Latest Industry news – Page 183
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Stowaway damage may hit insurance premiums
Goods-in-transit insurance could become more difficult, more restrictive and more expensive for cross-Channel operators in light of the increasing problem of loads being spoiled by stowaways, a loss adjuster has warned. Rod Davis, senior partner at Clark Woodward Hungate, which specialises in surveys and investigations for insurers underwriting transit ...
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FTA's Wells urges chancellor to cut fuel duty
FTA chief executive David Wells has written to chancellor George Osborne asking him to cut fuel duty ahead of the emergency budget this Wednesday (8 July).Following the Conservative victory in the May general election, giving the party its first majority government since 1997, Osborne will set out the new government’s ...
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Calais mayhem: treat the disease not the symptoms, says Eurotunnel
It is impossible to stop the migrant problem at Calais, only a co-ordinated effort to address the issue at source will bring respite to hauliers crossing The Channel, Eurotunnel has said.Responding to an incident last week, triggered by the first of the strikes by French ferry workers that have crippled ...
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Keyfuels and Allstar fuel cards merged into One
Keyfuels parent Fleetcor has merged the Keyfuels CV fuel card with its Allstar car and van fleet card to create a single card – Allstar One. While the new card has chip and PIN for transactions at Allstar’s 8,000 UK sites, this technology will not be available at Keyfuels’ network ...
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Alexandra Palace chosen for inaugural Freight in the City Expo
The inaugural Freight in the City Expo will take place at London’s Alexandra Palace this autumn.“We have selected Alexandra Palace as the venue for the first Freight in the City Expo because it offers a fantastic exhibition space large enough for articulated trucks to drive straight into and it has ...
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New enforcement unit stops 136 HGVs in first month
A new City of London Police Commercial Vehicle Unit has stopped 136 HGVs and taken 95 off the road in its first month.Funded by TfL and launched last month, the unit’s intelligence-led crackdown found drivers of non-compliant vehicles were also committing offenses such as not having insurance, having inappropriate licenses, ...
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Strike threat at Indesit UK
Union Unite has begun balloting more than 200 drivers and warehousing staff at white goods manufacturer Indesit UK about possible industrial action over pay settlements and redundancy terms.Unite regional officer Mark Plumb said the ballot, which ends on 7 July, was the result of anger over two years of sub-inflation ...
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Nearly half of apprentices over 25
Almost half the apprentices entering the logistics industry are over the age of 25, figures from research and marketing agency Firedog – the company led by former Skills for Logistics MD Ross Moloney – have revealed.In the academic year 2013/14, said Firedog, 49% of apprentices entering the industry were over ...
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Calais port problems prompt action calls
The RHA has called for better information to be made available to truck operators about cross-Channel delays after an alarming spike in illegal migrant activity in Calais last week. Following a strike by French ferry staff, trucks were caught up in hours of delays and subsequently targeted by migrants attempting ...
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TIP Trailer Services rejigs management structure
TIP Trailer Services has restructured its UK and Ireland management team with the promotion of UK commercial director Mike Furnival to MD.Karl Davies, TIP’s European marketing director, has also returned to the UK and Ireland division as commercial director.TIP said the changes are designed to facilitate the company’s planned growth ...
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Sir Peter Hendy steps down from TfL
London transport commissioner Sir Peter Hendy has stepped down to take the role of chairman at Network Rail. Hendy was at the helm of the transport organisation at TfL for nine years, having first joined the then London Transport 40 years ago as a graduate trainee.He was instrumental in the ...
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Dart Charge issues raise concerns over Highways England privatisation
Labour transport minister Richard Burden (pictured) has accused the government of washing its hands of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), following the creation of Highways England in April.Highways England, the successor to the Highways Agency, has responsibility for the motorways and major roads in England and Wales. Its rebranding was ...
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Stowaways still arriving at UK ports in force
Almost 80 stowaways were discovered inside two lorries in separate incidents last week, just days after scores were found hiding in four lorries in Harwich.A Home Office spokeswoman said Border Force officers conducted a “proactive search” of a Hungarian-registered HGV, which had arrived on a freight vessel at Humber Sea ...
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"Help us to help you," RHA urges government with driver shortage petition
“Help us to help you” was the message when the RHA delivered a petition to Downing Street last week (18 June) calling on the prime minister and chancellor to sign off on a £150m HGV driver training fund in next month’s emergency budget.Faced with a driver shortage of more than ...
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Highways England appoints new chief executive
Highways England has appointed Jim O’Sullivan as its chief executive, following its transformation from the former Highways Agency earlier this year. An engineer by trade, O’Sullivan comes from a background working on “safety critical transport projects”, as well as working with British Airways and Heathrow Airport Holdings.He replaces Graham Dalton, ...
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Rail freight must respond to evolving road transport sector says minister
Secretary of state for Transport Clare Perry has told the rail freight industry that it must respond to developments such as the autonomous truck, and electric vans, in order to retain its ‘green’ credentials.In a speech to the rail engineers forum on 15 June Perry said that "the automotive sector ...
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GMB claim hearing against Marks & Spencer likely "sometime in 2016"
A judgement in the legal claim being brought by the GMB union against four companies involved in the operation of Marks & Spencer’s South Marston, Swindon DC over agency staff pay could take months to be made. The union revealed it had lodged a claim against DHL, Wincanton, Twenty Four ...
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RHA to make emergency submission to government on driver shortage
The RHA is to make an emergency submission to the government this week demanding that it steps in and sorts out the industry’s driver shortage, before it undermines the fragile economic recovery.It comes as a survey from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) revealed that 74% of its ...
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FSDF dismisses claim stowaways may cause supply chain collapse
Claims that the UK supply chain is “in danger of collapsing” as a result of delivery failures and delays caused by migrants attempting to stow away in vehicles passing through Calais are “an exaggeration”, according to the Food Storage & Distribution Federation (FSDF). The claim was made by the FTA ...
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Industrial action by DVSA testing staff averted
Industrial action by DVSA vehicle testing staff looks to have been averted after a positive meeting between the government agency and trade union Prospect last week. The meeting covered union concerns about the new contracts vehicle testers are being asked to sign up to as part of the introduction of ...