Motor Transport

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

NEWS INSIDE Losing weight

Rase introduces 750kg tail-lift weight limit

p3

26.11.18

“THE QUALITY OF WORK IS EXCELLENT, AND THAT’S INVALUABLE TO US.” Michael Pedersen, Chairman - Pederson Contracting Services Ltd.

Lack of clarity

Leeds Clean Air Zone funding plans rejected

p6

Power to the people

Pallet-Track to invest in power-assisted trucks p8

OPERATORS IN THIS ISSUE Adnams ................................................p8 Bartrums ..............................................p8 Cemex ................................................p32 Co-op..................................................... 8 Culina .................................................p17 DPDgroupUK ........................................p4 Eddie Stobart Logistics ........................p28 FedEx ...................................................p4 Fullers ..................................................p8 HW Coates ...........................................p3 Hermes Parcelnet .................................p4 Hotpoint Home Solutions .....................p26 Poundland ............................................p8 Rase Distribution ..................................p3

EmergeVest consolidates road transport and logistics assets into a single company

EV Cargo shockwave EXCLUSIVE by Christopher Walton

EmergeVest, the Hong Kongbased private-equity investor that has over the past four years acquired names including CM Downton, NFT Distribution and Palletforce, has merged its road transport and logistics assets into a single company, EV Cargo.

The business would rank 11th in the MT Top 100 (see page 17) and is now the largest privately owned operator in the UK. EV Cargo is the result of the consolidation of software firm Adjuno, freight forwarder Allport Cargo Services, ambient distribution specialist CM Downton, temperaturecontrolled logistics operator NFT Distribution, 4PL Jigsaw and the 98-member Palletforce pallet network.

The new business has 9 million sq ft of warehouse space, and about 5,000 employees – including 2,200 drivers.

The combined businesses have 175 UK operating centres as well as 18 overseas operations. There are 116 depots within Palletforce.

EV Cargo will run under four operating segments: Express, Global Forwarding, Logistics, and Technology. The chief executives of each division – to

be announced at a later date – are joined on the executive board by EmergeVest founder Heath Zarin (above), now chief executive of EV Cargo.

EmergeVest MD Simon Pearson becomes chief strategy officer. Mark Davis, secretary of NFT Distribution Financing, also serves on the

board as general counsel.

Zarin said: “We are excited to announce the creation of EV Cargo, bringing together our UK logistics and technology platform into a unified £850m corporate structure.

EV Cargo will continue delivering mission-critical supply chain services powered by people, technology, innovation and sustainability.

“By working closer together and creating additional capabilities we will provide new and existing customers with access to a wider range of leadingedge integrated solutions.”

In 2017, group revenue from UK road transport-related activities stood at about £628m (although year-end results for the various businesses vary from 30 March to 31 December) based on published accounts.

EmergeVest paid £75m for CM Downton and Jigsaw; £30m for Palletforce in 2015 and £60m for NFT in 2014.

Billionaires club dominates Motor Transport Top 100 Eight road transport and logistics businesses now have an annual turnover of more than £1bn – Royal Mail; DHL; XPO Logistics; FedEx Corporation (comprising FedEx and TNT); DPD Group UK; UPS and Menzies Distribution. The billionaires dominate the Motor Transport Top 100. Collectively they are responsible for 71% of all people employed by the

Top 100 businesses in road transport, 63% of all turnover, and 70% of all pre-tax profit.

Kuehne + Nagel, Hermes Parcelnet, Eddie Stobart and Whistl come next in the rankings, with a turnover of more than £500m a year. Newly created EV Cargo (see above) is set to join them

next year at the top of the rankings with a turnover of £628m.

There are five new entries in the Top 100, pointing to a considerable amount of merger and acquisition activity in recent years. Kinaxia, which bought its 10th haulier AKW Group last month, makes its first appearance in

the Top 100 at 41 – and will rise many places higher once AKW beds in.

The bar for entry continues to rise, so commiserations to Neill & Brown Global Logistics Group, ranked 101 with a turnover of £24.1m.

■ Turn to page 17 to see the full rankings, or go to motortransport.co.uk/top-100 for interactive tables.

But that’s only half the story Page 5

Focus: Warehousing p12 Viewpoint p14 MT Top 100 p17-23 Tachograph analyis p24 MT Awards winners p26-31 Roundtable p32

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22/11/2018 09:55:00

News

motortransport.co.uk

Operator urges industry to follow suit and introduce weight limit to ensure driver safety

Rase limits tail-lifts to 750kg

By Carol Millett

Palletways member Rase Distribution has introduced a 750kg weight limit on tail-lift deliveries to domestic addresses after a risk assessment by owners HW Coates concluded that the network’s 1-tonne limit was putting the firm’s drivers at risk.

The Lincolnshire company, which was bought by Hazchem member HW Coates in January, is calling on Palletways and other networks that do not limit pallet weights to 750kg to follow suit.

The firm will split all pallets weighing above 750kg into two loads, with indivisible loads delivered by a two-person team. Pallet loads are also limited by size to a maximum height of 2.2m, 1m wide and a maximum depth of 1.2m.

Rase Distribution MD Geoff Hill told MT that the risk assessment looked at the way it delivered pallet loads for Palletways and concluded it was “totally inadequate and potentially dangerous” for drivers to deliver weights above 750kg on hand-operated tail-lift trucks to domestic addresses.

The operator is working its notice with Palletways because of the increasing amount of B2C deliveries it is required to make as a member and the additional cost of splitting its pallets into 750kg loads.

Hill said he hoped the firm’s strategy would help prompt change, pointing to the example of Petru Pop, an HGV driver who was crushed to death in November 2016 by a 1,400kg pallet of tiles. Pop was delivering the load to a domestic address in High Wycombe, Bucks, for Reason Transport, which was a Palletways member at the time.

The jury inquest into Pop’s death, which concluded earlier this month, recorded a verdict of accidental death.

“Under the Health and Safety at Work Act there is a

duty to assess risk. We did this, and it is impossible to escape the conclusion that these heavy pallets to home addresses are unsafe. What then? You can’t ask your drivers to deliver them and then say you don’t know (the risks). If we can encourage the whole industry to take up this weight limit then Pop’s death will not have been in vain,” Hill said.

An HSE spokeswoman told MT: “The HSE assumed primacy of this investigation from Thames Valley Police in December 2016 and is continuing to investigate the circum-

stances. As this is a live investigation, we cannot comment at this time.”

In response to Rase’s action, Palletways said: “An industry group, which includes the HSE, RHA and APN, is carrying out work to determine best practice pallet delivery. It would be premature to comment until its work is complete.

Palletways takes health and safety seriously and is dedicated to upholding health and safety best practice in partnership with our members.”

■ See page 8 for Pallet-Track’s approach to the issue.

No deal, no food: there’ll be anarchy Prime minister Theresa May needs to get a Brexit deal through parliament as the UK is only “four meals away from anarchy”, delegates at the Feeding Cities Summit were told last week.

Speaking at the UKWA event, Stephen Lawrence, CEO of property investment and development firm iSec, quoted MI5’s assessment regarding supply chain resilience from a report conducted after 9/11. The claim underlined why a no-deal outcome was not an option. Lawrence said: “There’s been a huge population growth and an increase in eating out, especially in London.”

However, while 50% of food consumed in this country is from the UK, approximately 30% of food, mostly chilled produce, comes from the continent via the CalaisDover crossing.

“If you take 30% of food away, many will struggle and prices will rise.

Regarding a Brexit deal, there has to be a fudge as the UK and EU can’t allow anarchy. There is nowhere to store all the fresh, or frozen, food [required].

The UK supply chain doesn’t allow for that.”

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22/11/2018 17:25:50

News

motortransport.co.uk

Hermes Parcelnet is top of the prompt payment league among the Motor Transport Top 10

Hermes delivers the cash

By Carol Millett

Hermes Parcelnet pays its suppliers more quickly than any other company in the Motor Transport Top 100 top 10, an MT analysis has found.

In the six months to 31 August, Hermes Parcelnet – 10th in this year’s Top 100 by turnover – was first for prompt payment, taking on average just nine days to pay its suppliers with 93% paid within 30 days and only 8% of invoices not paid within agreed terms.

Second was DPDgroup UK – fifth in this year’s listing – that in the six months to 30 June took an average of 22 days to pay its suppliers. The parcels firm paid 68% of its suppliers within 30 days, with 36% of its invoices not paid within agreed terms.

FedEx UK was third – fourth place in the Top 100 – taking on average 25 days for supplier

payments, with 76% of its invoices settled within 30 days in the six months to 31 May. At FedEx UK 11% of invoices were not paid within the agreed terms.

Fourth place was Menzies, listed eighth in this year’s MT Top 100. In the six months to 30 June the firm’s average supplier payment time was 29 days, with 65% of invoices paid within a month and 35% of

invoices not paid within the agreed terms.

DHL Supply Chain – ranked second in the Top 100 – had an average supplier payment time of 38 days in the six months to 30 June, with 37% of its suppliers paid within 30 days, but 41% of invoices not paid within the agreed terms.

The rest of the top 10 comprised: Wincanton (sixth place, taking an average of 40

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days to pay its suppliers with 17% of its invoices not paid within the terms); Kuehne + Nagel (seventh, with suppliers paid on average in 43 days and 22% of invoices not paid within the terms); XPO Supply Chain, the largest of the three companies that make up XPO Logistics in the UK (eighth, with suppliers paid on average within 44 days, 45% of invoices not paid within the terms); in

ninth place is Royal Mail (46 days to pay and 21% of invoices not paid within agreed terms).

UPS, listed seventh in the Top 100, has yet to report its payment practices.

Large companies have been legally required to publicly report their payment policies, practices and performance since April 2017 to protect smaller businesses from the effect of late payments.

SIGN UP: Registration is now open for next year’s Microlise Transport Conference, which takes place at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, on 15 May. A mix of speakers will cover the major topics affecting road transport businesses and the programme will include workshops and feature 50 exhibitors.

Quentin Willson, journalist, presenter and industry lobbyist, will return as conference host, while the Microlise Driver of the Year competition will see gongs handed out for HGV Hero, Lifetime Achievement, Extra Mile, Most Improved and Young Driver of the Year. Microlise executive director Bob Harbey said: “We’re busy curating what we hope will be the most exciting agenda the UK logistics industry has seen, and we’ll be announcing news on that front over the coming months.”

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22/11/2018 09:56:56

News

motortransport.co.uk

Council has requested money as part of a £27m package to support local businesses

Leeds’ £13m haulier CAZ-aid fund denied The government has told Leeds City Council to resubmit its bid for a clean air zone (CAZ) after rejecting a request for £27m to help hauliers upgrade non-compliant vehicles.

Leeds had asked the government for £40m to fund its CAZ, £27m of which was earmarked to help local businesses upgrade non-compliant fleets ahead of the introduction of the zone in January 2020. Approximately £13m of the £27m funding had been promised to the HGV sector in the form of grants worth up to £16,000, which operators could bid for to upgrade noncompliant vehicles.

However, Defra minister Therese Coffey this week rejected the council’s bid and questioned the level of uptake of support packages from local businesses.

In a letter to council leaders she said that while Defra approved the council’s bid for £13m to support the cost of the rollout and operation of the scheme, it rejected its bid for another £27m under the Clean Air Fund.

She ordered the council to resubmit its bid and provide “clear evidence of the need for

Image: Shutterstock

By Carol Millett

support, how it is being targeted to the least well off and how it would deliver value for money”.

Executive member for sustainability Councillor James Lewis said: “We are disappointed with this letter.

The department has received drafts of the business case we submitted, yet with less than 14 months to go before the date of implementation set in the ministerial direction, an unknown cap on the money available from government to

support businesses and drivers has emerged.”

One Leeds haulier, who declined to be identified, said: “This has left us local hauliers in limbo with no idea of what is happening. How are we expected to run our businesses? We need clarity as soon as possible.”

■ Sheffield City Council has revealed plans for a CAZ, which will see non-Euro-6 HGVs paying £50 a day to access its inner ring road while cars go free. The council said

its feasibility study suggested that a CAZ was necessary to bring the city’s air quality in line with legal levels by January 2021.

