The Quiet Deliveries Demonstration Scheme (QDDS) was launched in January 2010. The initiative is backed by the Noise Abatement Society, the Department for Transport and the Freight Transport Association. Each trial means that a local authority will work closely with a retailer and will implement quiet night time deliveries using the best practice procedure. At the end of the trial, each participant will be subject to specialist noise mitigation assessments.

The Freight Transport Association’s head of policy for London, said:

“Great improvements need not mean great compromise. By establishing a solid best practice framework, night-time deliveries can achieve all the benefits associated with reducing congestion with none of the perceived drawbacks of making deliveries during off-peak hours.”

A three month night time delivery trial, completed in 2007, concluded that a great deal of money would be saved, as well as carbon footprint reduced and the reliability of its supply chain improved. The trial received no complaints from residents, and was deemed a success. This is provided that strict best practice procedures are followed.

Quiet night time deliveries have the following potential benefits:
• Reduced fuel consumption
• Lower CO2 emissions
• Reduced congestion
• Better journey time reliability
• Improved road safety
• Noise reduction

Quiet Deliveries Demonstration Scheme will run until March 2011.

Transport Minister Paul Clark spoke at the Freight Transport Association’s Urban Logistics Conference in London. He reinforced his view that urban congestion can be tackled through quiet night time deliveries, and that this type of delivery can also reduce carbon emissions and mean more reliable delivery times and rates.

LGV / HGV deliveries are often limited in urban areas at night time or during the weekend, so have to be completed during peak hours. This can lead to higher volumes of traffic and higher carbon emissions. Overnight deliveries would help to lower the need for HGV driving on busy urban roads at peak time.

He said that congestion will be reduced as HGVs –which can be slower and more cumbersome at busy junctions – will be driving at less busy periods, and it will cut pollution as the lorries won’[t be idling or stationary, and it will also save businesses time and money.

“With the adoption of best practice in quiet delivery technology and techniques, a balance can be found between protecting residents and relaxing curfews for a range of locations and store types.”

The air quality in these areas would also be improved, as exhaust fumes would be reduced, and this would make the area more pleasant for pedestrians and residents.

LHT Logistics are a family run transportation business in North London. They specialise in 45ft loads throughout Europe and the UK as well as single or multiple pallet consignments.

The Fortec Member has come back from a tough year with a 33% increase in its February volumes. The business says that it handles approximately 80 pallets every night during February, 20 more than the 60 a night in February 2009.

Its fleet consists of 10 LGV / HGVs, either 7.5 tonne or 18 tonne, and has just added another two to the fleet. It has also just won a major new account with a food company, to deliver to Lidl supermarket distribution centres.

They expect their turnover to be up 10% on last year’s as they have had several new clients since January.

Ben Ruby, the managing director of LHT Logistics says that it lost a major contract in 2008 after Bridisco, the electrical appliance wholesaler, went into administration.

He says:

“The Bridisco loss came just after we had moved to our new depot from Edmonton. It was extremely unfortunate timing. I spent last year knocking on doors to drive sales forward, but took advantage of Fortec’s sales team, so I did not have to employ people full-time to win business for us.”

Redirecting HGVs bound for Felixstowe port to a container ‘drop-off’ area with handling costs has been offered as a solution to Operation Stack. This is currently being considered by freight stakeholders. This solution was revealed in documents requested by Commercial Motor under a Freedom of Information request.

Despite concerns of double-handling costs, empty running, finding suitable land and security issues, consultants and officials are exploring the idea further.

A technical note produced by Aecorn, the consultants, states that HGV driving staff would unload their containers at another alternative site. It also said that after then the HGVs would be free to return to base or go on to other work, and that the containers would be shuttled into the port during the day and over night.

The note adds that the ‘drop-off’ idea is only one of six options being considered by trade associations, police, port and council officers. Pete Butler, the Road Haulage Association’s senior area manager fears that the preferred option will be to just expand the current Stack site on the old A45, but says:

“It’s not big enough. It’s only going to take around 200 lorries. The solution has to be future-proof. They’re going down the cheapest option route.”

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) was “gobsmacked” after Reading Borough Council announced that it wants to introduce a Euro-5 standard LEZ (Low Emission Zone) in Reading by 2011.

The council has been criticised after it failed to consult the industry over the plans to clean up the city centre’s air. The scale of these plans and ambitions was not clear to the HGV driving industry until the council hastily held a meeting with the FTA last week.

Its plan is to have an ultra clean air zone just 10 miles away from the LEZ in London by next year.
This scheme is likely to cause controversy, as it is expecting changes to happen very quickly, much quicker than many in the industry would like. Gordon Telling, the FTA Policy Manager, says that he has had to explain to council officials that many transport operators would end up going out of business under such a stringent scheme.

The cost of designing and implementing the scheme is thought to cost less than £2 million, according to a council spokesperson, with an extra £540,000 annual operating and enforcement costs.
Telling says of the scheme:

“The bureaucracy of all this is just phenomenal.”

“I can’t say we have talked them out of it, however, we have opened other doors and moved away from a worst-case scenario. I think they will carry on preparing for an LEZ, but they have said they are open to discuss how other things can be used to work effectively.”

The opening ceremony of the Freight Transport Association’s new Leeds office was celebrated by HRH the Princess Royal unveiling a plaque. She is the Patron of FTA-supported Transaid – a charity that aims to make transport in poorer countries more affordable and accessible – which added a special significance to the Royal opening.

The Princess Royal – who holds an HGV driving licence – as well as the Lord Mayor of Leeds and the Vice-Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, spoke to new staff as well as going on a tour of the FTA’s new premises.

FTA’s Head of Policy for the North of England, Malcom Bingham, demonstrated the Freight Transport Association’s traffic and weather services. The General Manager for Tachofta, June Powell, introduced their tachograph service, and explained the importance of FTA member companies’ compliance.
HRH the Princess Royal gave a speech on Transaid’s work in Africa in which she spoke of how FTA’s support could help to further Transaid’s aims of reducing poverty and improve livelihoods through creating better transport.

Theo de Pencier, FTA’s Chief Executive, said:

“It was a great pleasure for FTA to receive Her Royal Highness and we were delighted that she took the time to open our Leeds office and say a few words thanking FTA for the work it does for Transaid. She has long taken an interest in the work of logistics and it was a pleasure taking her through some of the new developments in the sector.

“Transaid is the difference between life and death for so many men, women and children in the developing world and FTA is proud to lend its support and expertise to its team of workers.”

Government plans to abort the congestion charging policy via the TIF (Transport Innovation Fund) in favour of the UCF (Urban Challenge Fund) have been welcomed by the (FTI) Freight Transport Industry. They are backing alternative initiatives to improve road safety, tackle congestion and reduce carbon emissions; alternatives that don’t simultaneously disrupt local businesses and cost the taxpayer extortionate amounts.

