend the proposed increase in January to at least April was defeated 282 votes to 234. FairFuelUK claim ...
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ArticleOperators must prove they want extra apprenticeship funding
Skills for Logistics (SfL) has called on operators to make the case to government for a funding boost for apprentices to ensure a pipeline of talent for the future.Following a meeting last week between Matthew Hancock MP, minister for skills at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and ...
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ArticleLogistics director calls for super semi-trailers to be part of DfT trial
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 ...
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ArticleNews Extra: Back loads essential to viability of Scottish long haul routes
The rising cost of fuel and improving load-fill are challenges that all UK hauliers are faced with. But for those that run long-distance routes in and out of Scotland, the need to improve vehicle utilisation in a market where freight traditionally flows in to Scotland, with very little exported to ...
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ArticleScania's fuel card offers members bulk purchasing benefit
Scania has launched a fuel card based on cooperative principles, allowing operators to benefit from the bulk purchasing discounts usually reserved for the largest players in the sector.The Scania Fuel Card is administered by The Fuelcard People, with Scania buying fuel direct on members' behalf to enhance the purchasing power ...
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ArticleOperators invited to submit evidence for Vosa inquiry
Operators have been invited to supply evidence to support an inquiry by the Transport Committee into the work of Vosa.Issues to be covered by the select committee include: what can be done to improve the standards of foreign-registered trucks operating in the UK; how the agency can better support the ...
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ArticleGovernment urged to ringfence cash from HGV road user levy
Pressure is mounting on the DfT and Treasury to ringfence the money raised by the HGV Road User Levy for the benefit of the road transport sector.The levy, which could begin in April 2014 if approved by Parliament, and will see operations pay a daily charge of up to a ...
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ArticleFairFuelUK gets duty rise message across to Treasury officials
Treasury minister Danny Alexander has pledged to review FairFuelUK’s (FFUK) economic report, which shows that the planned 3ppl duty rise in January will result in 35,000 job losses and reduce GDP growth by 0.1%.During a landmark meeting yesterday (29 October) with FFUK and its major backers the FTA and RHA, ...
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ArticleRaising fuel duty will destroy jobs and hinder economic growth
The government’s planned 3ppl fuel duty rise scheduled for January will result in 35,000 job losses and reduce GDP growth by 0.1%, FairFuelUK (FFUK) told the Treasury today (29 October).A detailed report produced for FFUK by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) reveals that as a result ...
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ArticleVosa clamping down on illegal drivers without Initial Driver CPC
Vosa is cracking down on LGV drivers who took their test after September 2009 and are driving illegally because they have not acquired their Initial Driver CPC.Drivers who acquired their LGV licence before September 2009 have until September 2014 to get their Driver CPC, by completing 35 hours of periodic ...
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ArticleReborn Truckpol gaining momentum but questions remain
The reborn TruckPol intelligence service is gaining momentum and financial backing, according to National Business Crime Forum (NBCF) vice-chairwoman Jean Mountain.Mountain, who chaired a second meeting of the forum, which has resurrected TruckPol, told MT the Business Crime Intelligence Bureau, which works alongside the NBCF, had begun feeding information about ...
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ArticleFairFuelUK prepares for face-to-face with the Treasury
FairFuelUK (FFUK) has secured a meeting with chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, on Monday (29 October) to discuss the 3ppl duty rise planned for January.The meeting will include senior Treasury officials and RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning, and will focus on the findings of economic research funded by ...
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ArticleNews Extra: Demise of the backload?
Backload rates are so bad that some operators are wondering if they’re worth taking.Is the era of backloads coming to an end? It certainly sounds like it for some operators, judging by comments MT has heard recently. The issue, of course, is that the rates being handed out for many ...
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ArticleLorry road user charge details revealed
The lorry road user charge is moving closer to fruition, with transport minister Stephen Hammond scheduled to set out the details of the government’s proposed HGV Road User Levy Bill this afternoon (23 October) in a parliamentary debate.Hammond is using a ‘ways and means’ motion to get the bill heard ...
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Article"No criminal activity" at Driver CPC centre
After a five-month investigation, the DSA has found “no evidence of criminal activity” after a JAUPT-approved Driver CPC course that lasted less than five hours was logged as seven hours on the DSA database.An undercover reporter working for MT attended the £40 course in Sittingbourne, Kent, in January 2012. After ...
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ArticleCo-op confirms 250 job losses in consolidation move
The Co-operative Group has confirmed that a significant number of staff will take redundancy, following its move to consolidate two DCs.Its Wellington, Somerset and Portbury, Bristol DCs will merge into a new £20m regional distribution centre at Avonmouth.A spokeswoman for the grocery retailer told MT: "As planned, as the new ...