Longer trailers possible in the next few years, say Wincanton

Wincanton, the logistics operator, believes that longer semi-trailers could be an operational reality within the next 18 months. This is despite the case still being assessed by the road transport industry.

Dave Rowlands, the Wincanton technical service director, says that longer semi-trailers represent a big opportunity for the industry:

“There is a lot to be done, but the principles are set. They could be here in 18 months.”

Wincanton has supplied case studies from different sectors of the industry, and has found that 48,000 journeys could potentially benefit from longer trailers. This would cut out around 2.1 million miles and 1.1 million litres of fuel. This would equate to about 2.9 million kg of CO2.

Wincanton is currently working on a design for a 15.5m trailer. It would be 18.65m overall and with a rear-steer axle, which would create enough space for four more pallets, reducing road mileage by almost 10%.

Rowlands adds:

“My gut feeling is [longer semis] will get the green light because they tick all the boxes: productivity, carbon footprint, fuel economy, plus links to intermodal applications.”

He thinks that weight will be their biggest problem, as they would need to maintain a viable payload at 44 tonnes.