Councils no longer have to introduce local road pricing to qualify for funding to invest in congestion reduction schemes. This is courtesy of the TIF, the ECF’s predecessor. Paul Clark, the Transport Minister has already voiced his support for the overhaul and will be speaking about it at the FTA’s Urban Logistics Conference tomorrow.

The Transport Minister will be the keynote speaker and will discuss the importance of Freight Quality Partnerships – something important in the HGV driving world at the moment – and also about the Quiet Deliveries Demonstration Scheme.

FTA’s Head of Urban Logistics Policy, Gordon Telling, says:

“We look forward to hearing more from Mr Clark at our Urban Logistics Conference on precisely what he thinks about more intelligent, lower-cost solutions to reduce congestion.

“As we have seen from FTA’s previous studies; quiet night-time deliveries, for example, can dramatically reduce the impact commercial vehicles have on peak-time traffic and the environment as well as benefitting businesses with more reliable delivery times and lower transport costs. Similarly, better use of consolidation centres and better street planning through the Roadscape scheme, all represent excellent opportunities for local councils to make significant improvements without spending a significant slab of public cash.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has announced a planned rise of fuel duty of 2.5 pence per litre. This is to start on 1st April, commonly known as April Fools’ Day, and is seen by the Road Haulage Association as somewhat of a joke.

UK hauliers and are currently paying record prices for their diesel, and with this further increase it could mean many will be forced to reduce the number of vehicles, or even close down.

The haulier and transport industry is totally reliant on fuel as a commodity, and the RHA Chief Executive, Geoff Dunning, says

“If the Chancellor goes ahead with the 2.5 increase next month, it will mean that road transport operators will, on average, be paying an extra £1,100 per year in fuel duty alone, and that’s on top of the price of the fuel itself.”

He says the UK fuel duty rates are currently up to six times higher than the European counterparts, and that this £1,100 extra will be an extra financial burden per vehicle, not per company. This could cause massive financial problems for fleet companies and HGV driver training schools.

“Of course we understand that in order to regain economic stability, certain sacrifices have to be made,”

Mr Dunning continues,

“but it seems grossly unfair that the UK haulage industry, the one sector on which the rest of UK plc is so dependent, should be the one to have its throat cut in this way.”

High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes are designed to encourage people to car share. The lanes are generally only permitted to be used if you have two or more people in your vehicle, or you are a bicycle, public bus, or motorbike. They are meant to reduce the number of cars on the road (as people are more likely to car share or carpool in order to use the HOV lane) which will lessen congestion and pollution from exhausts.

The HOV lane on the A4174 Avon Ring Road was first introduced in 1998 and was the second of its kind in the country. When it was first installed, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) asked to permit HGVs to use the lane, but the request was refused. South Gloucestershire Council have now accepted a further proposal by the RHA to allow HGVs to use the lane.

The proposal included the argument that HGV driving in the morning peak hours (which can cause more congestion) was unavoidable, because the haulage firms have to respond to client requests, which often mean that deliveries need to be made before or around 9am.

Mike Farmer, the RHA Regional Director, says

“We used the argument that HGVs should be viewed as freight buses and thus should be allowed to use the HOV lane. We are delighted the Council accepted this view and it is clear they understand fully the importance of HGVs in delivering daily life to Bristol”

The Amarok is Volkswagen’s first ever pick-up, and it has gone on display at the Geneva Motor Show.

The vehicle will be initially sold only in double-cab guise, but company executives assure us that there will be a single-cab, low-spec version shown at the Hannover Show in 2011.

The Amarok is set to challenge the already established Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger as it becomes available for sale in the UK in September 2010. Its launch couldn’t come at a worse time in the industry as pick-up sales have been down by more than 30% for 2010 so far.

The Amarok will come with the option of BlueMotion technology, which includes aerodynamic aides and longer gear ratios. It has been available on some Volkswagen cars since 2006, and aims to make the vehicles more aerodynamic and economical. The principles are very similar to Don-Bur’s teardrop lorries, which took the LGV / HGV driving sector by storm in 2008.

Product marketing manager for Amarok, Christian Wattenberg, says:

“We needed to be represented in the key pick-up markets so that’s why we’ve launched the Amarok. The UK market for these types of vehicles is not as good as other markets like Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Australia, which is where we forecast Amarok sales to be strongest. It’s both a commercial and lifestyle vehicle and it also happens to be one of the most fuel-efficient with 34.8mpg on a combined cycle.”

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.

The targets, relating to its delivery fleet, are now to achieve a reduction of 35 per cent by 2015. The target had been 20 per cent, but this was achieved two years early and therefore they have raised their aims. The targets form part of the Plan A sustainability programme, which sees 80 separate aims related to sustainability.

The targets have been met partly due to the company’s investment in Don-Bur aerodynamic trailers which have given a six per cent improvement in fuel consumption.

The Marks and Spencer tractor fleet has also benefited from improved aerodynamics as well as onboard systems that can monitor vehicle activity, ensuring optimal routing and delivery. Fuel use for deliveries is down by 23 per cent, they claim.

A Marks and Spencer spokesman said:

“We’ve managed to achieve our targets ahead of time by focussing on areas like vehicle aerodynamics and upgrading our IT tracking systems. We also encourage all our suppliers to adopt best practices and share information on what works best to achieve savings and our ultimate goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015.”

It has been announced that Aspray Transport has made a £2m investment in its fleet, having recently won a series of new contracts.

The investment follows two years of stagnation, but following a period of growth, the transport company, which is based in Willenhall in the West Midlands, has received 30 DAF trucks and is expecting a further 20 at the end of next month. The company will also be taking on around 60 new employees – primarily HGV / LGV drivers.

The managing director of Aspray Transport, Stuart Laight, said:

“We have always maintained a good cash flow, but we are in a particularly strong position entering 2010. In 2008, we concentrated on cost savings by improving our fuel efficiency and a number of people were made redundant, while last year, everybody across the board agreed to a pay cut instead of any more job losses.”

Laight went on to say that pay was returned the original rate at the start of the year due to improved finances following streamlining. Since then, new contracts have come in with more in the offing. A three-year contract involving 4,000 consignments a day was recently signed as well as a two-year contract with Avocet Hardware.

Gist is a supply chain management company with over 5,000 employees. It has customers ranging from Marks and Spencer to Carlsberg to British Airways, and works across the globe.

G&S International is a temperature controlled transport specialist, which works throughout Europe and the UK. It was established in 1990, and works to deliver a full range of logistical transportation services, including warehousing and storage facilities.