It added that its intention was to remove the “most polluting vehicles” from the road rather than simply seeing them pay the daily charge.

In line with other cities implementing zones, the council is seeking funding from the government to support its activities. It will be asking for £40m.

Simpsons Logistics ceases to trade Administrators handling the affairs of County Durham haulier Simpsons Logistics said it had stopped trading due to a combination of cashflow issues, a customer dispute and a winding-up petition.

The former Palletforce member and independent carrier of parcels and pallets entered administration in September, but according to consultants at RSM, 70 staff transferred to Logistics (Teesside) in August. The administrator has since described the process as technically a pre-pack administration due to its speed.

The following month, Simpsons Logistics’ assets, including motor vehicles and associated machinery, were sold to Close Brothers Invoice Finance.

An RSM spokeswoman said Simpsons had been facing a winding-up petition from HMRC, as well as an ongoing customer dispute and cashflow issues, meaning that it could no longer continue to trade.

Joint administrator Matthew Higgins added: “Regrettably, there was no prospect of a sale as a going concern, but the asset sale has been completed to result in a financial return to creditors.”

HGV platooning trial to begin in the spring of next year STAY FROSTY: Frozen food specialist Yearsley Group has been acquired by the US temperaturecontrolled supply chain operator Lineage Logistics. As well as the group's transport division Yearsley Logistics, included in the deal is Yearsley Food. The latter is a national frozen food supplier that supports customers across retail, food service, food manufacturing and export channels. In an earlier statement covering the acquisition the Michigan-based company said Yearsley showed a strong commitment to developing long-standing customer relationships.

6 MotorTransport MTR_261118_006.indd 6

The UK’s first on-road HGV platooning trial will begin in the spring of next year with a convoy of three wirelessly connected DAF trucks driven in the first phase by the manufacturer’s engineers, Highways England has confirmed.

If the first phase of the £8.5m government-funded trial is a success a second phase will be launched in the latter half of 2019, which will

see the platoon incorporated into DHL Supply Chain’s dayto-day delivery operations with specially trained company drivers operating the platoon.

A Highways England spokesman told MT that the first phase of the trial, in which DAF engineers will take the platoon “out on the road testing the equipment and getting to know the routes, is due to happen in the spring”.

26.11.18

22/11/2018 15:31:35

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News

motortransport.co.uk

Network mitigates weight concerns with power-assisted delivery equipment

Pallet-Track tackles weight

By Chris Druce

Pallet-Track members have backed a move to increase the pallet network’s internal delivery rate to pay for powerassisted delivery equipment to address weight concerns.

From 1 February 2019, all vehicles making tail-lift deliveries will have power-assisted pallet trucks on board – similar to those pictured with network member Bartums – to ensure driver safety.

Pallet-Track MD Nigel Parkes told MT: “It doesn’t tackle every issue but it tackles most that we can see. It is not just the heavy stuff that is a risk. A 500kg pallet on a slope of more than a few degrees can be more dangerous than a 1-tonne pallet on a flat surface.�

Pallet-Track has negotiated a bulk deal for the power-assisted pallet trucks.

On the basis of at least two years’ use for the equipment, it has arrived at a number equivalent to 25% of the internal delivery rate rise (levied for member deliveries per pallet) to pay for them.

The rate increase was voted through by members at a recent meeting. “We were waiting to see if the HSE

We are talking Concrete Vehicle Compliance!

would decide on a maximum pallet weight for deliveries. Following its decision [at the start of the year] not to, we looked at how to address this important issue in a way that was legitimate and right,� said Parkes.

The HSE had been looking into mandating a 750kg maximum weight limit for tail-lift pallet deliveries.

However, it ruled this out, stating that a pallet weight limit would not be sensible. It added it would “have the effect of preventing a large proportion of potentially safe hand pallet movements and would severely affect the industry with little or no safety benefitâ€?. â– Pallet-Track is still pursuing former member Canute, now owned by Almtone, for an unpaid debt of more than ÂŁ47,000. MT understands that following the serving of a statutory 21-day notice on Almtone, which was uncontested, Canute’s owner subsequently questioned the validity of the debt ahead of the issue of a winding-up petition against it (the next stage in the process). The parties will now take part in a hearing to establish the validity of the claim.

Pricing cartel action A third group action has been registered with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) seeking redress for those affected by the â‚Ź3bn truck price-fixing cartel.

Law firm Edwin Coe is seeking damages for businesses that were direct and indirect purchasers of trucks (companies that used transport services provided by hauliers). It has signed up 27 businesses so far, including the Co-op, Poundland and brewers Adnams and Fuller’s, to its class action.

It is estimated that approximately 10 million trucks sold across the continent may have been overpriced by as much as ÂŁ10,000 each, the firm said.

Zahira Hussain, of Edwin Coe, said: “This cartel was an EU-wide scandal for many years and affected thousands of UK businesses. Companies that believe they were a victim and want to claim their rightful compensation need to act fast.

There is still a window to join our claim process on a cost- and risk-free basis.�

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motortransport.co.uk

LoCITY ACEA slams CO2 target lowdown

Manufacturers would be hit by challenging target to cut emissions

By Carol Millett

A mandatory 20% cut to CO2 emissions for new trucks by 2025 is “excessively aggressive” and will slow the production process in Europe, manufacturers have warned.

The warning from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) follows a vote by the full European Parliament last week in favour of a mandatory 20% cut by 2025 and a voluntary 35% by 2030.

MEPs voted 373 to 285 for the measures, which go beyond the original targets recommended by the

European Commission (EC) of a mandatory 15% cut in CO2 emissions in new trucks by 2025 and a voluntary 30% cut by 2030.

ACEA secretary general Erik Jonnaert said the original targets were “already very challenging”. He warned that the 2025 targets could disrupt manufacturers’ production processes by requiring them to fit new technologies to vehicles that are already under development.

“The R&D and production processes of the European truck industry would be negatively affected by these targets,

for which the short lead time doesn’t match the long development cycles for trucks,” he said.

MEPs also voted for a mandatory target of 5% of all trucks sold by 2025 to be zeroemission models. However, environmental campaign g r o u p Tr a n s p o r t & Environment said hauliers would benefit from the tougher targets, pointing to EU research that showed the 2025 target would deliver an additional €14,000 (£12,448) in fuel savings per new truck in its first five years compared with the EC’s original proposal of a 15% reduction.

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A monthly look at work to cut CV emissions. This month, Peter McDonald, travel and transport planning officer, Croydon Council, on Croydon Sutton Electric Freight’s initiative to encourage companies to make the swap to electric vehicles How do electric vans perform compared with diesels for local deliveries in outer London? That was the question posed by Croydon and Sutton as part of their Neighbourhoods of the Future initiative within London’s £13m Go Ultra Low City scheme established to increase electric vehicle use.

Croydon has considerable commercial movement, straddling the A23 corridor, Beddington’s extensive industrial park, the Purley Way retail area, and two town centres. Daily delivery trips can exceed 50 miles – a much more challenging use-profile for electric vans than for any inner-city logistics fleet. Nevertheless we wanted to support their integration in outer London operations.

Croydon Sutton Electric Freight (CSEF) offers firms an electric van for six or 12 months, at a 30-month lease rate. CSEF reimburses £200/month, bringing the price inline with the equivalent diesel. Dozens of firms enquired but most wanted a vehicle with longer range or larger capacity than the 24kWh Nissan e-NV200 first offered.

The first commercial firm to lease a van was initially enthusiastic but found the 75-mile range of the 24kW Nissan a limitation, not least when drivers take the van home. CSEF is analysing perceived range and actual use.

Croydon Council’s facilities management team took one van and reported positively on sound and driveability. Commercial electric vehicles suited to urban-edge deliveries are reaching the tipping point of unquestioned viability. Approximately 18 months into the project and the 40kWh Nissan and the Renault Kangoo ZE, with a real-world range of 130 miles, are now available. More spacious vans are out there now too but at much greater cost. However, a pure electric truck with a range above 100 miles and meeting Direct Vision standards is not yet available.

CSEF is part of our boroughs’ visible commitment to a cleaner healthier capital, along with a planned significant increase in public charging points. We need workplace landlords to accept charging points and fleet managers to identify roles for electric vans and whether or not it is possible to plan a recharge without losing driving time. Range will soon be less of a barrier, making it time to prepare to embrace, and enjoy, the switch to electric.

LoCITY welcomes more contributors to the conversation at our quarterly LoCITY meetings.

Contact enquiries@locity.org.uk for more details.

26.11.18

22/11/2018 12:15:22

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22/11/2018 10:04:24

Focus: Warehousing

motortransport.co.uk

Uncertainly over final deal, rising rents, labour shortages and lack of warehousing is creating a perfect storm

Brexit stockpiling eats up space Companies building up safety stocks to protect their supply chains during Brexit are causing a shortage of warehousing that is likely to worsen before next March.

Those providing space are reporting a significant rise in demand as companies set up contingency plans or begin to stockpile goods – creating severe pressure on available warehousing in some areas.

This comes at a time when there is a growing shortage of space. Recent research from Colliers International shows that the availability of warehouses over 100,000sq ft has fallen by 71% over the past 10 years. At current rates of take-up there is only one and a half months’ worth of new speculatively-built warehouses in that size range left.

Operators are reporting that demand for buildings is growing as Brexit approaches.

Richard Newbold, owner of Tilburybased warehousing and handling business The Logistics Terminal, said two major clients had asked to store buffer stock prior to Brexit next March.

“Warehouse space within the port is limited. Therefore if this request becomes the norm we will soon run out of space,” he said.

Seasonal peak

Newbold is also the owner of the Returnloads transport exchange which launched a warehouse exchange facility last year for warehouse owners with spare space. Demand was growing, he said, although some of this might be to do with the seasonal peak as well as Brexit.

Likewise, Iain Mitchell, MD of John Mitchell Haulage & Warehousing, said the company had seen an uplift

12 MotorTransport MTR_261118_012.indd 12

in volumes at its warehouse in Grangemouth. He believes Brexit, along with seasonal factors, is playing its part.

“No one has come to us and said specifically we need more space because of Brexit but I believe it is a factor,” he said. “Companies are looking for an insurance policy.”

Unusually busy

Freight forwarder and logistics service provider Davies Turner, which operates six warehouses and 14 satellite facilities around the UK, reports a similar picture. The company said 2018 had already been unusually busy, limiting the amount of spare capacity available.

This was likely to continue into the early months of 2019, at a time of year when demand might normally be expected to reduce.

Chairman of Davies Turner Philip Stephenson said many of the enquiries were coming from European companies that want to build up their UK stocks. However, future demand could depend on whether a suitable Brexit deal can be negotiated and then ratified.

“We suspect that the ongoing uncertainty over Brexit will only lead to more demand for short-term storage in the event of no deal or an unsatisfactory outcome with no mutual recognition or trading agreements in place,” he said.

Peter Ward, CEO of UKWA, said the organisation’s members were reporting that some occupiers were stockpiling products. “There is anecdotal evidence across a number of sectors,” he said.

These included pharmaceuticals and healthcare, the automotive sector and there was some activity in general merchandise retailing. There had also

been a high level of enquiries for UKWA’s MarketSpace service which puts potential landlords and tenants in touch with each other.

Ward said this was happening against a backdrop of a reduction in available warehouse space, rising rents and labour shortages.

“It is a perfect storm. Brexit is accelerating and accentuating what was already manifest before the referendum,” he said.

Charlie Pool, CEO of online warehouse marketplace Stowga, Philip Stephenson, left, chairman of Davies said space was already running Turner, and Charlie Pool, CEO of Stowga, both very short in certain locations, with warn that warehousing space is fast running out many companies thinking ahead and booking space for early next committing themselves to taking space, year. according to Len Rosso, head of indus“Stowga has received lots of requests trial and logistics at Colliers from large international clients looking International. for additional storage space. Most “They are making plans for various companies are looking to start the scenarios but not necessarily implebuild-up of supplies from January 2019, menting them yet. It is a bit like 3PLs as soon as they have got over the going for a contract and having a buildChristmas season peak,” he said. ing in mind that they can take should they succeed in winning it,” he said.

