Profits also grew; pre-tax profit was up 4.1% to £5m, compared to £4.8m in 2022.

Operating profit was also £5m, a 4% increase on the previous year.

The network said it had made significant progress during the trading period on the key elements of its strategy; gross profit percentage increased to 75.3% from 74.4%, net profit increased 0.3% to 35.4% and its liquidity ratio during the year was 2.07, compared to 1.81 in the previous year.

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In a review of its business UPN said the company’s position was satisfactory and it was optimistic for the future: “The company continues to grow in respect of the number of pallets moved on a nightly basis,” UPN said.

“The company will continue to develop its internal systems and IT infrastructure in the coming year which will maintain UPN’s position as a market leader within the pallet sector.”

This summer, the network said its presence in the east of England had strengthened after members in the region enjoyed significant expansion.

The post UPN optimistic after profits edge higher appeared first on Motor Transport.

Keith Talbot, 62, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, was given a 28-month disqualification from driving at Cannock Magistrates’ Court on 5 October after pleading guilty to drink driving.

The court heard how Talbot was driving a lorry on the A38 heading towards Branston in February when he collided with a stationary lorry parked in a layby, causing large amounts of goods to be spilled over both carriages.

Talbot provided a positive roadside breath test of 158mg and was arrested at the scene.

The legal limit is 80mg.

As part of his sentencing, he was also ordered to pay court costs of £135, a surcharge of £114, attend 20 days of rehabilitation and carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

PC Martin Randle of Staffordshire police, said: “Talbot put other road user’s lives at risk while driving under the influence of alcohol.

“We welcome the court’s decision to ban him from driving. Our roads have no place for such dangerous and reckless behaviour which could’ve easily resulted in serious or fatal injury.

“We are pleased Talbot will not be able to be behind the wheel of a vehicle again for a significant amount of time.”

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Latest financial results, for the year ending 31 December 2022, showed that chilled food supply chain business Fowler Welch increased turnover by 23% during the period to £201m, from £163m in 2021.

Pre-tax profit increased from £4.6m to £12.4m, although the business pointed out that almost £2.7m of this was an exceptional profit from the disposal of joint venture Integrated Services Solutions.

In February 2022, Fowler Welch acquired Robert Burns Logistics, in order to boost its presence in the fresh logistics market.

It said this purchase had allowed it to increase its scale and expertise in the sector, which had accelerated growth.

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Meanwhile, fellow Culina subsidiary Great Bear Distribution saw revenues and profits soar in 2022; turnover increased at the UK ambient 3PL by 16.4% to £399m and pre-tax profit more than doubled to £42m, compared to £17.7m in 2021.

In late 2022, the decision was taken to transfer the warehousing activity of group undertaking Eddie Stobart over to Great Bear and the firm said this had allowed it to expand its storage portfolio, which would help with further growth.

“The company is well funded and financially robust, so the directors are confident the company is well placed to meet the challenges of the ongoing economic climate and market conditions,” it said.

Culina Group itself reported a 37.8% increase in pre-tax profit, to £5.7m in 2022. Turnover increased by 43% to £88.3m, which it attributed mainly to increased recharges following the acquisition of Stobart umbrella company Greenwhitestar Acquisitions in July 2021.

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Thames Valley Police said it undertook regular patrols, along with the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) across Bracknell, West Berkshire and Wokingham areas to check whether lorry drivers were breaking the law.

The force said it was an offence to drive a vehicle through a restricted area where the vehicle exceeds the weight limit imposed, unless delivering or collecting items within the weight restriction.

The cases appearing at Reading Magistrates’ Court in October were: An HGV driver of an 18-tonne vehicle travelling through a 7.5-tonne weight restriction on a bridge over the river Thames on the B478 in Sonning. The driver was found guilty and fined £198 and ordered to pay £180 costs.

The driver of an 18-tonne MAN travelling through a 7.5-tonne weight restriction on Mill Lane in Newbury. The driver pleaded guilty and was fined £115 and ordered to pay costs of £180.

A driver of a 32-tonne truck travelling through a weight restriction on Langley Hill in Tilehurst pleaded guilty and was fined £666 with £180 costs.

The driver of a 12-tonne truck was observed by a PPP road traffic enforcement officer breaching a weight restriction on Church Road in Aldermaston and was fined £146 with £180 costs.

An 18-tonne MAN was seen breaching the 7.5-tonne weight limit on the Skew Bridge in Basildon and the driver was fined £224 with £180 costs.

The driver of a 26-tonne Renault HGV breached an 18-tonne weight restriction either side of Streatley Farm near the village of Streatley and was fined £187 and ordered to pay £180 costs.

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No slaughter of cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry will take place for five days from Monday (30 October) across the whole of NI as veterinary staff walk out of ports in a row over pay.

The BMPA said the strike will immediately spark three major issues: animal welfare, farmers unable to sell livestock and the widespread disruption of supply chains.

Nick Allen, BMPA CEO, said: “This is a particular worry as we enter the busiest period of the year in the run up to Christmas when our members are preparing festive products like hams and pigs-in-blankets for the Christmas market.”

The group said it could also prove sensitive for the UK government, which is currently working on an agreement with the DUP over the Windsor Framework.

Strike action could expose the scale of border checks that are still needed to get food from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland – even through the new ‘green lane’ – and will demonstrate that the Irish Sea border has not been removed.

Nichola Mallon, Logistics UK’s head of trade and devolved policy, said the supply chain was complex and could not be “turned on and off like a tap”: “Given the volume of food moving from GB to NI via the red lane, next week’s planned industrial action by NI vets and meat inspectors could be highly disruptive to businesses and consumers,” she said.