The takeover was announced on Tuesday 2nd March, and assured G&S International employees at the Lanarkshire-based firm that they will transfer to Gist, including those in packing, administration and HGV driving. Gist has purchased all assets, including IT, HGV / LGVs and warehousing.

The manager of G&S International, George Brown, says that their company is delighted with the take-over, and happy that Gist will do a good job of running it. He adds that Gist’s expertise in supply chain management, along with its business approach and its genuine attitude towards employees and customers alike, will make it a perfect match for G&S International’s business ethics.

The chief executive of Gist, Martin Gwynn, adds:

“The addition of the G&S business further strengthens our position as one of the leading chill logistics specialists and furthermore demonstrates our ongoing commitment to further grow in this exciting sector.”

The multimodal haulier AV Dawson has bought a new crane in order to help boost its business in grain distribution. AV Dawson, founded in 1938 and still run by the Dawson family, is based in Middlesborough and is the largest independent dry cargo wharf operator on the River Tees. The company subcontracts much of its road transport network and has 22 LGV / HGV driving vehicles and more than 100 trailers.

The crane, a new Gottwald Harbour crane, cost £1.8 million. It can lift 60 tonne loads onto and out of ships and will work alongside the firm’s other cranes at their riverside depot. The other cranes can lift 40 tonnes and 170 tonnes respectively.

AV Dawson’s business development leader, Rob Turnbull, says that the new crane will help them to develop their grain distribution, as they are doing a lot of grain transportation already and want to improve and expand it.

He also says that the company is looking into the transportation of wind turbine parts, as they plan to continually expand and extend their company. He says:

“We hope to be able to capitalise on the government’s commitment to wind energy through building more offshore wind farms.”

Massive new wind farms in the UK look to have their transport provided by foreign hauliers, due to a disputed loophole in EU law.

The RHA (Road Haulage Association) is calling on the UK government to prevent these contracts being given to Spanish and Danish transport firms who have no licence to operate HGV / LGVs in the UK.

Some of the wind farms’ large component parts will be made in Denmark and Spain, before being sent by sea to ports around the country. When in the UK, they will be transported to the wind farms using foreign vehicles.

To undertake haulage in the UK, a haulier must usually have a UK operating licence or – as in the case of foreign operators – they must operate under cabotage regulations. There is, however, a loophole: The Combined Transport Directive, 106/92.

This was set up in the early 1990s to encourage coastal shipping between countries, rather than go by road. However, the directive was never intended for transport to and from islands, such as the UK, without any roadlinks.

RHA director of policy, Jack Semple, says:

“This is a massive mis-use of the Combined Transport Directive. British transport companies are heavily regulated for road safety purposes. They have the expertise and equipment to do the job. It is scandalous that the wind power sector should be by-passing them to bring in foreign companies that operate without a UK licence.

“We are calling on the Department for Transport’s enforcement agency, VOSA, to block the operation on the grounds that the Combined Transport Directive was not intended for this sort of operation and does not apply”.

The Stobart Group has announced it will be selling its distribution centre in Widnes to Legal and General Assurance (Pensions Management).

The 528,000 square foot distribution centre will be sold for £61m, though the price could rise to £62.5m, depending on certain conditions. This sale is to help reduce Stobart’s debts, currently at £45m.

Last month, Tesco revealed it would close its Middleton warehousing operation which was run by Wincanton in Manchester. This was announced ahead of its intention to take a lease at the 3MG site in Widnes. The site will be using the inland port to ship products from Valencia, Spain, as well as distributing products through HGV driving on the roads around Britain.

The chief executive of the Stobart Group, Andrew Tinkler, said that their strategy was to invest in assets which will develop existing and new customer relationships.

“At Widnes, this has enabled us to gain a long-term distribution contract for Tesco and to increase the utilisation and support development of the next phases of the inland port facility.”

This sale will see Stobart Ports division enter a 25 year sale and leaseback arrangement on the former O’Connor Transport site. They are planning to develop the remaining 95 acres of the site as well as increase the inland port’s throughput, which the company says is currently only 50% utilised.

Tesco, the supermarket giant, has continued to shake up its distribution network by announcing its plans to close its Middlewich distribution centre in Cheshire.

This news comes soon after its announcement to close its Middleton distribution centre in Manchester, theoretically moving to a new site in Widnes.

In early 2008, Middlewich saw their transport operations being transferred to Eddie Stobart, the multimodal logistics group, so are no stranger to change.

Tesco says that a 90-day consultation has started with staff at the Middlewich site. A Tesco spokesperson said that they regularly review their distribution network to make sure that they are always providing the very best service to stores and customers:

“Following our latest review, we have decided to close the Middlewich distribution centre and trucking station, subject to consultation with the trade union, with these operations moving to a larger distribution centre in Goole [East Yorkshire].”

Tesco has also said that over the next twelve months, they will be creating over 2500 jobs in the North West of England including 100’s of HGV / LGV positions, and that the staff affected by any of the proposed Middlewich changes will be offered other job opportunities with Tesco.

The Chief Executive of Crossail, Rob Holden, says that the safety of all road users, be they cyclists, lorry drivers, car drivers or pedestrians, is of “paramount importance” to the company. This is why he is making the truck driver training compulsory for any drivers who fit those parameters.

The training has been specifically designed to incorporate the particular routes that Crossrail’s drivers will be using, by including the busiest points on routes as examples in the training. It has also been intentionally started well before the main period of construction, in order that drivers are trained before they will be using the routes regularly while carrying heavy loads.

74 professional HGV drivers have completed the Cyclist Awareness Training to date, and all who complete the course will receive a unique Crossrail ID badge.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, says:

“Crossrail will bring huge benefits to the capital, and this initiative encouraging lorry drivers to look out cyclists is another example of our effort to keep the impact of construction to a minimum.

“Cycling in London is getting safer but with so many new cyclists taking to the streets it is imperative that those building London’s visionary new railway move around our streets with the utmost care. As someone who regularly cycles, and hears other cyclists talk of their experiences, it is clear that every action to cut the risk from lorries should be warmly welcomed.”

The training teaches drivers to stay alert and be aware of cyclists, particularly at junctions, heavy traffic points and corners. They are all given a Fresnel lens to fit on the near side window of the driver’s cab to help see more accurately down the near side of their vehicle.

Training and Recruitment Company ‘Advantage Training Services Ltd’, released strong figures today from their last financial year.

The company, which specialises in HGV / LGV training and employment provision, showed a continued upward trend in revenues and profits, beating earlier forecasts. The company put the new figures down to an emergence from recession and a renewal of a number of large, long term, sole-supplier contracts.