Highest demand The current market activity comes The highest level of demand has been as rents are already rising. According from the food retail sector, particularly to Cushman & Wakefield, as of for chilled and frozen space, where September, top rents for buildings over Pool said there was a known shortage 100,000sq ft were seeing an annual of supply. increase of 3.4%, with the North West “It is impossible to take chilled space on 6.2% leading the way, followed by in key geographic areas such as the London on 5.9% and Yorkshire on Midlands for next year – it has all been 5.5%. contracted already. There is still capacStowga’s Charlie Pool said the price ity in pockets around the country, of pallet storage had also grown, by 8% particularly in the North, but that will to £2 per pallet per week in the past six go quickly. Companies that do not book months. “No doubt this will continue to space may find themselves in real increase in the run-up to Brexit,” he said. difficulties post-Brexit,” he said.

Given these factors, companies lookHowever, companies at the larger ing for extra space face a difficult and end of the market are currently keep- potentially costly challenge if they do ing tabs on the situation rather than not act quickly.

26.11.18

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22/11/2018 10:06:10

Viewpoint

motortransport.co.uk

Fewer empty miles means less tax T David Jennison UK MD OnTruck

he government’s moves to improve air quality through taxation and legislation have put pressure on the road freight industry to up its environmental standards.

When the change to the HGV Road User Levy is launched next February, which will see lorries using UK roads that don’t meet Euro-6 emissions standards paying 20% more tax, and the Clean Air Zone in London charging older lorries £100 a day to work in the area, improving fuel and operational efficiency will be even more important to hauliers who simply cannot afford to upgrade their fleet.

New technology needs to be embraced to manage the process of reducing carbon emissions. With limits on the number of hours drivers can work, making the most of the time available is crucial. And that means optimising routes and the number of deliveries that can be achieved per journey.

This is where machine learning can play a role by matching supply with demand, grouping loads together and optiming delivery routes.

This enables hauliers to reduce their empty miles by 20% to 25%, reducing emissions and fuel cost.

By using platforms such as OnTruck, hauliers can also earn 25% more per loaded mile. For example, a rigid vehicle operator can earn £1.80 per mile with OnTruck, compared with the average of £1.40.

Our calculations show that a 25% improvement in efficiency could save the UK road freight industry £6.5bn a year.

It is time that the industry took advantage of the free efficiency tools available.

This will not only improve traffic and emissions but will also make hauliers more productive and profitable while improving the service to their customers.

“THE QUALITY OF WORK IS EXCELLENT, AND THAT’S INVALUABLE TO US.” Michael Pedersen, Chairman - Pederson Contracting Services Ltd.

It’s the bottom line you need to be watching E Christopher Walton Editor in chief Motor Transport

very year Motor Transport has the privilege of publishing the MT Top 100 – our exclusive annual ranking of road transport operators in the UK. The insight it provides into the performance of the industry is fascinating… but there is one statistic that stands out as a measure of concern. Out of the 100 businesses in the data, 71 demonstrated turnover growth, but only 42 saw pre-tax profit growth. So what does this tell us?

Operators are incredibly good at retaining turnover, perhaps that’s no surprise. The movement of goods is determined by the performance of the economy, ergo a stable economy sees stable growth. And despite all the Brexit fears, 2017 (for that is the trading year that the majority of businesses in the rankings reported on) was a year of stable growth.

But this is a sector that reports an average of 2.2% return on sales. Figuratively and literarily there is little margin for error. At the risk of stating the obvious – it is the cost of moving that retained

14 MotorTransport MTR_261118_014new.indd 14

turnover that continues to increase. We all know that: look at the price of a truck, or labour, or warehousing. But that cost is not just inflationary.

The Top 100 has to employ more people to move the goods (an average of 3,582 per operator, compared with an average of 3,340 per operator last year). I’ll leave senior business minds more knowledgeable than me to see if that’s a good thing for the industry – and the wider UK economy.

My concern is that this could reveal an inherent weakness in the industry – that razor-thin margins and an increasing cost base will put the viability of some operators in question, particularly if a bad Brexit deal scuppers the economy. It may not be 2008/09 proportions of concern, but if I were a lender or investor in the sector I would be paying very close attention to the bottom line.

The newspaper for transport operators

To contact us: Tel: 020 8912 +4 digits or email: name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Steve Hobson 2161 Editor-in-chief Christopher Walton 2163 Group news editor Chris Druce 2158 Group technical editor Colin Barnett 2141 Senior compliance editor Roger Brown 2168 Urban editor Hayley Pink 2165 Group production editor Clare Goldie 2174 Deputy production editor Jo Saunders 2173 Key account manager Andrew Smith 07771 885874 Display sales executive Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Event sales Richard Bennett 07889 823060 Tim George 0755 7677758 Classified and recruitment advertising Head of sales operations Julie McInally 2122 rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Head of sales Emma Tyrer 07900 691137 Divisional director Vic Bunby 2121 Head of marketing Jane Casling 2133 Head of events/MT Awards Stephen Pobjoy 2135 Managing director Andy Salter 2171 Editorial office Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170 Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publisher’s terms of control. For details, email mtsccqueries@roadtransport.com, or call 01772 426705 Subscriptions Tel 0330 333 9544 Quadrant Subscription Services, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH Rates UK £135/year. Europe £163/ year. RoW £163/year. Cheques made payable to Motor Transport.

Apply online at mtssubs.com Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper Published by DVV Media International Ltd © 2018 DVV Media International Ltd ISSN 0027-206 X

Got something to say?

If you would like to contribute to MT’s Viewpoint, email steve.hobson@roadtransport.com

26.11.18

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22/11/2018 14/11/2018 15:39 10:23:51

It’s that time of year again when MT delves into the good, the bad and the super-sized of the logistics industry. To see what is really happening in road transport, read on

Turnover up but profit down

E

very year the Motor Transport Top 100 throws up its fair share of surprises, and this year there seems to be more than others.

On the surface, the fundamentals remain the same. Royal Mail tops the list, followed by DHL. But after that there is some considerable change. After much consideration (and lobbying) we’ve included Menzies Distribution for the first time. This is a reflection of the growth of its O-licensed fleet and that it finds itself competing (and winning) against 3PLs. It is for the same reason that we omitted Smiths News (part of the Connect Group of businesses that includes Tuffnells Parcels) as its O-licensed fleet is rather small.

As a result, Menzies becomes the eighth member of the £1bn club. As well as the aforementioned Royal Mail and DHL, the likes of XPO Logistics; FedEx Corporation (including a sizable chunk of TNT); DPDgroupUK; Wincanton and UPS all have a turnover in excess of £1bn a year. This club of super-sized operators continues to expand each year.

Beyond that, the consolidation trend continues. Culina now derives revenue from six business lines. Kinaxia will rise next year, particularly following its acquisition of AKW Group last

month (see pages 22 and 23 for further details).

And where would the likes of Turners (Soham) or NFT Distribution (now a key pillar in the Emergevest empire) rank if it were not for acquisition activity in recent years?

This growth is reflected in our overall averages: average turnover (on a like-for-like basis) is up 10.3% year-on-year. That’s bucking the trend, way above the national average growth.

The good news story is reflected in the aver-

KEY AVERAGES Turnover latest year Turnover previous year Pre-tax profit latest year Pre-tax profit previous year Number of employees latest year Number of employees previous year Sales per employee Changes in sales per employee Profit per employee Change in profit per employee Return on sales

£308,526,000 £279,751,000 £7,272,000 £8,837,000 3,582 3,340 £142,675 1.46% £3,106 -33.40% 2.20%

age number of people employed: 3,582 per business in the Top 100, up 7.2% year-on-year.

Road transport has a big engine that is humming. But all this growth hides some pretty worrying fundamentals. Average pre-tax profit has fallen 17.7% year-on-year. This is a reflection of rising fuel, vehicle and people costs across the board, putting pressure on logistics businesses’ ability to invest outside of key fundamentals.

Furthermore, like-for-like profit per employee has collapsed, down 33.4% year-on-year.

Admittedly every person employed in a Top 100 logistics business generates £3,106 of profit for investors, owners and families alike – but this is not a trend that can continue if logistics is to continue as a major growth story in the economy.

Sadly, there hasn’t been the time to drill deeper into these businesses as part of the 2018 Top 100. It would be a worthwhile exercise to look at the debt position of these operators and see how much is being carried on the balance sheets of the largest businesses in logistics. Debt may be a fine financial tool to increase the size, shape and scope of any business, but controlling and paying it off is as important as anything else… something to watch this space for. ➜ 18

So many reasons to choose Goodyear.

26.11.18

MTR_261118_017.indd 17

MotorTransport 17

21/11/2018 14:11:09

LARGEST 100 COMPANIES (BY TURNOVER) Latest rank

Previous rank

Company or trading name

Financial year end

Latest year turnover (£000s)

Latest year pre-tax profit (£000s)

Latest year employees

Previous year turnover (£000s)

Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

1 2 3 19 5 4 6 new 7 11 9 10 15 12 14 17 15 18 19 22 21 26 24 25 23 27 28 29 31 30 39 32 33 34 36 35 38 40 80 48 new 41 44 42 50 46 51 49 47 45

Royal Mail DHL XPO Logistics FedEx Corporation DPD Group UK Wincanton UPS Menzies Distribution Kuehne + Nagel Hermes Parcelnet Eddie Stobart Logistics Whistl UK Culina Group Yodel Distribution Gist Clipper Logistics Group Ceva Logistics Turners (Soham) Holdings DX Group Maritime Transport Yusen Logistics (UK) Harry Yearsley NFT Distribution Holdings W H Malcolm Bibby Supply Chain Services DSV Road Tuffnells Parcels Express Gefco Fowler Welch Gregory Distribution (Holdings) Europa Worldwide Logistics Langdon Group Hoyer Petrolog UK Movianto Pentalver Transport CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) BCA Automotive McBurney Transport Group Lloyd Fraser Holdings Kinaxia Suttons Tankers Howard Tenens PCL Transport 24/7 Redhead Freight Pickfords Move Management Maxi Haulage Woodside Haulage (Holdings) John G Russell Reed Boardall Group

25/03/2018 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 31/05/2017 31/12/2017 31/03/2018 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 28/02/2018 30/11/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 30/06/2017 31/12/2017 30/04/2018 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 30/06/2018 27/12/2017 31/03/2018 01/04/2017 31/03/2017 31/01/2018 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 31/08/2017 31/12/2016 31/03/2017 30/09/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 30/06/2017 31/12/2017 02/04/2017 31/12/2017 28/02/2017 31/12/2017 30/04/2017 30/09/2017 30/06/2017 31/12/2017 30/09/2017 30/09/2017 31/03/2017 31/03/2017 31/03/2017

7,608,000 4,736,180 1,386,929 1,271,461 1,207,333 1,171,900 1,084,441 1,049,000 749,525 665,585 623,924 544,582 497,496 492,791 437,331 400,115 395,703 390,283 299,500 253,730 237,739 203,064 202,164 200,149 198,438 193,895 183,812 177,487 164,468 159,884 144,352 139,138 132,046 123,850 118,426 116,838 102,162 93,677 92,971 83,011 81,839 81,690 75,623 69,064 64,594 64,047 62,334 61,802 60,593 60,230

6,000 142,822 45,454 -12,027 184,478 37,900 82,491 24,000 35,170 37,308 9,915 4,891 28,090 -85,700 8,832 17,966 17,816 31,696 -19,900 6,687 2,513 4,906 -9,451 7,550 833 9,757 12,165 10,968 4,520 5,516 3,223 5,638 2,162 -4,992 8,392 5,137 1,658 1,331 3,469 3,745 567 203 5,924 -9,872 -939 977 1,350 3,987 3,913 840

138,002 48,218 19,985 11,335 6,562 17,500 8,145 2,902 11,580 2,540 5,693 1,597 4,755 5,106 4,661 4,531 4,103 3,369 3,044 2,025 1,516 1,422 2,561 2,110 1,981 757 2,857 429 1,418 1,725 600 1,430 1,277 670 575 1,177 782 869 769 650 1,085 820 596 976 367 462 342 462 586 730

7,658,000 4,035,769 1,257,210 253,035 1,089,382 1,118,100 944,927 1,087,700 809,640 510,369 570,200 528,449 420,700 505,713 416,678 340,100 394,488 313,608 291,900 224,593 231,123 190,730 200,037 207,231 200,774 180,691 175,661 169,396 143,991 165,310 98,951 130,337 119,012 114,716 111,410 111,624 102,462 97,803 29,944 58,776 50,296 71,010 71,172 76,124 56,588 64,232 56,178 56,776 61,071 64,344

146,000 116,559 34,903 32,939 169,860 45,000 62,321 22,700 31,386 33,727 48,200 8,391 19,500 -58,249 17,707 16,100 16,147 27,346 -82,300 5,875 2,404 4,285 -6,504 17,153 1,376 8,058 12,238 11,217 5,155 6,550 677 6,060 4,622 -1,236 9,098 5,699 1,254 -1,130 1,789 2,713 538 499 7,172 -1,279 -2,795 2,638 2,288 2,675 2,914 4,263

KMAX. Drive further all year round.

