Viewpoint

Electric HGVs will require a lot of power to recharge – but there are smarter ways

October 3, 2023 Admin Support

A truck stopped is one that is not earning money. And an electric truck stopped because it is plugged in and unable to get going again is also costing money. As the UK haulage industry moves to electrification, the key consideration will not actually be range, but time stopped. Downtime is not only the cost […]

Root and branch changes required if haulage industry is to survive

September 27, 2023 Admin Support

“Economic headwinds blew Cross Transport off course Shortly after it entered insolvency proceedings, administrator David Kemp said many haulage firms had struggled during 2022, blaming rising fuel prices and the professional driver shortage as well as many companies in the industry operating under the pressure of thin margins.” motortransport.co.uk 8 September 2023 So, we have: […]

Satnavs have changed our world – but could still do better

September 8, 2023 Admin Support

GPS is the most famous of the four global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and one of the marvels of the modern world. A GNSS constellation consists of a number of satellites that circle the globe to provide worldwide position, time and velocity information. Since these are low power signals and won’t travel through solid objects, […]

Cold chain must remain focused on net zero target to reap sustainability and efficiency rewards

August 24, 2023 Admin Support

With record temperatures surging throughout the globe this July, the era of ‘global boiling’, as its now coined, has seemingly arrived with a vengeance. The need to drive decarbonisation has never been greater. Increased energy costs – which still remain above pre-pandemic levels despite the drop of wholesale gas prices by 46% since last June […]

A tribute to the (very much alive) internal combustion engine…

August 22, 2023 Tim Wallace

Many in society have been indoctrinated with the false belief that battery vehicles are ‘zero emissions’ and the solution to all our environmental ills. Thankfully, our commercial vehicle industry is blessed with a pragmatic membership, who have the intelligence to join the dots and the strength of character to question erroneous claptrap. Our industry will […]

We need urgent help with our growing HGV technician shortage

August 4, 2023 Tim Wallace

It’s impossible to ignore that the UK is suffering from skills shortages. Not a week goes by without an occupation being highlighted and a plea to train more people or for access to non-UK workers. The driver shortage which reached its peak in autumn 2021 is an obvious one for our sector. The good news […]

Banish the nightmare of predicting and right-sizing peak warehouse space

June 12, 2023 Admin Support

It is now the time of year where many retailers and their supply chain partners will be starting to plan and secure their warehousing space and resource requirements for the big one – the ‘golden quarter’ and the Christmas peak. Predicting requirements seven or eight months ahead is always a nightmare, and this year looks […]

Is fundamental reform of our Traffic Commissioner regulation regime on the horizon?

May 30, 2023 Admin Support

The government’s long-awaited ‘Traffic Commissioner function review 2021/22’ has finally been published. With Traffic Commissioners responsible for licensing and regulating operators of HGVs, PSVs and local bus services, any company operating either goods vehicles or buses will be affected by the review and its recommendations. If they’re adopted, they’ll amount to the single greatest change […]

Showcasing our commitment to more sustainable live events

May 30, 2023 Admin Support

KB Event, a specialist transport company for the entertainment sector, has joined forces with event creator Showcase to launch #DrivingSustainabiltyTogether, a campaign to promote sustainability in live events. With a professional relationship that spans almost 10 years and shared values regarding the impact their operations will have on future generations, it was during a production […]

BVRLA: Why we need a Van Plan…

May 16, 2023 Tim Wallace

The road to achieving a net zero transport network is far from a straight line. Barriers and roadblocks are arising all the time. When looking at commercial vehicles, this testing landscape becomes even more fraught. Van fleets are struggling to make the zero-emission transition and the 2030 Phase Out target for internal combustion engine vehicles […]