Managing Director Gary Benardout, stated:

‘2009-2010 has been another great year for Advantage. We have renewed contracts with the RHA, DWP and JCP - moving to become sole suppliers of training and out-placements services for these organisations. With the Government pumping £billions into vocational training, Advantage are proud to be a sole-supplier for all JCP and DWP contracts. To date we have re-trained and placed 100’s of job-seekers into new careers within the logistics industry.

Our corporate division has also continued to grow, and we have secured dozens of contracts with high-profile businesses. Meanwhile our consumer arm is thriving, with over 1,500 trainees trained and placed in the last financial year.’

Headline figures for 2009/10 show GP of £1.2m against a turnover of £3.18m and the MD has high expectations for the future.

‘Q2 of 2010 will see the launch of our latest venture, combining state of the art technology with traditional methods of training. The project, codenamed ‘HGV 2.0′, will represent a huge technological investment in our sector and we expect it to be taken up across the board.’

Advantage Training Services Ltd is also rolling out a program for more regional representation. Financial Director J.Clifford confirmed:

‘Advantage’s partners have continued to grow across the UK. We now have over 45 qualified ‘AdvantageWay’ partners - and this figure is set to rise throughout the year. We are constantly inundated with request from potential partners, but not until full screening and due diligence is done, do we accept them into AdvantageWay. As a result, partnerships will grow slowly and steadily in 2010, whilst we seek out the very best of the best to work with.’

Other figures point strongly to growth in 2010 - advertising budgets are set to rise, with large coverage across the internet, daily and trade press. A move into television placement is expected in Q3, with filming for a series of commercials starting in the next month.

Gary Benardout continued to comment:

‘Advantage is well placed to accommodate the many changes expected in the sector this year. New legislation has been passed, and whilst other companies still struggle with implementation, our team has ensured that all new trainees, placements and partners are fully accredited with all new rules and regulations. Our industry-leading initiatives regarding new legislation, have given us the edge over our competitors when pitching for business. No other company understands the industry like we do, and our clients, new and existing, appreciate this no end.’

Crossrail, London’s new rail service, to open in 2017, will be training professional LVG / HGV drivers on Cyclist Awareness. The training will take place over the next seven years and is estimated to apply to 3,500 drivers.

The training programme will be a requirement for any Crossrail’s driver who makes more than five round trips to a Crossrail site over the year, and who drives a vehicle of 3.5 tonnes or over. The truck driver training aims to equip drivers with the skills they need to safely navigate London’s busy roads, without endangering any cyclists – who can be difficult to spot.

The Cyclist Awareness training programme has been supported by the London Cycling Campaign, Roadpeace, Cycle Touring Club as well as the Transport Minister and Mayor of London.

Crossrail has already made plans to minimise the impact of its construction in Central London by creating dedicated ‘Lorry Routes’. These routes will be well signposted from the main road network, to ensure that drivers keep to the approved routes. With this, as well as the cyclist training, road safety is a priority and any disruption should be kept to a minimum.

An increasing number of Londoners are using bicycles to navigate the city, and so it is more necessary than ever to have any additional HGV drivers aware of this, and of how to look out for cyclists.

1,106 Mercedes- Benz Sprinter 311CDI vans have joined Parcelforce’s major fleet of vehicles. The German LGV was chosen after detailed and competitive trials at the Millbrook proving ground. Company drivers were testing different vans for their performance as well as for comfort and ease of use. Each driver was asked to provide detailed feedback for each van.

Parcelforce Worldwide is a leading provider of express parcel and package delivery, which covers all 27 million addresses in the UK as well as the capability and guarantee to deliver to 99.6% of the world population.

Parcelforce Worldwide handles a vehicle fully laden with parcels into its collection and re-distribution centre roughly every 45 seconds. Their fleet is enormous and constantly being expanded to provide a better service to customers.

The newest additions, these Mercedes-Benz Eco-Start Sprinters, have an Eco-Start system which automatically stops and re-starts the engine during halts in slow-moving congested traffic. This will have played a major part in the firm’s decision as Parcelforce have a strong environmental policy and are aiming to cut fuel consumption by 5% this year.

Simon Arnott, Parcelforce’s Senior Procurement Manager, says that the Sprinter scored particularly well in cab and ride comfort, driving position, driver’s seat, cornering, handling and driving performance.

Chris Kingshott, Wincanton’s new Managing Director for Manufacturing, has highlighted some areas vital to help them keep to their pledge of taking another 10 million truck miles off the road this year. Two of these are consolidation centres and more shared-user networks.

Kingshott says that they are starting to see environmental demands from customers returning, and that they will be working hard to achieve the same goal as last year: reduced road use of 10 million miles across Europe and the UK.

Kingshott is very keen to open another construction consolidation centre this year. Hopefully this would see the same success as Greenford, the company’s West London site which is currently working on a fourth large scale building project.

The Department for Transport has suggested that there could be as many as eight congestion charging zones in the UK by 2010. Kingshott adds that, as a result of this, Wincanton intends to trial and employ more overnight deliveries to avoid potential charges, as may other companies. This could lead to an increase in LGV / HGV driving during the night, which may even ease some of the congestion during the day.

Her Majesty the Queen, St. Loye’s Foundation Patron, will be visiting St. Loye’s on Thursday 11th March. She will be arriving at the charity’s Exeter headquarters and training facility in the morning, and will be accompanied by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.

The royal couple will be met by Mr Eric Dancer CBE, the Lord Lieutenant of Devon. The Queen will be escorted around Brittany House by Mrs Susan Hobbs, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, and HRH Prince Philip will be escorted by St. Loye’s Chief Executive, Christopher Knee.

This is her majesty’s first visit to the charity’s new premises at Brittany House in Exeter City Centre, but is the latest in a number of visits to other St. Loye’s sites.

The Royal Party will be meeting former and current trainees, tutors and employers. They will meet up with staff from all areas of the charity to gain an idea of how it works as a whole. There will also be a group from St. Loye’s Enterprises to meet Her Majesty the Queen and HRH Prince Philip.

Advantage HGV / LGV Training have been supplying the St. Loye’s Foundation with HGV / LGV training courses for over three years. Advantage HGV / LGV have now successfully trained over 45 St. Loye’s candidates to gain their HGV / LGV licences. Advantage HGV are very proud to be associated with the foundation and wish them well for the royal visit.

Confidence in the industry as a whole seems to be on the increase, with 71% of respondents very optimistic or fairly optimistic about the next 12 months. More than a quarter of those asked (27%) said that they have recovered from the recession and an excellent 84% said that they were very confident or fairly confident that their company will survive the recession.