18 MotorTransport MTR_261118_018-021.indd 18

26.11.18

21/11/2018 14:13:50

motortransport.co.uk

Latest rank

Previous rank

Company or trading name

Financial year end

Latest year turnover (£000s)

Latest year pre-tax profit (£000s)

Latest year employees

Previous year turnover (£000s)

Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s)

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

52 62 63 67 56 59 71 61 54 57 58 65 43 60 64 73 70 66 53 68 72 78 77 82 69 74 55 76 81 93 84 87 83 75 96 new 86 91 79 89 new 90 92 88 85 new 94 97 new 99

Knights of Old Owens (Road Services) Abbey Logistics Group Panther Warehousing Moran Logistics Solstor UK Lomas Distribution R Swain & Sons Geodis UK ARR Craib Transport Currie International Jack Richards & Son FreshLinc Group Lenham Storage Group RT Keedwell Grocontinental Advanced Supply Chain Group Boughey Distribution Hargreaves Services - Transport Rhys Davies and Sons Warrens Warehousing and Distribution S J Bargh Montgomery Transport GBA Services Fred Sherwood & Sons (Transport) Countrywide Freight Group Aspray Transport Freightroute McPherson AKW Group Bartrum Group T J Transport Circle Express Brit European H Sivyer (Transport) James Kemball ET Holdings (Evans and Seymour Transport) WM Armstrong (Longtown) STVA UK Elddis Transport (Consett) Associated Cold Stores and Transport Pollock (Scotrans) Meachers Global Logistics Carlson Vehicle Transfer Acumen Logistics Group JW Suckling Transport Alan Firmin Saints Transport Expect Distribution Stan Robinson Group

31/05/2017 30/06/2017 30/06/2017 31/12/2017 30/09/2017 30/09/2017 30/07/2017 31/12/2017 27/12/2016 31/03/2017 31/12/2017 31/05/2017 28/01/2017 31/08/2017 31/10/2017 31/12/2017 30/11/2017 31/05/2017 31/05/2017 31/08/2017 31/12/2017 30/04/2017 30/09/2017 31/12/2017 31/03/2017 31/03/2017 30/06/2017 31/12/2017 31/07/2017 30/06/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 31/03/2018 31/12/2017 31/03/2017 31/03/2017 31/03/2017 31/03/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 30/12/2017 26/08/2017 31/05/2018 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 31/12/2017 30/04/2017 31/12/2017 30/11/2017 31/05/2017

59,836 55,648 55,008 54,756 54,640 53,510 52,080 49,747 49,330 49,170 48,110 45,864 45,380 44,551 42,618 41,991 39,783 39,557 39,200 38,752 38,276 37,498 37,256 36,120 34,661 33,767 32,469 31,762 30,860 30,594 29,418 29,407 29,210 28,415 28,366 28,198 27,467 27,177 27,020 26,942 26,631 26,529 26,138 25,616 25,514 25,175 24,648 24,330 24,238 24,185

-3,391 2,239 -553 2,645 2,049 469 1,203 1,102 -4,247 1,209 38 1,238 331 2,063 309 6,065 1,811 1,282 500 318 1,744 2,011 4 1,157 671 63 -378 846 2,902 2,951 1,174 351 -751 597 660 -1,732 1,199 403 156 478 2,235 114 1,895 1,068 144 627 -1,136 -497 1,250 459

576 642 579 534 337 116 256 548 297 410 336 534 336 525 450 369 849 460

52,307 45,669 45,096 37,777 48,489 46,800 34,362 45,941 48,014 48,106 47,870 40,673 74,097 46,275 44,660 33,684 34,876 38,125 49,832 37,569 34,243 30,577 31,484 29,373 36,710 33,530 48,924 31,680 29,375 24,697 28,443 27,466 28,559 29,510 24,399 20,890 24,780 25,173 30,190 25,674 20,914 25,614 25,001 25,841 27,531 21,314 24,257 24,340 22,153 23,918

254 1,864 1,175 2,466 1,771 18 870 2,797 -311 1,307 -102 1,015 1,553 1,147 1,685 4,611 1,313 1,076 817 405 2,544 1,337 2,299 454 1,305 349 778 1,389 1,977 1,556 1,664 60 -268 339 529 439 1,599 408 -110 464 685 25 1,901 1,392 503 1,488 6,929 -524 785 1,172

404 379 447 319 257 48 326 742 419 344 349 293 221 248 254 71 230 260 262 30 333 202 253 152 187 235 250 226 312 249 337

FUELMAX. Drive further on less fuel.

26.11.18

MTR_261118_018-021.indd 19

MotorTransport 19

21/11/2018 14:14:15

GROWTH IN TURNOVER Turnover Overall Company or growth rank trading name rank 1 4 FedEx Corporation

Latest year turnover (£000s) 1,271,461

Previous year turnover (£000s) 253,035

Growth in turnover (%) 402.48

Turnover Overall Company or growth rank trading name rank

Latest year turnover (£000s)

Previous year turnover (£000s)

Growth in turnover (%)

50

43

Howard Tenens

75,623

71,172

6.25

2 3

39 41

McBurney Transport Group Kinaxia

92,971 81,839

29,944 50,296

210.48 62.71

51 52

79 15

McPherson Gist

30,860 437,331

29,375 416,678

5.06 4.96

4 5

57 31

Lomas Distribution Europa Worldwide Logistics

52,080 144,352

34,362 98,951

51.56 45.88

53 54

90 6

Elddis Transport (Consett) Wincanton

26,942 1,171,900

25,674 1,118,100

4.94 4.81

6 7

54 40

Panther Warehousing Lloyd Fraser Holdings

54,756 83,011

37,777 58,776

44.95 41.23

55 56

28 36

Gefco CM Downton (Haulage Contractors)

177,487 116,838

169,396 111,624

4.78 4.67

8 9

86 10

James Kemball Hermes Parcelnet

28,198 665,585

20,890 510,369

34.98 30.41

57 58

27 93

Tuffnells Parcels Express Meachers Global Logistics

183,812 26,138

175,661 25,001

4.64 4.55

10 11

91 66

Assoc Cold Stores and Transport Grocontinental

26,631 41,991

20,914 33,684

27.34 24.66

59 60

68 92

Boughey Distribution Pollock (Scotrans)

39,557 26,529

38,125 25,614

3.76 3.57

12 13

18 80

Turners (Soham) Holdings AKW Group

390,283 30,594

313,608 24,697

24.45 23.88

61 62

81 70

Bartrum Group Rhys Davies and Sons

29,418 38,752

28,443 37,569

3.43 3.15

14 15

74 72

GBA Services S J Bargh

36,120 37,498

29,373 30,577

22.97 22.63

63 64

12 21

Whistl UK Yusen Logistics (UK)

544,582 237,739

528,449 231,123

3.05 2.86

16 17

53 52

Abbey Logistics Group Owens (Road Services)

55,008 55,648

45,096 45,669

21.98 21.85

65 74

59 19

Geodis UK DX Group

49,330 299,500

48,014 291,900

2.74 2.60

18 19

73 13

Montgomery Transport Culina Group

37,256 497,496

31,484 420,700

18.33 18.25

66 67

83 60

Circle Express ARR Craib Transport

29,210 49,170

28,559 48,106

2.28 2.21

20 21

96 16

JW Suckling Transport Clipper Logistics Group

25,175 400,115

21,314 340,100

18.11 17.65

68 76

97 100

Alan Firmin Stan Robinson Group

24,648 24,185

24,257 23,918

1.61 1.12

22 23

2 85

DHL H Sivyer (Transport)

4,736,180 28,366

4,035,769 24,399

17.36 16.26

69 70

23 76

NFT Distribution Holdings Countrywide Freight Group

202,164 33,767

200,037 33,530

1.06 0.71

24 25

42 7

Suttons Tankers UPS

81,690 1,084,441

71,010 944,927

15.04 14.76

71 72

61 17

Currie International Ceva Logistics

48,110 395,703

47,870 394,488

0.50 0.31

26 27

51 56

Knights of Old Solstor UK

59,836 53,510

52,307 46,800

14.39 14.34

73 77

78 98

Freightroute Saints Transport

31,762 24,330

31,680 24,340

0.26 -0.04

28 29

29 45

Fowler Welch Redhead Freight

164,468 64,594

143,991 56,588

14.22 14.15

78 79

46 37

Pickfords Move Management ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service)

64,047 102,162

64,232 102,462

-0.29 -0.29

30 31

67 20

Advanced Supply Chain Group Maritime Transport

39,783 253,730

34,876 224,593

14.07 12.97

80 81

1 49

Royal Mail John G Russell

7,608,000 60,593

7,658,000 61,071

-0.65 -0.78

32 33

62 55

Jack Richards & Son Moran Logistics

45,864 54,640

40,673 48,489

12.76 12.69

82 83

94 25

Carlson Vehicle Transfer Bibby Supply Chain Services

25,616 198,438

25,841 200,774

-0.87 -1.16

34 35

71 47

Warrens Warehousing and Distrib Maxi Haulage

38,276 62,334

34,243 56,178

11.78 10.96

84 85

14 30

Yodel Distribution Gregory Distribution (Holdings)

492,791 159,884

505,713 165,310

-2.56 -3.28

36 75

33 87

Hoyer Petrolog UK 132,046 ET Holdings (Evans and Seymour Transport) 27,467

119,012 24,780

10.95 10.84

86 87

24 8

W H Malcolm Menzies Distribution

200,149 1,049,000

207,231 1,087,700

-3.42 -3.56

37 38

5 3

DPD Group UK XPO Logistics

1,207,333 1,386,929

1,089,382 1,257,210

10.83 10.32

88 89

84 64

Brit European Lenham Storage Group

28,415 44,551

29,510 46,275

-3.71 -3.73

39 40

11 99

Eddie Stobart Logistics Expect Distribution

623,924 24,238

570,200 22,153

9.42 9.41

90 91

38 65

BCA Automotive RT Keedwell

93,677 42,618

97,803 44,660

-4.22 -4.57

41 42

48 58

Woodside Haulage (Holdings) R Swain & Sons

61,802 49,747

56,776 45,941

8.85 8.28

92 93

75 50

Fred Sherwood & Sons (Transport) Reed Boardall Group

34,661 60,230

36,710 64,344

-5.58 -6.39

43 44

34 88

Movianto WM Armstrong (Longtown)

123,850 27,177

114,716 25,173

7.96 7.96

94 95

95 9

Acumen Logistics Group Kuehne + Nagel

25,514 749,525

27,531 809,640

-7.33 -7.42

45 46

26 82

DSV Road T J Transport

193,895 29,407

180,691 27,466

7.31 7.07

96 97

44 89

PCL Transport 24/7 STVA UK

69,064 27,020

76,124 30,190

-9.27 -10.50

47 48

32 22

Langdon Group Harry Yearsley

139,138 203,064

130,337 190,730

6.75 6.47

98 99

69 77

Hargreaves Services - Transport Aspray Transport

39,200 32,469

49,832 48,924

-21.34 -33.63

49

35

Pentalver Transport

118,426

111,410

6.30

100

63

FreshLinc Group

45,380

74,097

-38.76

TreadMax. The cost effective alternative to new.

