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Longer semi-trailers should be allowed into general circulation with light regulatory control on use
Menzies adds 16 longer semitrailers after DfT permits use By Steve Hobson
HUGE BENEFITS: Adam Purshall
Menzies Distribution has placed orders for a further 16 longer semitrailers to take its fleet of 15.65m trailers to 93 after the government announced on 24 August that, after reviewing the 31 responses to its consultation on its trial, ministers “have decided that longer semitrailers should be allowed into general circulation with light regulatory control on their use”. The original trial involved trailers of 14.6m and 15.65m operating within the UK’s existing domestic weight limit of 44 tonnes. It was
originally scheduled to run for 10 years from 2012 with a total allocation of 1,800 longer semi-trailers operating under vehicle special orders. In 2017 the government increased the number of trailers by 1,000 and extended the trial to 2027. Speaking at the Motor Transport Future Transport workshop on day one of the Commercial Vehicle Show, Adam Purshall, fleet and procurement director of Menzies Distribution Group, said there had been “huge benefits” from longer semi-trailers for both the operator
and its customers in the FMCG packaging sector. Describing the trial as a huge success, he said there had been no safety issues “and it has delivered what we wanted in terms of the environment and our operations”. The lack of availability of longer semi-trailers owing to uncertainty over the length of the trial had also been an issue, he said, though there had been no mechanical problems with the self-steering rear axles and longer semi-trailers had proved as reliable as Menzies’ conventional semis.
DPD has forged a partnership with The Post Office, which sees the Royal Mail Group cease to be the only carrier used by the retailer. The deal is part of a wider plan by The Post Office to open up its network of 11,500 branches to external carriers for the first time in its 360-year history. The partnership with DPD sees Royal Mail Group lose its status as the only carrier to have an agreement with
The Post Office for parcel collections directly at its branches. The click-and-collect service, which starts next week, will initially be available at about 250 post offices, before rolling out to approximately 1,500 branches ahead of the Christmas period. Customers making a purchase online will have the option to choose their local post office as the collection point for their parcels. DPD will deliver parcels directly to the post office and the postmaster will process customer collections at the counter. The Post Office said the partnership aimed to reduce the environmental impact of having vans making multiple stops to drop off parcels, while encouraging people to return to their local high street on foot.
RSO quiz helps to beat the bridge strikes E-learning specialist Road Skills Online has launched a free module to help fleet operators and drivers avoid bridge strikes. The Bridge Strike Toolbox Talk takes users through a quiz to prove they are up to date on the latest training. RSO MD David Somers said the firm felt it was “incumbent on us” to develop the module, in light of traffic commissioners’ growing frustrations over hauliers’ apparent lack of progress on bridge strikes. 4 MotorTransport
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DPD challenges Royal Mail with major Post Office delivery deal
HGV market sees signs of recovery in Q2, says SMMT New HGV registrations were up by 128.7% in the second quarter of 2021 compared with 2020, revealing positive signs of recovery following the pandemic. However, the full revival of the logistics industry has some way to go, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) warned this week, pointing to the pre-pandemic five-year average, which shows that truck registrations in the second quarter of 2021 actually fell 20.1%. According to figures released on 17 August by the SMMT, the increase saw 9,493 units registered, up from 5,342 in Covid-affected 2020. Performance for the year to date followed a similar pattern, with 19,557 vehicles registered so far, equating to a 46.6% rise on
2020. However, this falls short by 7,907 trucks compared with 2019, amounting to a 28.8% reduction. All segments saw volume increases compared with 2020, with articulated trucks up 128.3% and rigids up 128.9%. Tractors continue to be the most popular vehicle body type, making up more than a third of all registrations in the quarter (35.9%). The refuse disposal sector saw one of the smallest gains, up 68.4% to 586 waste collection vehicles, as local authority funding continued to be affected by Covid, thereby delaying new orders. SMMT warned that operators would face an uphill struggle to recover in the face of the continuing driver shortage and the sector’s tight decarbonisation deadlines. 6.9.21
