Day: 30 November 2021

The government is introducing temporary visas for 5,000 fuel tanker and food lorry drivers to work in the UK in the run-up to Christmas.

How serious has the problem become?

A significant shortage in HGV drivers in Europe and the UK has adequately highlighted the complex and fragile nature of the global haulage industry. A crises in fuel supplies and food shortages accompanied by panicked and somewhat controversial rescue plans from the government, has proven truck drivers and HGV companies to be the invaluable backbone of a contemporary and ever shifting international and local economy. So just how do you as a company facilitate your customer needs, as heavy goods and pallet deliveries come under pressure? The first step in this fight for logistic buoyancy is taking a customer first approach to managing stock shortages. This means ensuring that any stock advertised is available to your customers. In this case, real-time inventory in which retailers can consistently manage customer expectations is a vital.

Digital inventory software and online tools to instantly record transactions, orders and purchases combined with fast same day pallet supply and product delivery; may be the winning combination some of the leading e-commerce and supply companies are using. If companies can master online stock and inventory updates with reliable haulage companies; urgent HGV and same day pallet deliveries no longer need to suffer under tactless government plans and mounting restrictions.

Drink pallet delivery, urgent food pallet delivery, building material transportation as well as other companies that rely on heavy goods services may seem to have taken a hit with the recent driver shortage. However there is still hope for the logistics industry and clients and customers who benefit from this intricate nexus of transportation, might still be able to get their logistical needs met. Both small and large businesses may now be relying on local HGV companies in London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and many more major cities in the UK rather than larger domestic companies that have been more affected by the recent driver shortage.

In short, when the wider foundations of the haulage industry begin to collapse under the bureaucratic weight of parliament, manage online expectations and go local. These companies are often cheaper, faster, more attentive and professional, all the factors that need to be apparent in order to create a worthwhile valued customer experience.

With road traffic accounting for 10% of the global emissions in 2020 (Transport – UN Climate Change Conference, 2021), it is not surprising that an entire day of this year’s two week climate change conference has been dedicated to transport. The day presented an opportunity for leading international experts in transportation and environmental change to discuss the challenges and possible solutions involved in a global transition to a significant reduction in emissions by the year 2050. With 770 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2e been produced by Britain alone, the UN voiced that the stark need for the UK to push forward remits and changes that will be in congruence with the stipulations set out in the Paris agreement (April, 2016); as not just necessary, but paramount.

So how will these changes affect the courier and haulage industry?  A study by NGO Transport and Environment (T&E) highlighted that to achieve the goal  of decarbonising heavy-goods vehicles (HGV) by 2050, sale of new regional delivery diesel lorries below 26 tonnes (7.5 tonne, 12 tonne, 18tonne) will need to be phased out by at 2035 by the latest. This could be met through a target of new generation electric delivery Lorries. The report emphasised that for large articulated vehicles (26 tonne Lorries and above) , sale of new diesel lorries required for pallet delivery, transportation of building supplies and long haulage vehicles will be phased out by 2040. However, as well meaning as these new steps may be, the growing demand for freight transport coupled with the recent haulage crises could mean that reducing the fuel consumption of diesel Lorries may only save the UK 20% of road freight and haulage greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In a recent article on www.transportenvironment.org , Greg Archer the UK director at T&E stated “Achieving the UK’s climate goals will require lorries to be zero emission by 2050. An end to new diesel Lorries during the 2030’s is both necessary and feasible by electrifying a new generation of vehicles. But this transition needs to start without further delay. There is therefore an urgent need to begin rolling out the charging infrastructure to support urban and regional deliveries.”

With such an extensive change at both a national and international level, due to an industry that’s economic framework is based on diesel and petrol prices, a total and permanent phase out of the combustion engine to be replaced by high-powered hydro–cell heavy good vehicles may change the face of the industry. Comprehensive and dynamic steps need to be taken to protect the industry and ensure that the transition in its attempts to save the cut fuel emission does not also fragment the scaffold of a service that is the backbone of the UK’s economy.