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GROWTH IN PROFIT Latest rank

Company or trading name

Latest year pre-tax profit (£000s)

Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s)

Growth in profit (%)

82,491 45,454 142,822 35,170 37,308 184,478 24,000 37,900 4,891 9,915 6,000 -12,027

62,321 34,903 116,559 31,386 33,727 169,860 22,700 45,000 8,391 48,200 146,000 32,939

32.36 30.23 22.53 12.06 10.62 8.61 5.73 -15.78 -41.71 -79.43 -95.89 -136.51

Europa Worldwide Logistics 3,223 DX Group -19,900 Culina Group 28,090 ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) 1,658 DSV Road 9,757 Turners (Soham) Holdings 31,696 Harry Yearsley 4,906 Maritime Transport 6,687 Clipper Logistics Group 17,966 Ceva Logistics 17,816 Yusen Logistics (UK) 2,513 Tuffnells Parcels Express 12,165 Gefco 10,968 Langdon Group 5,638 Pentalver Transport 8,392 CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) 5,137 Fowler Welch 4,520 Gregory Distribution (Holdings) 5,516 Bibby Supply Chain Services 833 NFT Distribution Holdings -9,451 Yodel istribution -85,700 Gist 8,832 Hoyer Petrolog UK 2,162 W H Malcolm 7,550 Movianto -4,992

677 -82,300 19,500 1,254 8,058 27,346 4,285 5,875 16,100 16,147 2,404 12,238 11,217 6,060 9,098 5,699 5,155 6,550 1,376 -6,504 -58,249 17,707 4,622 17,153 -1,236

376.07 75.82 44.05 32.22 21.08 15.91 14.49 13.82 11.59 10.34 4.53 -0.60 -2.22 -6.96 -7.76 -9.86 -12.32 -15.79 -39.46 -45.31 -47.13 -50.12 -53.22 -55.98 -303.88

18 -1,130 1,789 -2,795 2,675 870 2,713 2,914 1,864 1,771 2,466 538 7,172

2505.56 217.79 93.91 66.40 49.05 38.28 38.04 34.28 20.12 15.70 7.26 5.39 -17.40

£500m-plus turnover 7 3 2 9 10 5 8 6 12 11 1 4

UPS XPO Logistics DHL Kuehne + Nagel Hermes Parcelnet DPD Group UK Menzies Distribution Wincanton Whistl UK Eddie Stobart Logistics Royal Mail FedEx Corporation

£100m-£500m turnover 31 19 13 37 26 18 22 20 16 17 21 27 28 32 35 36 29 30 25 23 14 15 33 24 34

£50m-£100m turnover 56 38 39 45 48 57 40 49 52 55 54 41 43

Solstor UK BCA Automotive McBurney Transport Group Redhead Freight Woodside Haulage (Holdings) Lomas Distribution Lloyd Fraser Holdings John G Russell Owens (Road Services) Moran Logistics Panther Warehousing Kinaxia Howard Tenens

469 1,331 3,469 -939 3,987 1,203 3,745 3,913 2,239 2,049 2,645 567 5,924

Latest rank

Company or trading name Maxi Haulage Suttons Tankers Pickfords Move Management Reed Boardall Group Abbey Logistics Group PCL Transport 24/7 Knights of Old

Latest year pre-tax profit (£000s) 1,350 203 977 840 -553 -9,872 -3,391

Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s) 2,288 499 2,638 4,263 1,175 -1,279 254

Growth in profit (%) -41.00 -59.32 -62.96 -80.30 -147.06 -671.85 -1435.04

47 42 46 50 53 44 51

74 61 80 64 72 79 67 66 62 68 60 70 71 69 78 75 58 63 65 76 73 77 59

GBA Services Currie International AKW Group Lenham Storage Group S J Bargh McPherson Advanced Supply Chain Group Grocontinental Jack Richards & Son Boughey Distribution ARR Craib Transport Rhys Davies and Sons Warrens Warehousing and Distrib Hargreaves Services - Transport Freightroute Fred Sherwood & Sons (Transport) R Swain & Sons FreshLinc Group RT Keedwell Countrywide Freight Group Montgomery Transport Aspray Transport Geodis UK

1,157 38 2,951 2,063 2,011 2,902 1,811 6,065 1,238 1,282 1,209 318 1,744 500 846 671 1,102 331 309 63 4 -378 -4,247

454 -102 1,556 1,147 1,337 1,977 1,313 4,611 1,015 1,076 1,307 405 2,544 817 1,389 1,305 2,797 1,553 1,685 349 2,299 778 -311

154.85 137.25 89.65 79.86 50.41 46.79 37.93 31.53 21.97 19.14 -7.50 -21.48 -31.45 -38.80 -39.09 -48.58 -60.60 -78.69 -81.66 -81.95 -99.83 -148.59 -1265.59

351 114 156 2,235 597 1,250 660 -497 478 1,895 403 1,068 1,199 1,174 627 459 144 -1,136 -751 -1,732

60 25 -110 685 339 785 529 -524 464 1,901 408 1,392 1,599 1,664 1,488 1,172 503 6,929 -268 439

485.00 356.00 241.82 226.28 76.11 59.24 24.76 5.15 3.02 -0.32 -1.23 -23.28 -25.02 -29.45 -57.86 -60.84 -71.37 -116.39 -180.22 -494.53

£30m-£50m turnover

£20m-£30m turnover 82 92 89 91 84 99 85 98 90 93 88 94 87 81 96 100 95 97 83 86

TJ Transport Pollock (Scotrans) STVA UK Associated Cold Stores and Trans’t Brit European Expect Distribution H Sivyer (Transport) Saints Transport Elddis Transport (Consett) Meachers Global Logistics WM Armstrong (Longtown) Carlson Vehicle Transfer ET Holdings (Evans/Seymour Transport) Bartrum Group JW Suckling Transport Stan Robinson Group Acumen Logistics Group Alan Firmin Circle Express James Kemball

TruckForce.

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The MT Top 100 explained The rankings were finalised on 6 November 2018. The data was compiled from audited financial accounts filed at Companies House during the 12 months since the last Top 100 was compiled in October 2017, unless otherwise stated. The tables list the company in regards to its official registered company name at Companies House, which is not always the same as the company’s trading name. MT has compiled the tables using the turnover and pre-tax profit figures generated solely or primarily from the UK road transport activities on the businesses concerned, unless otherwise stated below. Where possible, we have tried to avoid including turnover from non-road and non-transport related business. Figures shown for employees are predominantly for those employed solely or principally in the UK. ■ Advanced Supply Chain reflects the performance of Advanced Supply Chain Group, excluding the results of its Advanced Forwarding international Freight forwarding division.

■ AKW Group, see Kinaxia Logistics.

■ BCA Automotive comprises Walon and Paragon Automotive Logistics, both subsidiaries of BCA Marketplace.

BCA Automotive Walon Paragon Automotive Logistics BCA Automotive

■ DHL comprises DHL Supply Chain; DHL Parcel UK (formerly UK Mail);

TradeTeam; DHL International (UK) – which trades as DHL Express – and Exel UK. DHL continues to renew consumer and retail contracts formerly reported in its Exel UK and Tradeteam divisions in DHL Supply Chain where possible. DHL acquired UK Mail in December 2016. We have excluded the performance of its Freight Forwarding activities in the UK.

■ DPD comprises DPDgroupUK and DPDLocal, formerly Interlink Express.

■ Eddie Stobart acquired iForce Group on 28 April 2017 for £45m. For

Pre-tax profit (£) 1,332,000 -1,000 1,331,000

Employees 726 143 869

Turnover (£) 150,535,000 191,235,216 38,681,000 52,269,353 47,352,684 17,423,290 497,496,543

Pre-tax profit (£) 6,817,000 14,153,301 1,668,000 2,036,709 1,927,308 1,488,240 28,090,558

Employees 1,601 1,976 534 467 52 125 4,755

Turnover (£) 3,150,192,000 476,475,000 123,992,000 943,132,000 42,389,000 4,736,180,000

Pre-tax profit (£) 78,899,000 53,259,000 -7,538,000 17,657,000 545,000 142,822,000

Employees 39,767 2,758 1,518 4,175 0 48,218

Turnover (£) 894,717,000 312,616,000 1,207,333,000

Pre-tax profit (£) 143,868,000 40,610,000 184,478,000

Employees 6,551 11 6,562

Pre-tax profit (£) -34,337,000 22,310,000 -12,027,000

Employees 9,136 2,199 11,335

Culina Logistics Culina Logistics Great Bear Distribution Integrated Packing Services Morgan McLernon CML F&L (Telford) Robsons of Spalding Culina Group

DHL

■ Culina Group consists of the activities of Culina Logistics, Great Bear

Distribution, Integrated Packing Services, Morgan McLernon and CML F&L (Telford). It also includes the contribution from Robsons of Spalding, which it acquired on 2 July 2018. Robsons of Spalding posted a turnover of £17.4m and a pre-tax profit of £1.5m in the 12 months to 31 July 2017. It has an average of 125 employees. It does not include any contribution from its partnership with Warrens Warehousing and Distribution, which it entered in March 2018.

Turnover (£) 81,435,000 12,242,000 93,677,000

DHL Supply Chain DHL Parcel UK Tradeteam DHL International UK Exel UK DHL

DPD DPDgroupUK DPDLocal DPD

the period 28 April 2017 to 30 November 2017, iForce Group generated sales of £39.6m and operating profit before exceptional items of £2.8m. On 4 July 2017 Eddie Stobart acquired 50% of Puro Ventures (trading as Speedy Freight) for an initial payment of £4.1m. For the period from acquisition to the year-end Speedy Freight contributed £9.5m in sales and operating profit before exceptional items of £1m. On 7 August 2017 Eddie Stobart entered into a business purchase agreement to acquire trucks, trailers and a contract from Canute Haulage for a consideration of £1. Its listing does not include any contribution from its June 2018 acquisition of TPN for £53m.

FedEx Corporation

■ FedEx Corporation includes the contribution from its two UK

Financial year ending Gregory Distribution (Hold’s) 30/09/2017 ARR Craib Transport 31/03/2017 Total

subsidiaries: TNT UK and FedEx UK. On 1 June 2016 TNT Group was acquired by FedEx Corporation. To align financial reporting periods, TNT UK incorporates a 17-month trading period ending 31 May 2017.

■ Gefco has not updated at Companies House since the Top 100 was published in 2017.

TNT UK FedEx UK FedEx Corporation

Turnover (£) 1,026,538,000 244,923,000 1,271,461,000

Gregory Distribution (Holdings) Turnover (£) 159,884,000 49,170,000 209,054,000

Pre-tax profit (£) 5,516,000 1,209,000 6,725,000

Employees 1,725 410 2,135

Goodyear TPMS. Keep your vehicles on the road.

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Kinaxia Logistics Financial year ending AJ Maiden and Son 31/12/2017 William Kirk 31/12/2017 Bay Freight 31/12/2017 BC Transport 31/12/2017 Foulger Transport 31/12/2017 Lambert Brothers Haulage 31/12/2017 Mark Thompson Transport 31/12/2017 Panic Transport (Contracts) 31/12/2017 NC Cammack & Son 31/12/2017 Estimated total AKW Group (acquired 10 2018) 30/06/2017 Estimated total

Turnover (£) 16,306,258 6,512,745 7,399,327 264,094 16,380,651 15,482,837 16,051,740 15,005,509 6,485,212 99,888,373 30,594,814 130,483,187

Pre-tax profit (£) 1,498,490 107,744 129,698 5,681 -299,210 207,966 1,164,846 174,322 99,719 3,089,256 2,951,503 6,040,759

Employees 98 88 78 8 228 186 155 133 65 1,039 349 1,388

Kuehne + Nagel Turnover (£) Pre-tax profit (£) Kuehne + Nagel (Contract Logistics) 541,336,000 40,154,000* Kuehne + Nagel Drinks Logistics 208,189,000 -4,984,000 Kuehne + Nagel 749,525,000 35,170,000 * Includes contributions from International Freight Forwarding

Employees 9,181* 2,399 11,580

Lenham Storage Lenham Storage Lenham Storage (Southern) Lenham Storage

Turnover (£) 33,957,070 10,594,918 44,551,988

Pre-tax profit (£) 1,522,831 540,830 2,063,661

Employees 422 103 525

Pentalver Pentalver Transport Pentalver Cannock Pentalver

Turnover (£) 73,266,000 45,160,000 118,426,000

Pre-tax profit (£) 7,200,000 1,192,000 8,392,000

Employees 316 259 575

XPO Logistics XPO UK Supply Chain XPO Transport Solutions XPO Bulk UK XPO Logistics

Turnover (£) 982,967,000 319,546,000 84,416,000 1,386,929,000

Pre-tax profit (£) 35,709,000 5,912,000 3,833,000 45,454,000

Employees 16,722 2,438 825 19,985

Yodel Distribution Yodel Distribution Arrow XL Yodel Distribution

Turnover (£) 409,798,000 82,621,000 492,419,000

Pre-tax profit (£) -82,481,000 2,925,000 -79,556,000

Employees 4,011 1,095 5,106

■ Geodis has not updated at Companies House since the Top 100 was published in 2017.

