Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging
21.6.21
Failure to act could leave shelves empty as logistics skills crisis deepens
Hauliers plead for help with driver shortage ŎÌĞľŘéÐŎŘ̅ ĀĀĞťĀZpj
NEWS INSIDE Warehouse wars
Stobart snaps up new space p3
Branching out
Owens buys Celtic Couriers p4
Under pressure
More rates rises looming?
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OPERATORS INSIDE Celtic Couriers .............................................. p4 Courier Connections ...................................... p8 Dawsongroup ...............................................p18 DHL .............................................................p34 DPD .............................................................. p4 Eddie Stobart ................................................ p3 EFS Global..................................................... p8 Emms & Son.................................................. p8 Foulger Transport .......................................... p8 Fraikin .........................................................p18 JBT Distribution ............................................ p3 John Lewis Partnership ................................p36 Menzies Distribution...................................... p3 Owens Group................................................. p4 Pall-Ex.......................................................... p3
Hauliers have repeated their plea to government to relax the testing process for HGV drivers and return them to the list of skills that can be imported, as the nationwide driver shortage hits crisis levels. “We’re close to the brink and so is everyone else,” said Turners (Soham) MD Paul Day. “Are we delivering everything with a perfect service? No. Is everyone else? I don’t think they are. It’s getting worse. In another month it’s going to be really tight.” The UK now has an estimated shortfall of 65,000 HGV drivers, exacerbated by Brexit and IR35 tax changes driving up driver costs. And Day said an EU ruling forcing applicants to complete a C licence, course and test before C+E equivalents had worsened the problem. “We’ve suggested doing just one test so you’re not doing your HGV test and artic test separately,” he said. “But the most important thing is to get the LGV drivers back on the skilled workers list. It means eastern Europeans can come in and become drivers.” In a recent email to customers Day warned: “Should we see pallets or loads rejected for being
Photo: Shutterstock
By Tim Wallace and Carol Millett
late, we will have to review whether we can continue to service those delivery points as this issue is out of our control. The rejection will be a further waste of resource, which we cannot absorb.” Paul Emms, MD of Emms & Sons in Doncaster, agreed. “The chronic driver issue is caused by one thing only and that’s the double-testing farce imposed upon us by the EU,” he said (see letters, page 8). “They’ve really screwed it up with miles of red tape.” UK distributors are now calling for the army to be mobilised to prevent the imminent breakdown of the country’s food supply chain. The Federation of Wholesale
Distributors warned that its members were struggling to get food deliveries out, leading to empty shelves and the dumping of fruit and vegetables. FWD chief executive James Bielby said: “This is a massive problem and we are calling for army drivers to be put on standby to protect vulnerable communities where food deliveries are at risk.” The RHA has now published a 12-point plan to tackle the situation, warning that freight rates are rising to an unsustainable level with costs being passed on to consumers. In a meeting with government last Wednesday (16 June) that also included supply chain companies, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett told roads minister Baroness Vere there was an urgent need for action. Issues raised included driver training and apprenticeships, Driver CPC, short-term access to non-UK labour, parking and facilities for drivers, and the need to treat drivers and the sector with the respect they deserve. The government gave a commitment to continue to look at actions that can be taken to address these issues.
TRUCKING ON GAS: Romac Logistics has added 10 new 4x2 Iveco S-WAY CNG tractors to its 220-strong fleet, with plans to add a further 10 of them later this year. The trucks are expected to cover around 160,000km per year and will each deliver a CO2 emissions reduction of around 125 tonnes per year. The 10 trucks, supplied by South West Truck & Van in Avonmouth on a five-year Iveco Capital Operating Lease, are the latest in Iveco’s line-up of natural gas-powered heavy trucks. The vehicles come with a 12.9-litre Natural Power Cursor 13 engine at 460hp, and 2,000Nm of torque between 1,100rpm and 1,600rpm. One of the vehicles is running store replenishment for a national supermarket chain, with another on trunking routes between major regional delivery centres for a global e-commerce business. Five are based at Romac’s Middleton headquarters near Manchester, with the others at the firm’s Wednesbury depot in the West Midlands.
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