Since the survey started, lots of drivers, truck driver training services, delivery companies and hauliers have had to work harder than ever just to keep afloat. 36% of respondents said their typical weekly working hours had increased since last September and 23% said they had a reduction in hours. The remainder stayed about the same.

Although a reduction in hours might sound desirable, many companies have said that it has been due to miserable weather or lack of interest.

So, conclusions to draw from this?

The transport industry seems to be doing better now than it was last year and many companies are confident that they will make it through the recession. However, companies have had to work harder to make ends meet, and many have had to do this with a reduced number of hours or staff.

Making sure that the government and the industry work together to establish reporting on carbon emissions was not particularly well thought of either. 14% of own-account operators thought it was an important issue, as did 3% of logistics/contract distribution firms and only 1% of hire and reward companies.

All these companies were then asked which single initiative or issue was most important to them. The two that came up most were, predictably, lowering fuel duty or introducing an essential user rebate. Here are some quotes from the survey in response to that question:

• “Carry out a root and branch review of legislation, removing unnecessary bureaucracy.”
• “Appoint a minister who knows about and understands transport, and who takes notice of operators’ problems.”
• “Help the industry through the recession by implementing incentive schemes, like rewarding hauliers that have reduced/are reducing their carbon footprints.”
• “Scrap the hikes in amounts needed for O-licence financial standing, and allow more flexibility in where the money can be obtained from.”
• “Look at some kind of law where companies are forced to pay within 30 days.”
• “Put VAT on fuel up to 20%.”

One suggestion for the next government was to “do nothing at all for five years, so we all know where we stand.”

The survey asked respondents if they had ever met or contacted their MP. If we’re going to moan, we should have at least explored all the avenues. So, quite shockingly, the fact that less than half (only 42%) had ever written to their MP, and only 22% have met them, is quite surprising.

13% of respondents didn’t vote in the last election, and 8% are planning not to vote this year.

Continued in part 4

Of the twelve key issues raised, the most popular choice was to be expected. With 72% of respondents choosing ‘taking commercial vehicles off the fuel duty escalator’, hopefully the government will listen.

The other eleven, however, were not as expected, and were not so decisive. The full list from the TBOR (Trucking Britain Out of a Recession) follows:

• Take CVs off the fuel duty escalator 72%
• Introduce a levy on foreign operators 57%
• Maintain (and increase) investment in infrastructure 32%
• Invest more in VOSA to tackle rogue operators 29%
• Deliver the truck parking strategy (launched in November 2009) 24%
• Revise the Highway Code to educate all road users to be more aware of trucks on the road 18%
• Tackle truck crime 15%
• Launch a CV scrappage scheme to get pre-Euro-3 trucks off the road 11%
• Review pre-pack administration rules 11%
• Ensure the report into longer semi-trailers is completed, published and its results given a fair hearing 10%
• Review VOSA’s transformation strategy 5%
• Work with the industry to establish carbon emissions reporting 5%

There was some variance in responses on the longer semi-trailers report - the overall figure seeing it as important was just 10%. The issue was more important to logistics/contract distribution firms at 23%, but only 5% of own-account operated thought much of it.

This result is repeated if the data was analysed by fleet size rather than by company type: of those with 51 or more vehicles, 23% believed it to be an important issue, but only 8% and 5% respectively of small and medium fleet.

Continued in part 3

‘Trucking Britain Out of a Recession’ is a scheme whereby the transport industry survey LGV / HGV training companies, drivers, and anyone else in the industry. It is organised by Commercial Motors and its sister companies and websites: Truck & Driver, Roadtransport.com, Motor Transport and TruckNet UK.

It is trying to show the full extent of the impact of the recession and then track the industry’s return to growth, month by month.

The survey is backed by plenty of big names, including the Road Haulage Association, Volvo, Scania, Michelin, Mercedes-Benz, DAF and Renault Trucks.

It was launched in August 2009, but – what with a general election looming – we thought we’d give you a bit of an update on the findings and thoughts so far. This month’s Trucking Britain Out Of Recession is rather more politically minded too, just to try and get those brain juices flowing.

The results from February’s survey are varied, from being very surprising and out of the blue, to being completely expected. There are twelve key issues raised that could really help the road transport industry, if they were addressed or implemented. And respondents were also asked which three of these are most important for the government to address.

Continued in part 2

John M Allen, the family run transport business specialising in potato and beet haulage, has been bought by AB Texel Group. The Lincolsnshire haulage firm has been bought for an undisclosed amount.

Following several months of deep negotiations, the deal was decided, and the John M Allen name will remain on the company.

The Dutch bulk haulier, A B Texel, has a base in Alconbury, Cambridgeshire and they also transport agricultural produce, such as potatoes, bulbs and sugar beet.

John M Allen was founded in 1984 by John and Wendy Allen, and now has a fleet of 30 tractors and 100 trailers. They also have a staff of more than 40 working for them from their Spalding base.

The operational manager for A B Texel, Pieter Frings, says that he thinks the support and services already offered by both companies will be vastly improved and enhanced.

John M Allen’s fleet has seen their HGVs driving around the country at such a rate that the business has been growing exponentially. He feels that this agreement is another stage in its improvement and expansion.

John Allen, John M Allen’s managing director, says that his company has been one of the most successful agricultural hauliers in Europe and that the new deal with provide better efficiency in the haulage industry.

Thompsons are the UK’s leading builder for tipper bodies, and it has been contracted to supply the Ministry of Defence with 134 tipper bodies. It forms the largest part of an order for 184 vehicles, comprising of tippers, crane vehicles, drilling rigs, tipper grabs and volumetric mixers.

The order seems to form a part of the 15 year Private Finance Initiative contract with ALC – the partnership between the VT group and Amey vehicles.

The Royal Logistic Corps and the Royal Engineers operate a fleet of construction plant and field mechanical handling equipment sourced by ALC.

The bodywork of these tipper bodies is based on Thompsons’ Loadsmaster design, but has been specifically adapted and altered for MoD use. Some of the unique military features are a safe accessing method for the tipper body, and a hydraulically operated spare wheel carrier. These bodies will be mounted on 6×6 Iveco Trakkers. Edbro will be supplying the tipping gear.

Martyn Finney, the Fleet Acquisition Manager at ALC, says of Thompsons:

“Thompsons’ reputation and standing made them an automatic choice for our selection and tendering process. In selecting a partner for such an important contract, we had to consider many factors and following site visits to Thompsons productive approach, together with their size and capabilities meant they could easily deliver the quantities required and to the necessary standards. To date Thompsons have excelled. The quality, attention to detail and service we are receiving is first class, in fact they have enhanced our total offering to our client and I am confident that the soldiers on the ground will be delighted with their new vehicles.”