■ Gregory Distribution (Holdings) acquired ARR Craib Transport on

1 October 2018. As the two businesses remain separate legal entities they have been kept distinct in this edition of the Top 100. As the two businesses do not share the same financial year, the table is for illustrative purposes only.

■ Hargreaves Services – Transport did not supply employee numbers for the most recent financial year, despite requests to the company.

■ Kinaxia Logistics’ entry is based on Kinaxia Ltd. Overall the business comprises hauliers Bay Freight; William Kirk; Cammack; Lambert Brothers; Foulger Transport; Panic Transport; Maidens of Telford; Mark Thompson, and BC Transport. On 2 February 2017 it acquired Panic Transport; on 25 May 2017 it acquired AJ Maiden and Son; on 18 July 2017 it acquired Mark Thompson Transport and on 5 December 2017 it acquired the business and some assets of BC Transport (Bollington) out of administration. Its financial year 2017 includes part contributions from all four businesses. In October 2018 it acquired AKW Group, which achieved a turnover of £30.9m and a pre-tax profit of £2.9m in the year to 30 June 2017. AKW has not been included in the performance of Kinaxia Logistics.

The table illustrates the potential size of Kinaxia Logistics based on the most recently available financial year.

■ Kuehne + Nagel’s turnover is derived from its contract logistics business

(as reported by Kuehne + Nagel Ltd) and Kuehne + Nagel Drinks Logistics.

Turnover from its International Freight Forwarding business (£936.3m, compared with £819.6m restated in 2016) has been excluded to best reflect the domestic road freight related contributions to the business. However, as K+N does not split the two divisions into separate legal entities, we were unable to breakdown pre-tax profit and employee numbers in the same way. Therefore, and unfortunately, the profit contributions and employee figures include its international freight forwarding business.

■ Lenham Storage comprises Lenham Storage and Lenham Storage

Southern.

■ Lloyd Fraser has changed its reporting year. The previous financial year closed on 31 August 2015, and the current year runs for 18 months to 28 February 2017.

■ McBurney Holdings comprises McBurney Transport and Bondelivery Northern Ireland.

■ Pentalver comprises Pentalver Transport and Pentalver Cannock. It was acquired by US rail freight firm Genesee & Wyoming in May 2017.

■ SJ Bargh Group changed its reporting year following the June 2016 acquisition of RG Bassett & Sons. This financial year runs from 22 March 2016 to 30 April 2017. Its previous year comparison is against SG Bargh Ltd. ■ Turners (Soham) acquired FMCG operator Ocean Trailers in its reporting

year. Where possible, we have excluded contributions from Turners’ park homes business.

■ XPO Logistics comprises XPO Supply Chain UK; XPO Bulk UK and XPO Transport Solutions UK. We have excluded XPO Global Forwarding and XPO Maintenance UK to best reflect turnover and profit derived from domestic road freight.

■ Yodel Distribution includes subsidiaries Arrow XL and Arrow XL (Scotland). Arrow XL achieved a turnover of £82.6m and a pre-tax profit of £2.9m. Yodel Distribution Network posted a turnover of £409.8m; a pre-tax loss of £82.5m and had an average of 4,011 employees.

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21/11/2018 14:20:44

Tachograph analysis

Digital power

Tachograph analysis is compulsory, but that doesn’t mean operators can’t use it as a springbboard for powerful management data. Louise Cole reports

W

ith the inexorable rise of digital tachographs, some form of either desktop or cloudbased software, or external analysis is essential. Gone are the days of sampling a percentage of charts. The digital revolution has made it possible, and indeed essential, to analyse all charts for infringements. The choices for operators therefore come down to: how much in-house resource they wish to devote to tachograph compliance; how confident they are in their understanding of the rules; and the potential they see for integrating their tachograph data into their telematics, vehicle performance and job scheduling information.

Fleets can download one-off payment applications such as Tachospeed, ranging in price from £114 a vehicle up to about £1,000 for more than 200 vehicles. This has the advantage of quick, competent and, ultimately, cost-effective in-house analysis. For comparison purposes, most third-party analysis costs approximately £1.50 a week for vehicle and driver, or £78 a year. Software like this therefore becomes the cheaper option after 18 months.

Continental argues that cloud-based software is more useful, saying that with its VDO-TIS Web product “each time legislation changes the software platform changes with them so an operator will never face any infringements”.

Presumably this is a well-meant overstatement because analysis is always reactive – it allows operators to discover infringements, rather than prevent them.

24 MotorTransport MTR_261118_024-025.indd 24

As Adrian Barrett, technical services director of Road Tech, puts it: “You can’t subcontract managing your drivers to a third party.”

Essentially, all the tachograph analysis companies measure and report on the same things.

The question becomes what else they can do for you – and what do you intend to do with the data?

Road Tech is a case in point. Its five products can be integrated so that tacho records can inform scheduling and transport management, even in real-time, bringing operational benefits.

“All the products talk to each other, and the integration of the data across the products makes an exceptionally powerful tool, which is greater than the sum of their parts,” says Barrett. “Knowing not only where a driver is but how much driving time he has left is gold dust operationally, especially for operations such as vehicle recovery.”

Increasingly this is the web suppliers will weave, hoping to lure operators into buying more and more modular components for the ease and integration that comes with a single ‘sticky’ platform. Continental also offers “additional products and services”; and telematics companies are increasingly offering free analysis software to the customers using their integrated tacho download functions.

TruTac’s tacho analysis not only gives email report, digital signature capture, and a driver debrief and management system but also a sibling range of integrated compliance products.

Equally, Aquarius has added in driver e-signatures, delivery PODs, defect sheets, tracking and more to its Clockwatcher Elite, calling it

“a clear focus on integration from alternative sources, providing a seamless view of information”.

If the supplier’s mantra has become ’what else can we sell them?’ the operator’s mantra should be ‘what are they really good at?’.

Integration is valuable and big data will certainly have a part to play in fleet operation in the future. But for many fleets right now, the added benefit of such integration won’t necessarily be greater than having the best software for each specific task.

External analysis

Is there still a place for external experts? Mark Lewin, training development manager at Novodata, says: “Time is a factor for a lot of fleets [who use external analysis services] – but they also get ongoing clarity and support about what constitutes a breach. That’s the value add.

There’s plenty of standard software out there but it won’t explain when you are confused.”

Although Road Tech says its Tachomaster is equipped with plain English explanations of every breach, there is no doubt that some fleets will find value in a proper conversation when they need it – particularly when they need to then educate drivers.

Natalie Day, general manager of tachograph services at FTA, says that, after all, is the point.

“It’s all about risk reduction. Simply handing a driver a letter won’t help him to understand the law, or avoid the breach next time.”

Gary Wood, director of Plumwood, says: “As part of our compliance services we provide tachograph analysis to our clients using Tachomaster together with our own annotation to explain the infringement and how to try to ensure it isn’t repeated.

“For example, an infringement letter may show an operator that one of his drivers has driven seven hours without a break, and had insufficient daily and weekly rest. At face value, these are very serious offences that would bring unwanted attention from the authorities and substantial penalty fines for the driver.

“My initial thoughts would be to check the day of week and mode switch plus any vehicle movement. I would be almost certain that the driver has left his card in over the weekend set 26.11.18

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to ‘other work’. That explains the lack of rest and of course the tachograph will add the drive back to the yard on Friday to his drive out on Monday, hence no break recorded.”

Although this is still an offence, the problem could be resolved by the driver doing a printout, writing an explanation, and signing and dating the document, which needs to be kept by the driver for 28 days, then handed to the operator to be filed with his infringement letter.

Earned Recognition

According to the DVSA’s response to an MT freedom of information request, there are 67 organisations that have signed up to Earned Recognition (ER), covering 221 O-licences, of which 193 are HGV and 28 PSV. It says it cannot reasonably quantify how many of these companies would previously have scored green in OCRS. However, we asked: “For those ‘OCRS green’ operators who move on to Earned Recognition status, how much less frequently are their vehicles now stopped at the roadside [or their premises visited]?”

DVSA says between 1 May and 1 October 2017 these operators received 333 “targeted encounters” (roadside stops) and in the same period in 2018 (post-ER) they were stopped 119 times. However, this doesn’t count DfT compliance checks, which are random. The ER team has also handled 82 cases remotely rather than refer them to local enforcement teams for follow-up.

One of the concerns operators expressed before ER became a reality – and indeed might still feel – is that revealing all their compliance records is risky. There would appear to be a conflict of interest between DVSA as confidante and adviser and DVSA as prosecuting body.

All fleets will have a measure of non-compliance, whether that is through driver confusion, 26.11.18

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operational errors or hold ups, or the use of agency drivers whose work schedule, training levels or attitude might be beyond immediate management. However, DVSA told MT that none of the 82 cases so far would have merited referral to the Traffic Commissioner (TC).

Not all tachograph analysis companies are currently accredited to participate directly in ER, although FTA, Stoneridge and TruTac are among the pioneers. Providers must offer an automated interface for the scheme. Day says: “You have to pitch your findings to conform exactly with DVSA’s parameters and use their algorithms and tolerances.”

For instance, ER works in weeks, and will trigger alerts based on specific types of infringements. “It’s all about what DVSA considers a ‘trigger’ infringement,” she says. Trigger infringements generate a letter to the DVSA which acknowledges the notification and expects the operator to take appropriate action.

TC expectations

What is appropriate action? What, if drivers’ hours breaches do get reported to the TC, does the Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC) want to see?

The simple answer is proper management. All the tacho analysis providers stress the same thing – it’s not about being blemish-free but about how responsive and effective fleet management is with regard to breaches.

ER sets the download point for tacho data at roughly half the legal limit and the OTC thinks along the same lines.

“Downloading data from the

driver card every 28 calendar days and from the vehicle unit every 90 calendar days is a bit like running a truck with every tyre having only 1mm of tread. It’s the very last trigger for a review; the point where you’ve reached the minimum standard,” says Damien Currie, communications manager for the Traffic Commissioners.

He says operators should follow a riskbased approach, taking into account the challenges of the operation and individual driver history. “Where infringements are found, the frequency needs to increase until it can be demonstrated that offending has stopped.”

The TCs also say operators should not only have a declaration and questionnaire for agency drivers to fill in before they start work, but they should always download the driver card before the driver is given the keys.

When it comes to managing drivers who have broken the rules, it starts with training and supervision and ends not only in dismissal but also in reporting a truly fraudulent or dangerous driver to the TCs, so the driver can’t take up employment elsewhere. “In cases of persistent and repeated breaches, it will be difficult for an operator to contend that there has not been some degree of recklessness,” he says.

Continuous training for transport manager CPC holders is also crucial if they are to stay up to date with the rules and expectations of modern logistics. In their latest report the TCs bemoaned the minority of CPC holders who qualified some time ago and persist in being out of date. “It is absolutely critical that transport managers invest in professional development. They are the individuals with continuous and effective responsibility for the management of the transport operations. They need to have the right knowledge and skills, to have impact, be recognised as a key person in the business and to have sufficient influence over the decision-making of drivers and owners,” says Currie.

Digital tachographs have, in a sense, given operators nowhere to hide – there is no excuse not to download driver card data frequently and analysis can be almost instant. And the sooner the data is analysed, the sooner operators can address any issues which might arise with driver compliance or scheduling issues.

