A big thank you!

Macmillan-Cancer-Support

Ross Francis

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A big thank you!

On July 31st this year five of us including Tick and sons Tom and Harry along with two friends, Andy and Danny, completed a walk in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

The five men joined more than 2000 walkers to cover the 26-mile Dedham Mighty Hike, starting from Kentwell Hall, Long Melford  to Dedham and between them raised £6,205 for the charity.

We would like to thank all those who contributed, including many of our customers and suppliers, in helping us to reach such a great total.

HGV Driver shortage, what can be done?

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Ross Francis

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HGV Driver shortage, what can be done?

As the economy and business start to return to something near to normal activity following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, demand for deliveries of all sorts of goods has been increasing.

This has exposed a serious shortage of qualified HGV drivers, and it is made more difficult by the lengthy and complex training process in the UK, which can involve a significant cost as well as a multitude of different tests for various aspects of qualifying process.

We have been fortunate to take on a new driver despite this, but we support the Road Haulage Association’s (RHA) initiative to try to simplify the process and address the problems.

At the moment, even though there is an apprenticeship scheme, it is not suitable for smaller haulage companies and in any case, it is not attracting young applicants.

The RHA has proposed a 12-point plan to tackle the situation.

It includes including HGV drivers on Government’s Skilled Worker Shortage Occupation List, a seasonal visa scheme for qualified HGV drivers, continued priority driving tests for HGV drivers and establishing a ‘Return to HGV Driving’ scheme.

The full 12-point list can be found here.

To avoid shipment delays check your paperwork

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To avoid shipment delays check your paperwork

The delays at ports that caused problems during the first part of the year have now eased and traffic is now flowing smoothly.

However, unaccompanied trailers containing goods for export can still meet with delays – or even rejection – if the accompanying paperwork is not correctly filled out.

We would like to remind our customers that filling out the customs forms is their responsibility and to avoid shipment delays, it helps to get these issued quickly and correctly.

Thankfully, it is rare for us to have to deal with this sort of issue, but it is something our customers should bear in mind.

A difficult start to the new year for haulier

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A difficult start to the new year for hauliers but things are settling down

January 1 marked the UK’s final separation from the EU, and for hauliers this proved to be a little problematic at the start.

For the first two weeks, we were unable to work while hauliers and ports got to grips with the massively increased paperwork needed to deal with consignments from overseas.

Some also found it difficult to drop empty trailers at ports.

However, thankfully, this situation has quickly eased and hauliers are able to get on with the task of collecting and delivering consignments to customers.

Another helpful development has been that many motorway services are able to offer rapid flow testing for Coronavirus to drivers, making it easier for them to pass through the ports.

The Road Haulage Association website has a useful section keeping people up to date on developments for international operators.

You can find it here

Goods are flowing into UK ports

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Goods are flowing into UK ports and roads are busy

The Coronavirus outbreak caused massive disruption to the global supply chain as many countries locked down to contain the virus and exports almost completely dried up.

Now, however, things are starting to move again and supplies are once again coming in through UK ports.

Although our activity is at around 80% of our pre-virus levels, we are transporting a great deal of fresh fruit and vegetables to supermarkets around the country, collecting from local ports.

One thing we have noticed is that the roads are becoming busier than ever.

We are finding that people are using private vehicles even more, perhaps because they are still very wary of using public transport.

Also, as more people are opting to take their holidays in the UK because of the various travel restrictions and quarantine requirements when returning from various countries, and also because schools are expected to return to normal in September, this is adding to the busy time on the roads

However, the goods are still getting through and some sense of normality is returning.

Making workplaces safe post pandemic

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Making workplaces safe post pandemic

As businesses are starting to re-open gradually following the pandemic lockdown, they are having to make sure that employees are kept safe if they need them to be at their workplaces.

This means not only setting up sanitising points at entrances and throughout their buildings and introducing strict cleaning regimes.

In many cases, it will also mean spacing out desks and other furniture so that people can work at a safe distance from each other.

But while this equipment may not be needed in the short term, eventually businesses may well need to re-install it.

In the meantime, it will need to be stored somewhere.

If your business premises do not have enough space to do this we can offer safe, secure storage for you.