Ryder, one of the Europe’s largest transportation companies, has placed an order for 613 new HGV / LGVs. This has come to a whopping £18m investment.

Their new vehicles will include a number of DAF 7.5 tonne, 12 tonne and 18 tonne vehicles with refrigerated units, box bodies and tail lifts. It also includes Mercedes Benz Sprinter 313 panel vans with tail-lifts and refrigerated units. The rest of the order is made up by 44 tonne tractor units.

The vice president and managing director of Ryder Europe, David Hunt, says that he believes Ryder will be the only major rental company to place such an important and large LGC HGC driving vehicle order so early on in the year.

The reason Ryder have ordered these vehicles, the first time it has ever ordered 12-tonne vehicles, is due to a growing customer demand in rural deliveries and transportation.

Hunt says of how he thinks the market will progress:

“We have listened to our customers and the range of the new vehicles reflects that. We believe that the rental market will come back first since finance for purchase is not so easily available and rental, particularly long term rental, enables customers to be flexible given the overall economic outlook still remains challenging.”

Collease, the truck and trailer rental company, has had a gap of more than a year in the market, but has returned by updating its fleet with 102 Dennison skeletal trailers.

Dennison are based in Lancaster, with sites in County Kildare and Suffolk. This hire-purchase deal is the first of any kind that Collease has signed in over 12 months. The deal was for 88 sliding and 14 tank skeletal trailers.

The general manager and director of Collease, Duncan Scillitoe, says that Collease have a policy of making sure that they pay for any equipment they buy really quickly. Because of this, he says that for the last year:

“Our main strategy was to look after the assets we had, ensure it was all available for hire, and pay down the debt; we paid off a huge amount of hire purchase during 2009.”

Scillitoe has seen confidence returning to the sector, which is one of the factors in Collease’s decision to renew its rolling stock. He says that there was a lot of purchasing by the industry during the “boom times” but that all collapsed because of the recession, so most container companies will be very hesitant about signing any longer term deals.

Hopefully, this deal and the couple of others like it are signifying a positive change for the LGV / HGV driving sector.

The European Parliament’s Transport Committee have rejected a fresh proposal to include owner drivers working under the Working Time Directive, creating further setbacks. This directive has been under review since last year, being led by the Employment Committee.

MEP Said El Khadraoui presented the Transport Committee as it voted on proposals on Wednesday. El Khadraoui is the Transport Committee’s rapporteur or sponsor.

He proposed extending LGV / HGV drivers’ hours to business vehicle under 3.5 tonnes, setting up a European exchange system for working time data as well as including self-employed drivers.

Opinion on his draft was split 20-20 in the vote, plus one abstention. Because of this El Khadraoui wagered to withdraw his report.

The European Comission has been at battle stations with many MEPs since last year as the introduction of the Road Transport Directive, agreed in 2005, was dependent on self-employed people working in LGV / HGV driving being granted a derogation until March 2009.

The EC have said that it is now impractical to police self employed drivers’ working time. Instead, it wants to focus on those working under false self-employed status, those who aren’t free to organise their own work and whose income doesn’t solely rely on profits made.

Renault and Vauxhall have released a range of brand spanking new panel vans that will go on sale this week. The Renault Master and Vauxhall Movano offer better performance and improved running costs as well as a broader line up when compared to their ongoing machines.

This new vehicle is a part of Renault and Vauxhall’s continued collaboration on light commercial vehicles. It is the culmination of four-years of development plans and blueprints. It will give both companies a stake in the LGV sector of up to 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight. They are both 2.3 litre diesel engines.
The Master and Movano are both built in Batilly, France and are completely new, replacing the vans with the same name already in existing line ups.

There should be a 40% reduction in maintenance through a marked improvement in service intervals, as well as there being plenty of durability measures improved or implemented. One such is the shift from a timing belt to a chain and a 20% improvement in the brakes’ durability.

Both the Renault Master and the Vauhxall Movano will be unveiled at the Commercial Vehicle Operator Show at the Birmingham NEC. The show runs from the 13th – 15th April and will showcase other new vehicles similar to the Master and Movano.

Sainsbury’s, the supermarket giant, has always been renowned for sourcing local and national products over international mass marketed items. They have been at the forefront of introducing organic and free range food, as well as providing encouraging leaflets and recipe ideas to their customers. Sainsbury’s have long been known to adapt and change their policies in order to ‘do their bit’ at reducing carbon emissions and to help the local and national economy.

Its eco friendly image has taken an extra turn now as it reveals that they have added 50 electric LGVs to its online home-delivery service. Sainsbury’s have assured customers, however, that they have not needed to change their distribution times or routes, even though electric vehicles need to be returned to base more frequently for recharging.

They have said that they have been able to locate a number of stores with suitable catchment areas where there will be no disruption to delivery patterns.

Their 50 Smith Edison vans mean Sainsbury’s has the largest fleet of electrical vans at 68.

Sainsbury’s has been testing electrical vehicles since 2006 in its Kensington depot, where the electrical LGV training has taken place.

A team of 23 friends want to achieve Guinness World Record status by driving around the globe in a fire engine. LGV / HGV driving instructors or drivers are being sought to train the team.

The crew, appropriately named ‘Follow That Fire Engine’ are planning to drive their Mercedes 1124 AF (4×4) affectionately known as Martha – through 27 countries. The trip covers an impressive 25,000 miles and will take them around 7 months to complete. They are raising money for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, The Fire Fighters Charity and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Steve Moore, the team’s leader, came up with the idea as a tribute to his father – a former fire fighter – who died last year from lung cancer.

The full conversion for getting Martha ready and on the road should be complete by the end of February, and they want to embark on their journey on the 18th of July. Dorset Fire and Rescue kindly donated Martha, but it is now based in London, which is where the training would need to take place at evenings and weekends.

All the drivers on the expedition are qualified to drive Martha (classified as a private HGV at 7.4 tonnes) but need an instructor to provide training and familiarisation.

Each year there is a massive charity fund raiser and social evening in the West Midlands, to which users of the TruckNet UK forums flock.

This year, the event was held in Cannock, Staffordshire, and was sponsored by RBI and supported by BigLorryBlog, Scania, Isuzu and Iveco.

Help For Heroes is a charity that provides support and aid for our wounded service personnel and their families. The charity was opened in 2007 and has received £47,000 a year on average since then. The TruckNet UK event raised over £1,130 for Help For Heroes, and it raised £300 of that on a single item sold: a box set of DAF model HGV / LGVs. The item was donated by BigLorryBlog, and turned out to be a winner! A Scania travel rug was also sold for auction, raising money for their charity of choice, Help For Heroes.