But if the technology invites the industry to hold itself to a higher standard than ever before, it also brings the potential for efficiencies never before experienced. ■

MotorTransport 25

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MT Awards 2018 winner profile Operational and Compliance Excellence Award

With them every step of the way Whirpool UK Appliances’ own-account home delivery operation impressed the judges by offering consistently excellent customer service without sacrificing business efficiency

WIN WIN: Eddie Stobart chief operating officer Dave Pickering, second right, with winners Rob Johnson, second left, and Perry Mair, third right, both regional operations managers at Whirlpool UK Appliances

T

he home delivery market never stands still, with consumers’ expectations of service levels constantly increasing. Whirlpool UK Appliances is the only domestic appliance manufacturer to operate an own-account home delivery operation, Hotpoint Home Solutions (HHS), as it believes this enables it to ‘own’ the whole customer journey. This in turn drives the internal logistics operation to deliver a first-class customer experience while remaining efficient and compliant.

The judges were impressed with how this long-standing own-account operation had gone “over above the call of duty to ensure the profitable, safe, legal and efficient running of its fleet”.

Whirlpool Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of domestic appliances, purchased Indesit Company in 2014, and

Whirlpool UK Appliances markets Indesit, Hotpoint, Whirlpool and KitchenAid brands.

Now in its 30th year, HHS delivered more than a million appliances in 2017 – approximately a third of Whirlpool’s total UK sales volume –through its network of 11 satellite depots, which are all serviced by its UK national DC in Raunds, Northamptonshire. The 11 cross-dock satellites range from Chepstow at 11,000sq ft to Manchester at 40,000sq ft, which also houses the HHS national training and development academy.

“Having our own in-house delivery service enables Whirlpool UK to provide that end-toend solution for all of our brands,” said Perry Mair, logistics regional network manager.

“We’ve been able to demonstrate the added value that we can provide. Being with the customer all the way from taking the order through to delivery, installation and after-sales care means we really own the full consumer journey.

“If we’ve delivered a good experience, then it’s more likely that the consumer will promote and recommend the brand based on the delivery and installation service provided. This is a key influencer for future purchases.”

HHS is clearly doing something right, as its Net Promoter score is over 80 for customer experience.

Continuing increase

As well as home delivery, HHS also services the important independent high street retailers.

“That has changed over the past five years,” said Mair. “Where we were delivering 45% of products to consumers’ homes with 55% to trade outlets, it’s probably now closer to 70% home delivery, 30% trade, driven by a continuing increase in online sales.”

26 MotorTransport MTR_261118_026-027.indd 26

HHS has had to innovate to keep ahead of the specialist retail home delivery services. It offers consumers a three-hour delivery window and, with half the routes working as two-man crews, achieving efficient routeing and scheduling for the 125 delivery vehicles completing 54,000 routes each year is a challenge that the HHS team has become used to managing, balancing customer service requirements with operational efficiency.

Internal efficiencies

“We’re mindful that we have to be competitive.

We focus on our internal efficiencies and constantly look for further efficiency gains. Our key driver is ‘don’t stand still’. Whatever we are doing today in terms of efficiency and customer service, can we improve on that tomorrow?” asked Mair.

“We work hard to make sure that we’re offering value for money and I believe we lead the way in terms of service.”

HHS is hitting its three-hour window on nearly 97% of deliveries, with drivers able to contact customers ahead of the planned timeslot if they are delayed for any reason.

So far, HHS is not under pressure to reduce the three-hour window, as it meets customer expectations. “Why say you can do it if you’re not confident you can do it?” asked Mair. “You might as well just carry on doing a really excellent job at three, and then, if we see that customer expectations are to bring it to two or one hour, then we will work to do that in a sustainable way.”

Mair argued that other delivery services such as parcels are in any case very different propositions. “It’s easier because they just drop a parcel,” he said, “whereas we’ll often also be installing and connecting the appliance. It can 26.11.18

19/11/2018 15:54:14

Sponsored by

take half an hour, even an hour, on one installation and connection depending on the product and the home it is being delivered to.”

As well as timed delivery slots, HHS successfully introduced Sunday deliveries to further enhance its customer service offering.

Order, order

HHS has also brought forward the order cutoff to 6pm for next-day delivery within 80% of the UK’s 1.8 million postcodes and offers an installation service on most types of appliance.

“That adds value to the end-to-end customer service offering,” said Mair. “That’s been a major investment in training all the delivery crews.”

HHS is not immune from the driver shortage, and recruiting, retaining and training its skilled drivers is a top priority. Mair is looking at the possibility of using Apprenticeship Levy funding to cover the cost of training existing staff.

“We have an opportunity of funding to upskill our drivers’ mates to become a class 2 driver, so we do have some young lads who are starting with us,” he said. “We’ve been successful in places, in Scotland particularly, where they have better apprenticeship funding for the under 25s. They don’t have that in England and Wales. It’s a shame that it’s not completely funded UK-wide. Every delivery company is in Wales, England and Scotland – how can you offer that same opportunity to everyone when they have different apprenticeships?”

Being an HHS driver involves much more than just driving a truck and delivering boxes, and the company’s training academy is well equipped with a 7.5-tonne truck and replica kitchens to enable drivers to be fully trained in all aspects of their job. “Only 50% of their day is driving,” pointed out Mair. “The other 50% is managing technology, it’s managing a 26.11.18

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consumer, it’s handling products, and it’s installing and connecting appliances.

“We have the academy, which is great in terms of training and development, and that’s ever-evolving. If you come in as a driver’s mate, there is immediately a progression opportunity within our organisation that you can make to becoming a driver.”

While drivers get a lot of fringe benefits working for a blue chip company such as Whirlpool, Mair knows that driver wages are rising and they have to be fairly remunerated.

“It’s not always what we are paying as a base rate, it is what other benefits there are within professional organisations like ours,” he said.

“When a driver performs at a great level, in terms of his compliance, time-keeping, customer service, the way he treats the vehicle, his fuel economy and driving style, all those things can be linked into a package to make it more attractive. But they have to earn it.”

Clearly the first part of a good delivery experience is having the product in stock, and the 450,000sq ft national DC in Raunds holds approximately 175,000 units, providing about four weeks’ stock coverage. Most products come to the UK from the Whirlpool manufacturing sites across the continent.

“I was honoured and privileged to collect the award on behalf of the team,” he said. “We’re a really close-knit team and it is a full team effort. It’s a great feeling and proud moment not only individually, but for the whole team as well.”

For Mair 2018 was his first experience of the awards limelight. “I was very proud,” he said.

“It’s a great event.” ■

Never complacent

With two more MT award successes in 2018, Indesit/Whirlpool has picked up six MT Awards since 2007, but Mair never gets complacent about his team’s success. “It makes it all worthwhile. We have that mind-set of striving for perfection whatever that might be. We’re all on a journey of continuous improvement because that is the only way that we’ll continue to retain a unique operation as an own-account white goods delivery service.

MotorTransport 27

19/11/2018 15:55:04

MT Awards 2018 winner profile Training Award

On course for a brighter future P ON TRACK: Steve Granite, CEO, Abbey Logistics and Think Logistics founder, second right, hands over the trophy to Eddie Stobart Logistics HR director Angelina Miley and colleagues

A commitment to training employees and new recruits for the benefit of all areas of the industry saw Eddie Stobart Logistics scoop the 2018 Training Award

assion, pride and ambition are key qualities found in graduates of Eddie Stobart Logistics’ (ESL) Training Academy. Those taking part are existing employees looking to expand their skillset, or new recruits eager to obtain their HGV licence and get behind the wheel of the firm’s iconic green and red trucks.

Launched in Warrington in 2015 as an in-house facility, the doors were opened to the public and the wider supply chain sector in 2017. The decision to make the school public was a means to help the business address the industry challenge of a shortage of qualified HGV drivers.

Open doors

Angelina Miley, HR director at ESL, said: “From the CEO’s perspective, it was about addressing the needs of the business and attracting new people into the industry. We had this fantastic facility that all our employees were engaged with, so we wanted to open the doors to the public and share our experiences with them.”

External applicants who hold a driving licence are vetted before being offered a place on the

28 MotorTransport MTR_261118_028-029.indd 28

11-week course to obtain their category C or C+E HGV licences. Funding is provided, if required, through an external financial company, DEKO; approximately half of all applicants apply for this financial support.

Training is carried out in a state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility at ESL’s Appleton headquarters, complete with classrooms and an auditorium. Courses range from a single day’s training to 11 weeks with no more than nine trainees per group. They are all verified by a range of external bodies such as TfL, the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) and the Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers and Importers. ESL has 17 driver trainers, including one driver training manager and three head office staff trainers. It also has a DVSA delegated examiner to run the examinations, as well as three SQA grade one-accredited ADR instructors.

All drivers that complete the training and qualify as a driver are formally interviewed to join the ESL network at their nearest depot, with the majority taking up the opportunity.

Those who are successful are provided with a buddy who shadows them for the first two

weeks to ensure they are confident and ready to drive alone.

To date, 550 candidates have been trained at the academy and started their careers as an HGV driver.

Opportunity awaits

But recruiting new blood into the industry is more than just driving a truck, said ESL learning and development manager Gary Byrne.

“We have the driving school, which is the first step in the process, but we also have a much broader umbrella with the training academy. We say to new people coming into the industry that it’s not just about driving a truck, there is a whole career path for you,” he added.

“You can come in, drive for a bit, but there is an opportunity to become more specialised, such as training in ADR, as well as routes into officebased management. We often find a lot of our best planners come from drivers who have been on the road as they understand both sides.”

The company looks for drivers with the right attitude and aptitude for further development, with exciting opportunities in its special operations divisions to work towards. For example, overseas travel to support the Formula One seasons.

“It’s a really prestigious opportunity for them to aspire to,” Byrne said.

ESL has a strong tradition of internal development of staff, with many senior level employees having worked their way up the ranks from operational positions, such as drivers or planners, at the outset. “A number of our senior directors have progressed through the organisation to the roles they currently hold, from starting as planners or transport supervisors, while some were drivers in the past,” said Miley.

As the Training Academy programme has focused on addressing internal business needs and tackling the shortage of new recruits to the 26.11.18

20/11/2018 09:31:39

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sector, ESL has not yet set itself any financial targets for the fledgling division. However, it has started to measure the positive contribution to the business that the programme has delivered, which has been significant.

“A lot of our revenue generation is about reinvesting in the growth of the training academy because it is about that mitigation of risk and bringing new blood into the industry,” said Byrne.

“We’ve also invested in maintaining the quality of our training and instructors. For example, all of our instructors are going through to get a recognised DVSA instructor badge,” added Miley.

Skills boost

This reinvestment has also led ESL to open a second training facility in Crick in the Midlands.

It is also exploring the possibility of a third academy for next year around the Dagenham area in the south-east to meet demand in that region. New courses and programmes are also in the pipeline for employees and new recruits.

These can be accessed through a new learning management system and training catalogue, which has hundreds of courses that can be delivered through classroom and on-the-job training as well as through e-learning modules.

For employees, a Driver Development Programme is being trialled with an initial cohort of 18. Partnering with The National Logistics Academy, the course takes approximately 13 months to complete and covers everything from English and maths skills, through to first aid and safe urban driving.

“It’s to help them develop in their careers and give them skills they may not have,” said communications manager Julie Daintith. “It’s going well and they are making significant efficiencies and savings across the business as well.”

“It’s not just about covering a Driver CPC syllabus, but about becoming a better driver 26.11.18

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overall,” added Miley. “For example, when we look at drivers’ Microlise data, we are seeing improvements in their driving scores. We are looking at rolling it out across the whole company.”

For new recruits yet to enter the logistics sector, ESL has a number of avenues to complement its driver training programme. ESL is working with JobCentre Plus to raise awareness of the logistics sector to jobseekers and is a preferred supplier on its procurement system.

This means jobseekers can apply to secure funding for driver training through the government.

Working in partnership with the Armed Forces and reservists is also a key focus area.

As well as working with the Ministry of Defence in helping ex-services personnel gain employment and obtain their HGV licences, ESL has also recently changed its staff policy to allow reservists an extra two weeks’ paid leave on top of their normal holiday allowance to attend annual training camps.