There is space available in our self-storage facility, which is accessible 24/7 and secure, so if you need to ensure that your small business has the supplies it needs to continue operating, why not give us a call.

Road haulage coronavirus updates

Road-Haulage

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Road haulage coronavirus updates

More information on all the following is available on the RHA website here.

Driver medicals.

On 17 April 2020 the Department for Transport announced temporary changes for applying for renewing vocational licenses. The changes apply to HGV drivers over 45 whose licences are due to expire, or have expired, since 1 January 2020.

Under this scheme, HGV drivers aged over 45 will be able to apply for a temporary 1-year licence, providing they do not have any medical conditions that affect their driving.

For HGV drivers over 45 years old & whose licence is about to expire, DVLA should have sent the D47 application form to renew the licence. 

Temporary relaxation of driver hours rules

The information about this is on the Government website here.

The drivers’ hours relaxations apply from 00:01 on Monday 23 March 2020 and will run until 23:59 on Sunday 31 May 2020.

Anyone driving under the EU drivers’ hours rules or the GB drivers’ hours rules and undertaking carriage of goods by road can use the relaxations where necessary. The relaxations are not limited to specific sectors or journeys.

Operator licence renewals

RHA is reminding hauliers that they still need to renew their licences despite the lockdown if they are still working, but it can be done online. See this link: https://www.rha.uk.net/news/coronavirus-updates/operator-licence-renewal

The RHA has also written to the Government to stress that many hauliers have been affected by the lockdown and urging it to provide some help.

It calculates that nearly50% of lorries are now parked up, especially those hauliers whose businesses depend on work in the construction, removals, waste recycling, car transporting, retail, manufacturing, events and fuel sectors.

RHA campaigns for a national policy on clean air zones and lorries

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RHA campaigns for a national policy on clean air zones and lorries

The Road Haulage Association has launched a campaign for more national consistency on Clean Air Zones (CAZ).

At the moment, it says, every local authority sets its own rules, and this is causing problems for hauliers.

A statement from the RHA policy unit the organisation said: “In principle, the RHA does not dispute the policy intention behind CAZ. Following the ClientEarth court wins, the Government has at face value seemingly gripped the need to bring down harmful Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions. This should be welcome news. We all want a healthy clean environment.”

However, the practical implications for hauliers and for local businesses trying to comply have not been thought through properly.

It argues that, given the shortage of second-hand, Euro VI emission standard, compliant with the current CAZ standards such vehicles are both hard to come by and are selling at inflated prices.

It says that the Government is also failing to understand how competitive the haulage industry is, with its current low knock-on effect to consumer prices.

“All this pain can be avoided however if ministers urgently change course and implement a smarter policy framework to reduce NOx emissions. We can be cleaner and at less cost.”

RHA is calling on the government to review existing regulation to allow Local Authorities to charge only the oldest dirtiest vehicles across all vehicle type and to allow differential charges. It also wants the Government to “mandate that auto-pay is available for all vehicles including non-UK vehicles and when CAZ charges will end.”

The RHA argues that both a cleaner environment and support for haulage industry, the low-cost economy and jobs are all possible with a better framework of regulations.

National Pothole Day

National-Pothole-day

Ross Francis

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Our business efficiency depends on our being able to deliver on time

January 25 was National Pothole Day!

One of the election manifesto pledges made by our now newly-elected government was to spend  up to £25b to upgrade key roads across the UK over the next 5 years, or which £2b would be spent on fixing the ever-growing problem of potholes.

Motorists will know the damage they can do to cars, but they can affect lorries even more severely.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is pushing the Government to honour its pledge. 

Now that the decision to leave the EU is nearing being finalised the haulage industry will need to be even more competitive and efficient than it already is.

But that means that the roads we travel on must be fit for their purpose.

The FSB (Federation of Small Business) has calculated that local authorities received over 700,000 complaints about potholes and other road defects during 2018, that’s a pothole complaint every 46 seconds!

RHA Policy Director for England and Wales, Duncan Buchanan, said: “It is vital for road safety, and the competitiveness and productivity of UK businesses that highway authorities properly maintain our roads.”

For the sake of our customers, we can only support this demand for urgent action.