The evening wasn’t just about money though, it is also a mixture of serious – and not so serious – conversations about the industry, networking and cementing friendships made on the job. The event is highly anticipated by all members, and those who attended said they had a “cracking night”.

TNT, the global transportation and distribution giant, say that trading conditions in the last quarter of 2009 were “improving”. This came as they unveiled a full-year revenue of £570.1m, which is £263.9m on 2008’s figure (863.9m).

TNT’s CEO, Peter Bakker, says that

“operating results in Q4 2009 were relatively solid in a trading environment that continued to improve, leading for the first time since Q2 of 2008 to a higher group operating income than the same quarter last year.”

He does say, however, that the levels are still clearly below the 2006 economic activity levels. He thinks that a focus on cash and significant cost savings have helped TNT to come through the recession and emerge in a stronger position.

Peter Bakker also adds that the company “remain confident” of their capitalising on an economic rebound and “eventual recovery”. He emphasised how optimistic he was about the improving economic climate, but that they will continue managing TNT from

“cautious assumptions, leading to continued strong focus on cash and cost.”

These words will be very reassuring to the hundreds of LGV / HGV driving companies and freight companies the world over, as this recessions has almost seemed unending. Hopefully the upward turn for TNT signals an upward turn for the rest of the world.

The price for driving along the M6 Toll road and beating the normal M6 traffic is going up by 6.4% next month, according to the Freight Transport Association. They say that this inflation-busting rise will force drivers back onto the already heaving and over-congested M6, defeating the point of having the Toll there in the first place.

The FTA say that, especially given the recession which has hit commercial vehicle operators and LGV / HGV training centres, extra toll costs are the last thing anyone needs.

The toll road’s operator, Midland Expressway, released figures showing a fall in average daily traffic figures by 2.3% when compared to 2008. This is almost undoubtedly the reason for increasing the M6 Toll’s charges, which will come into effect on the 1st March 2010 and will be back to the levels of pre-July 2004, when Midland Expressway cut the HGV / LGV rate back to £6. This was to encourage freight and commercial companies to use the route over the normal M6.

The increased fares will apply to all Weekday Mainline Day Class 2 and Class 3 drivers. Weekday Mainline Day Class 1 rates remain the same, as do all nights, ramps and weekends.

City Link, the express parcels carrier, has a five-year recovery plan after experiencing heavy losses in 2008. In 2009, the firm managed to reduce its operating loss, and was able to return to profitability in the last quarter. The fourth quarter (Q4) of 2009 had a profit of £2.7m, compared to a loss of £4m in 2008’s fourth quarter.

City Link’s turnover for the whole year fell from £381.9m to £353.1m (7.5%), but the revenue in Q4 was £100.9m, up 3.8% on 2008 Q4’s £97.2m.

City Link blame “difficult economic conditions, pricing competition and the full-year effect of poor service in 2008” for their decline in turnover.

City Link’s five year recovery plan is based on the fact that they do not want to lower their rates to a level that is unsustainable, saying that other UK parcel companies are cutting their rates to suicidal levels.

In December 2009, City Link’s MD, Stuart Godman, said that the company was “a year to 18 months” ahead of the five-year recovery plan, so these new figures will have hopefully bumped that up a little more.

HGV / LGV driving businesses have been hard hit by the economic crisis, but City Link’s long term plan is surely a step in the right direction, ensuring that their short term success is not followed by longer term disaster.

Midlands company HL Smith Transmissions have introduced an Iveco Daily LGV to their collection of vehicles.

The company already have an existing fleet of 12 vehicles, although this is the first Iveco to make an appearance.

The LGV boasts many great features including LED lights, flashing beacons and cameras which help to guide the driver in and out of tight spots in busy locations.

Russell Smith, MD of HL Smith Transmissions commented:

“We have a lot of experience working on vehicles in the Iveco range, which led directly to us selecting an Iveco Daily for our mobile support fleet. Driver feedback has been very positive since we put the vehicle on the road and it’s living up to the busy nature of life in our fleet.

“Another key reason which made the Daily so attractive was its projected whole life costs, in comparison with our existing light commercials. We typically run our product support vehicles for between three and four years from new, covering an average of 50,000 to 60,000 miles a year, and expect the Daily to deliver savings for the business.”

The Iveco will be a welcome addition to the company’s fleet, as the vehicles are known for making LGV / HGV driving a smooth experience.

City Link, the express parcels carrier, has a five-year recovery plan after experiencing heavy losses in 2008. In 2009, the firm managed to reduce its operating loss, and was able to return to profitability in the last quarter. The fourth quarter (Q4) of 2009 had a profit of £2.7m, compared to a loss of £4m in 2008’s fourth quarter.

City Link’s turnover for the whole year fell from £381.9m to £353.1m (7.5%), but the revenue in Q4 was £100.9m, up 3.8% on 2008 Q4’s £97.2m.

City Link blame “difficult economic conditions, pricing competition and the full-year effect of poor service in 2008” for their decline in turnover.

City Link’s five year recovery plan is based on the fact that they do not want to lower their rates to a level that is unsustainable, saying that other UK parcel companies are cutting their rates to suicidal levels.

In December 2009, City Link’s MD, Stuart Godman, said that the company was “a year to 18 months” ahead of the five-year recovery plan, so these new figures will have hopefully bumped that up a little more.

HGV / LGV driving businesses have been hard hit by the economic crisis, but City Link’s long term plan is surely a step in the right direction, ensuring that their short term success is not followed by longer term disaster.

Hermes, a popular parcel carrier in the UK, recently signed a home delivery contract renewal for eight years with Next, the popular fashion retailer. Formerly known as Parcelnet, the carrier which is based in Leeds will continue to manage home delivery needs for Next Directory until 2018, which has 2.2 million active customers and a turnover of about £800 million.

According to the terms of the agreement, the HGV / LGV company will collect various products from Next on a daily basis. From there, the carrier will take the goods to regional depots and finally orders from there will be dispatched by the company’s 7,500 strong courier network to homes around the country.

The chief executive officer from the HGV / LGV carrier company, Carole Woodhead, has said that Hermes will be working closely with the fashion retailer so that the two can launch a new suite of services for customers over the next year.

Next and Hermes both offer next day delivery to customers. This makes them one of the most popular home delivery services in the country.

Neither side of the agreement have disclosed how much money has exchanged hands.

Redburn Transfer, the music transport company, has recently expanded its fleet of HGV/LGV vehicles with 11 new trucks and trailers. This is to help them cope with a higher workload.

The Middlesex-based organization, has bought five Krone Mega Dry Liner box vans, five Volvo FH 460 Globetrotters and a DAF CF65 18-tonne box-van rigid.