“It is essential that negotiations continue and every effort is made locally and by the UK government to put in place contingency arrangements that minimise the impact on NI businesses and consumers.”
In a statement, NI’s department of agriculture, environment and rural affairs said there was the potential for “significant disruption” next week.

“If there is no resolution to the current pay dispute, the industrial action is likely to present issues in relation to animal health and welfare, public health and continuity of agri-food supply chains,” it said.

“The department very much hopes that a resolution to the current position on NI civil service pay can be found as soon as possible.”

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The Delivering Decarbonisation conference takes place on 21 November at America Square Conference Centre in London and is designed to give delegates the knowledge and information required to plan their business strategy.

There will be a series of panel discussions and keynote speeches and Logistics UK said the line-up included Lord Callanan, minister for energy, efficiency and green finance; Dr Russell Fowler, senior manager at National Grid; Malcolm Wilkinson, head of energy at National Highways and Alan McKinnon, professor of logistics.

Topics include how to approach decarbonisation of HGV operations in the UK, how the government is supporting businesses, views from the OEMs, creating an EV adoption strategy and the infrastructure required for HGV decarbonisation.

Michelle Gardner, deputy director of policy at Logistics UK said: “The logistics industry is undergoing profound changes and is becoming increasingly complex as we strive for decarbonisation.

“In recognition of the significance of this transformation, we are delighted to host Delivering Decarbonisation, an essential conference – that proved to be extremely popular last year – for senior logistics leaders and decarbonisation experts.”

The event is £199 + VAT for Logistics UK members and £239 + VAT for non-members.
More information on the event can be found at: www.logistics.org.uk/deliveringdecarbonisation

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Long-term employee Stuart Dean has been made portable movements operations director.

He joins the board along with newcomers Paul Allon, who has been appointed the company’s finance director and Dominic Yeardley, commercial director.

The trio join CEO Peter Brown, MD Colin Moody and logistics director Carl Andrew.

Neill & Brown added that finance director Ian Halder will retire after 13 years at the company.

“These senior appointments have been made as the initial stage of a broader succession strategy and we expect them to play a significant role in increasing our stronghold in the UK, European and worldwide logistics industry from our base in the Humber,” said Brown.

“I would like to publicly thank Ian Halder for his hard work, commitment and sound advice, and wish him a very happy retirement.”

Allon, who has more than 15 years’ experience across the manufacturing and construction sectors, said: “I am very excited about working with the senior team at Neill & Brown.

“I want to build on its history and excellent reputation, which extends from the Humber across the globe, to enable further growth over the coming years.”

Neill & Brown started in Hull in 1917 and today employs nearly 150 staff across its Hull sites.

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Transport & Environment (T&E) said that despite the government announcing £200m of funding for truck decarbonisation projects, it paled into insignificance compared to EU progress.

It said the UK had plenty of ambition but was lacking in action, citing an EU-wide law that ensured by 2025 there would be charging stations for HGVs every 60km along the core network in Europe and every 100km on larger, more comprehensive roads.

Complete network coverage is expected by 2030.

T&E added that the EU was also introducing standards that enabled truck makers to ramp up production of zero-emission trucks.

It compared HGV CO2 emissions from UK HGVs in 1990 and in 2021 and said there had been barely any decrease.

“The UK is in real danger of losing any competitive edge it has on truck decarbonisation”, said Richard Hebditch, T&E UK director.

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“It’s vital that the UK stays in the race as there is a flourishing industry behind e-HGV production, charging and battery supply that the UK could tap into.

“The government seems to be tiptoeing around major issues when it comes to transport decarbonisation and HGVs are a major opportunity, it would be silly and short-sighted to continue to pay them such little attention.”

The thinktank’s comments came as research by BP found that despite the majority of fleet managers believing decarbonisation was a positive move for their business, there remained significant concerns about the availability of alternative fuels and charging infrastructure.

BP said over half (53%) of HGV fleet managers said they had already begun their journeys to net zero but the same proportion questioned whether there would be enough renewable diesel to cater for demand.

A further 42% said they had concerns around recharging electric trucks during long-haul journeys.

Adrian Brabazon, head of UK fleet solutions at BP, says: “It’s encouraging to see that many HGV fleet managers are feeling positive about decarbonisation.

“At BP with our integrated approach and strong presence in traditional fuels, EV charging, and bioenergy, we are planning to develop a network of dedicated hubs for HGVs that will offer a selection of fuelling options, as well as better facilities for drivers.”

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The donation from the Benefact Group helps charities make a difference and Transaid joined more than 900 others all vying for a share of the award pot.

Winning projects were selected against four criteria, including impact and effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, and care and compassion.

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Transaid said it would use the award to fund additional training for its professional driver training project in Ghana, where the demand for HGV drivers is increasing rapidly, as an estimated 98% of all cargo transiting the country is transported by road.

It added that some 7,000 people are killed in road traffic collisions in Ghana every year.

Jason Finch, programmes support manager at Transaid, said: “Our focus remains on upskilling local driver trainers in accordance with a newly developed HGV driver training standard – which will benefit hundreds of new and existing professional drivers, as well as improve the safety of thousands of other road users and roadside communities they interact with each year.”

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The fuel distributor and haulier said the new stepframe Smoothsider tippers would be used on the agricultural side of the business, moving malt and barley to whisky producers in Scotland and potatoes to food firms across England.

Director Kevin Carnegie said: “The initial trailers from Fruehauf were the perfect spec for our business and really impressed, so it was a no-brainer to put in a larger order to help with the company’s growth.

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“Thanks to the firm’s significant production capabilities in Grantham, it was able to deliver these new units in time for this summer’s harvest, unlike other trailer manufacturers who were offering much longer lead times.”

The 70 cubic yard capacity tippers are specified with remote-controlled weigh loaders and electric easy sheets, both of which can be operated by the driver from inside the cab.

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