The RHA has launched a drive ahead of the local elections to get freight crime taken more seriously.

It says freight crimes cost the haulage industry and the UK economy around £250m a year.

It wants to see more consistency with how police forces manage abnormal load enforcement.

The campaign calls for:

Full engagement with the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NavCIS) including reporting instances of freight crime directly to the unit and requesting assistance where significant instances are reported;

Including freight crime in policies relating to organised crime and liaise with other forces including through the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners;

More safe and secure truck parking;

Supporting truckstops with investment in security measures;

Creating a local awareness campaign;

Also don’t miss the Truckfest in Lincoln next month (May 4-6).  There’s a discount for RHA members.

Like many industries the haulage industry is no stranger to late payments.

So we welcome new rules coming in in April which will mean that companies with public sector contracts have to abide by 30-day payment terms within their supply chains for that specific work.

The RHA has welcomed this as a step in the right direction but called for action to go further.

The organisation, which represents hauliers like ourselves is also pressing for the creation of a dedicated minister for logistics with cross-departmental responsibilities.

A letter calling for this has been signed by the heads of not only the RHA but also the British Ports Association, the UK Warehousing Association, British International Freight Association, the British Association of Removers and Logistics UK among others.

They call for the Government to “recognise the value the sector provides to the economy.” according to the associations, it “generates £163 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) and contributes significant tax revenue for the UK, including £5 billion from Fuel Duty and Vehicle Excise Duty alone.”

We agree.  It is about time the importance of the logistics sector of which we are a part was recognised and properly valued.

The RHA continues to campaign to improve conditions for the haulage industry and  among other things is focusing on costs ahead of the upcoming budget.

Ongoing campaigns include making it easier for businesses to do business through lower costs and simpler regulation and removing obstacles to doing business internationally.

In June the RHA has announced it will be taking part in The Big Logistics Diversity Challenge on Thursday 20 June.

The event will take place at the Newark Showground in Nottinghamshire – and will promote the importance of equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) across the logistics and warehousing sectors.

The Big Logistics Diversity Challenge promotes how inclusivity can be tackled collaboratively and collectively. This year will see new fun physical, mental, and skill-based activities put to teams.

New challenges include:

– The Big Diversity Sports Day which will feature sack racing, skipping and beanbag balancing

– Golden Bungee Balls will put teams in a head-to-head endurance test where they need to retrieve as many golden balls as possible while bouncing across a giant inflatable

– Toxic Jigsaw will see the teams navigate a giant 150-foot-long inflatable in pairs and complete a jigsaw

– ID Parade tests teams’ recognition and memory skills to identify celebrities

– Mortar Attack sees teams navigate their way through hazards and launch a rocket – streaming a smoke trail up to 1000 feet into the air – before making their way back to their crashed shuttle

– Semaphore Whisper is a game of Chinese whispers using a flag semaphore with teams split into three groups, one responsible for delivering the message, another deciphering it and the final confirming the final communication

– A Silent Disco dance-off

The challenge is also a platform for attendees to share best practices and network to help shape a more inclusive sector.