The company is run by managing director Chris Redburn, the fourth generation of his family in the transport business. Chris Redburn started Redburn Transfer 30 years ago and his first gig was a six week tour with Third World, a reggae band, with only one HGV / LGV.

Redburn said that the company will probably have to replace its vehicles every four or five years due to stringent emission levels in Europe, whereas before he used to keep them for seven to eight years. They do a low mileage of about 45,000 - 50,000km a year, so the turnover rate of four to five years could prove expensive.

Redburn Transfer’s fleet is made up of 22 HGV / LGVs and 25 trailers, and their tours all across Europe can mean up to 10 weeks on the road.

Lancashire based trailer manufacturer, Munro Commercials, is of the firm belief that better health and safety standards can help to make inroads in the asphalt tipper market. However, they feel that it can only be achieved only with its new moving floor HGV / LGV vehicles.

According to John Draper, the sales and demonstration coordinator with Munro Commercials, the aluminium triaxle HGV / LGV is a lot safer compared to other HGV vehicles. The body of the HGV does not need to be raised unlike other vehicles. This prevents any roll-over accidents. The vehicle also does not get stuck in any overhead cables.

Such moving floor HGV / LGVs can be used in quarries or any sort of road building projects. Tipper trailers are banned from such road building projects. According to John Draper, the moving trailer can easily carry a load of around 28 tonnes. However, this is not possible with an eight wheeler.

This brand new moving floor trailer is around 10.26m long and has a full-length chassis. This particular trailer also utilises a Keith Running Floor II as well, which is controlled via a wireless handheld control. The moving trailer weighs around 7,800 kg. Moreover, the trailer is provided with an optional Munro Universal Cleanout system. This system helps users to remove debris and curb any cross-load contamination.

Eezehaul, the award-winning express transportation company, announced that it will be expanding further into the courier and haulage industries. The HGV / LGV company will be doing this with some help from Haulage Exchange from its new base which is close to Gatwick Airport. The new headquarters is said to be four times larger than the previous one, measuring 80,000 square feet.

The new warehouse is set in a five acre site and will allow Eezehaul to extend its distribution and logistics services to even more clients. Apparently, the new warehouse includes a custom bonded area that measures 8,000 square feet. The warehouse also has seven dock levelled loading bays for HGV / LGVs and containers.

Mark Duggan, Managing Director, believes that the successful expansion into haulage was due to the membership of Haulage Exchange. This is a forum that exchanges information regarding sub-contract jobs, haulage loads and empty vehicles. He said that Haulage Exchange was vital to Eezehaul’s business. While the company operates its haulage fleet, the forum helps to get jobs done at reasonable market value when fleets are booked.

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has confirmed that there are presently no more test stations allocated for closure as the initial Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) went live recently. On Monday 15th February 2010, TruckEast’s Wellingborough service officially started trading as an ATF, following the Scania dealer becoming one of the 3 firms to sign the ATF agreement the last month.

Before this, the site was operated as a Designated Premises (DP). However, since the ATF agreement was launched on 27th January, 12 additional businesses have downloaded the contract from VOSA’s Business Link website and six of these are from existing DPs.

Richard Smith, VOSA’s testing transportation programme director, says that he can guarantee that VOSA are not preparing to close any other test stations. He did say, however, that they would have to consider speaking to the Department of Transport if there were 100 ATFs around a certain VOSA station but with very few tests coming through it.In such a case, they would say to the Department for Transport (DfT) that this station is under-used and they would plan what they will do about it.

Smith was eager to quell rumours about VOSA being “in the business of just closing down stations”.

The Felinfoel Brewery Company Limited of Felinfoel, which is the oldest brewery in Wales, took the delivery of three brand new, four-wheeled Scania distribution HGV / LGVs. The trucks have been given by the Scania dealer for Herefordshire, West Wales and South Wales on a five year full contract through Scania Finance.

All of the vehicles are models of the Scania P 235 DB4×2MLA, low chassis height that have Scania CP 16 day cabs. Each of these also run on a 1,050 Nm (774 Ibf.ft) torque/ 230 horsepower Scania DC9-16 Euro 5 EGR engine and have to be driven with an eight speed Scania G875 gear box.

Phillips Lewis, finance director of Felinfoel Brewery, said that the vehicles have been gained as part of the brewery’s rolling replacement fleet program. He added that they had operated an entire Scania HGV fleet previously and were convinced that the marquee was suited best for their operations. This was in terms of HGV driving performance over the tough local terrain, reliability and the service support provided from Silurian Scania.

The new vehicles are currently delivering to the 83 public houses owned by Felinfoel Brewery. These are located throughout Central and South Wales. Along with this, the firm also offers its service to a growing free trade business thanks to its collection of beers and various other licensed products.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has criticised the government for causing a spike in inflation with the continual rise in fuel tax. In January 2010, the UK inflation rate increased to 3.5% from 2.9% in December 2009. According to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), this is the fastest monthly increase for 14 months.

In writing a letter to Alistair Darling¸ Mervyn King, the governor of Bank of England, blamed that the increase in petrol-price inflation is mostly due to the restoration of VAT to 17.5% . It had been at 15% since December 2008.

Communications Director at the FTA, Jo Tanner, said that the inflation has increased mainly due to the rising fuel prices to transport goods. Fuel accounts for above 30% of the entire transport cost, and these prices cause problems for the businesses and services that depend on the logistics sector to run easily.

Jo Tanner also said that it is an abhorrence to raise the tax on a tank of diesel during the recession, particularly when the real price of a barrel of oil has doubled.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) met a week ago with the Treasury to call for decoupling of fuel duty.

A temporary bridge that will enable HGV / LGV to cross the River Derwent in Workington has been welcomed by haulage bosses in Cumbria. This bridge will enable HGV / LGV vehicles to cross the river for the first time since the severe floods last year.

Recently, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced a new structure at a cost of £4.6m and sited 200m east of the Northside Bridge that was destroyed by the flood water. This bridge will be open for the traffic in May 2010.

Calva Bridge that is nearby was also badly damaged due to the floods and has also remained closed. Director at Tyson H Burridge based between Whitehaven and Workington, Andrew Burridge said that detours have presently turned the regular 5 mile journey to a close by mill into a 20-mile trip.

Andrew also said that the new bridge is desperately required. However, they actually need it earlier than May. Director of EW and PA Nicholson in Cockermouth, Eric Nicholson said that the damage caused by floods has caused many issues in terms of extra mileage covered and delays caused.

Cumbria Country Council is presently working on plans to permanently replace the two road bridges Workington in the next 2 years. The Freight Transport Association’s head of policy for North England, Malcolm Bingham said that organisation hopes to see speedy progress on this issue.