“We also work with Think Logistics, talking to schools about the variety of careers in logistics. I think there is a lack of communication about logistics opportunities in this country,” said Miley.

End-to-end focus

Following ESL’s recent expansion into new sectors, with key acquisitions such as The Pallet Network, iForce and Speedy Freight, the business is keen to reposition itself as a key end-toend provider in the wider supply chain space.

“This is an education piece for the industry because people still see us as a haulier and we are much more than that. We’re working hard to let the industry know we provide a full endto-end supply chain solutions – we offer more than what you just see on the road,” said Daintith.

“This is going to be our challenge as well as when it comes to training,” added Byrne.

“Developing people who can go across the whole business and work in any area and have a full understanding.”

To support this aim, ESL launched its first graduate programme this year, which is “ultimately a development programme that will enable them to walk straight into a management position after just two years’ training”, said Byrne.

Graduates will work across multiple business divisions to gain experience in the whole operation. “Because, as we said, a lot of our most successful senior people have moved and developed across the business. We’re keen to replicate this in our graduate programme, which will ultimately serve us well,” added Byrne.

The business is also working in partnership with the University of Bolton to develop the Eddie Stobart Logistics degree for undergraduates. This will look at the whole supply chain model and develop students’ skills to work successfully in this sector. It is due to be launched early next year.

Recognition

With a flurry of new training initiatives in the pipeline, two training academies successfully up and running and a potential third to follow suit, scooping the MT Training Award topped a busy 18 months for the hard-working team behind the programme. “We’d had such a busy year and put so much effort into the creation of the training catalogue that it felt like this was the turning point for us. It was recognition for all the hard work the teams had put in during the year,” said Miley.

Daintith added: “We were shortlisted for four categories and to win one was an amazing and a huge accolade to everybody in the business and one that we have celebrated with all involved.” ■ MotorTransport 29

20/11/2018 09:35:11

MT Awards 2018 winner profile Best Use of Technology Award

Safe and secure Palletforce has used an innovative approach to an old problem to boost efficiency and – crucially – improve safety across its network

T

he pallet networks have grappled with the demands of servicing an ever-increasing volume of palletised freight heading to domestic and other locations outside the traditional B2B environment in recent years.

This ever-present and unresolved safety issue was spelt out in stark terms when driver Petru Pop was crushed to death by a 1.4-tonne pallet of tiles in November 2016. He was making a tail-lift delivery to a residential address in High Wycombe, Bucks, when the incident occurred.

The HSE’s reticence to mandate a maximum weight limit for tail-lift deliveries this year despite qualified industry support – described by many as a fudge, albeit not totally unexpected – has left pallet networks acting unilaterally to address the risk to employees, especially drivers.

With the pallet network sector continuing to expand year-on-year despite its relative maturity, Palletforce triumphed in this year’s MT Best Use of Technology category by taking steps to boost both efficiency at its central hub in Burton upon Trent, and overall safety across its network.

Super Forklift Trucks

It combined this, as one of the judges put it, in a move that “drives benefit through the entire business” with the seemingly simple desire to develop to the next level its ability to weigh pallets during nightly sorting at the hub while speeding up the process.

It recruited Positive Weighing Solutions (PWS) to develop what it has dubbed Super Forklift Trucks (SFTs), featuring the latest in weighing technology. PWS was chosen for the project by Palletforce IT director Dean Hughes to create a system that could be developed 30 MotorTransport MTR_261118_030-031.indd 30

further as required. The network also brought in resources to develop bespoke software as part of the 18-month project. This was developed by the same brains behind its main Alliance network system – Palletforce has for a long time now kept its IT in-house rather buying off the shelf as it sees it as a key differentiator within the ultra-competitive sector.

The resulting state-of-the-art imaging and scanning software fitted to the 77 predominantly LNG Toyota forklifts along with the physical kit allows each pallet to be captured, scanned and weighed instantly as it is loaded and unloaded to and from trailers.

Although MT has covered other approaches to weight management across the pallet network sector, Palletforce claims it is the only one capable of weighing every pallet that passes through its hub, essentially in real time. “This system provides accurate weights enabling safer loading of vehicles and safer handling of pallets on delivery,” it said in its awards statement.

Palletforce CEO Michael Conroy provided more detail to MT when we met up. “The really

clever thing, and hence why we patented it, is that when you tell people about it they think forklift scale and scanner, so what? But it’s the application of how it works together that sets it apart,” he said.

Palletforce said its members now know the exact weight of their loaded vehicle and do not have to rely on customer manifests, which are often inaccurate. The SFTs also flag up pallets of more than 1,000kg so extra precautions can be taken.

“The benefits to Palletforce in the centre is that we know what we are handling per pallet.

It makes it easier for a forklift truck driver, ensures no rollovers, and in the centre it has shaved off 15 minutes in and out time [to the hub], which is huge.

“Then the information goes back to the sender member and they have an accurate profile of the freight to speak to their customer about, to say if they are either under or overdeclaring. Then it’s up to them how they manage it commercially, but there’s an opportunity for them to do so.

26.11.18

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SAFE HANDS: Greg Ward, Bridgestone commercial sales director UK & Ireland, fourth right, presents the trophy to the Palletforce team, led by sales and marketing director Dave Holland, third right

GO TEAM

“On the outbound side the delivering member knows exactly what they’ve got to do,” he added. “As soon as we scan a pallet it [the information] is available to everyone.”

Conroy said that while there are challenges with any project involving multiple partners, as Pallelforce wasn’t starting from scratch the project – costed at £1.3m for the kit and software development – moved at pace and has been in place and delivering results since June 2017.

“It sounds dumb [in the smartphone sense] but it’s not, it’s a live, living system. It has a control unit on it [the forklift]. It is what the driver sees via a screen and it tells them instantly the weight, where it is going, and what deck it should be on. If it’s 500kg but declared as 250kg it will say ‘don’t put it on the top deck’,” said Conroy.

“One of the things we have focused on is accurate manifesting and good loading. Because if you get it right at the beginning before you handle it several times, guess what? There’s a chance it’ll get there in the condition the customer wants to get it in,” Conroy said.

Weighing things up

Palletforce does not have a maximum pallet weight limit for deliveries, and told MT that with the average pallet passing through its hub weighing 450kg, it is in a strong position with the new technology to responsibly manage this aspect regardless.

“It’s not just weight that’s the issue. It’s bad manifesting and bad presentation, too. You can’t eliminate risk, you can only de-risk things, which is what we’ve done,” he said. “No one goes to work not to come home. So it’s safety first in everything we do. Yes, we abide by the rules and regulations, but then we’ve asked ourselves how can we do things better? How can we make things safer? How do we reduce risk while supporting members?

“This sector is moving approximately 26 million pallets through eight networks, that’s 26.11.18

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“This has been a big team project. It’s about using technology to do something, and on the back of that, that then kicked into the network. All of the benefits went all the way through,” said CEO Michael Conroy.

But, he added, some people had been key to its success, including unsung heroes such as Steve Davis and Mark Wilcox, the night manager and assistant. “They love this as they have seen the benefits.

“Other key people on the project were Dean [Hughes] and team; Kate Lovatt; Jo Duncan; Mark Tapper; the night team that run the business that never get any credit.

“They’ve been delighted with receiving the recognition of the award. It’s a great morale booster. The team around us get a real buzz from it and they all smile when they walk past the award,” said Conroy.

PALLET SELFIE got to be approximately 500 forklift drivers per night and 2,500 vehicle movements. That’s a high-risk environment and I defy anyone to say it’s not. So you have to be on top of your game every night,” Conroy said.

It is synonymous with the individual culture at the business too, which is enthusiastically espoused by Conroy. “Why do something if you don’t make it better? Everything we have we have made better. I’m a big believer in tightening every nut and bolt half an inch. It makes a big difference.”

It appears to have paid off. Palletforce has seen its membership bloom to 98 hauliers across 116 depots and with the opening of its enlarged hub facility a year ago, which can handle 30,000 pallets a night, the improved efficiency delivered by the SFTs and improved information is an essential part of the business’s orange toolkit.

“We haven’t finished yet. We want to do more and we will keep going. But I think the whole sector has upped its game,” Conroy added.

With the Best Use of Technology triumph the network has reaped the benefits of its longterm planning, with more to come. “Everything has come to fruition, but it doesn’t happen overnight,” Conroy said. n

Not one to rest on its laurels, Palletforce has introduced a new functionality to its forklift trucks, which – how could it not be in this day and age – has been dubbed the “pallet selfie”.

Using scanning and imaging software fitted to the forklifts, an image of each pallet is automatically taken during the handling process to allow members and customers alike to see the condition throughout. Palletforce has claimed that this function makes it the only pallet network able to weigh, photograph and scan every pallet it handles in this way, building on its MT Awards success.

Palletforce IT director Dean Hughes said: “We made a commitment to our members that we would invest in technology and systems to lead the industry, and the introduction of the pallet selfie is another move that keeps us ahead of the competition.

“The market is hugely competitive and that’s why Palletforce continues to invest in infrastructure and technology.

“Our members’ customers already benefit from unrivalled tracking and tracing of their goods and now they will be the only pallet network customers to have full transparency as well.”

MotorTransport 31

22/11/2018 11:45:53

Roundtable sponsored by

Neil Campbell

Jack Semple

Colin Melvin

Richard Clarke

Lee Anderson

32 MotorTransport MTR_261118_032-034.indd 32

Working towards zero hour For our latest Roundtable discussion MT gathered together some of the leading opinon makers in the industry to discuss the future of alternative fuels and how fleets will operate in the era of zero emissions Steve Hobson, editor, MT: Good morning and welcome to this roundtable on low emissions vehicles sponsored by Fraikin. To my mind there are four distinct areas: Carbon emissions and local emissions such as NOx and particulates; and then there is urban transport and long distance haulage.

A lot of people have accepted Euro-6 diesel is going to be okay in the next buying cycle for the current crop of low emissions and clean air zones, but what’s going to happen after that as we head towards zero emissions zones? What does a 32-tonne or 44-tonne zero emissions vehicle look like? No one really knows.

Is diesel dead? If it is, what’s going to replace it?

Before we start let’s go around the table and introduce ourselves.

Neil Campbell, process safety and quality manager, Greenergy: We are a large fuel supplier in the UK. My background is as a chemical process engineer.

Jack Semple, consultant: I worked for Motor Transport, and then for 10 years as director of policy at the RHA until last July and I’m currently spending a lot of time working with manufacturing and engineering trade associations.

Colin Melvin, sales director, Fraikin.

Richard Clarke, commercial director, O’Donovan Waste: I’ve been involved in TFL’s LoCity project from 2016. We are a Londonbased company, and we have 90 trucks.

Lee Anderson, head of transport, Menzies Distribution: I’m an HGV driver myself, since I left school up to 15 years ago, and I’m involved with the Edinburgh CAZ. Gary Lang, head of supply chain, Lactalis: I’m responsible for our vehicle acquisitions.

Carl Milton, supply and logistics manager, Cemex: The big interest for me today is low emissions technologies, as we’re a major supplier to the construction industry.

Paul Allera, technical director, Road Haulage Association: I joined the RHA in July before which I was in operations, most recently with Fowler Welch.

David Batty, consultant: Now in my 55th year as a fleet engineer, most recently with Abbey Logistics.

James Walker, commercial director, Fraikin: We want to understand what solutions the market will want from us over the next two to three years.

Sean McGrae, senior manager national transport, Lafarge Tarmac.

Brian Robinson, CV emissions consultant, Low Carbon Vehicle

Partnership: For most of the last 30 years or so I’ve been working in and around safety and environmental research, much of that at what is now the Transport Research Laboratory. I’m now a freelance consultant and spend most of my time with the LowCVP where I cover commercial vehicle emissions.

Sam Clarke, head of business development, Gnewt Cargo: I founded the business 10 years ago, and we do the last mile for different companies using electric vehicles. I needed to start with the small stuff because that’s where the technology was available.

Hobson: I’ve asked Brian to give us a short overview of where we are with low emissions vehicles.

Robinson: From an air quality point of view, for commercial vehicles, the Euro-6 diesel is, for the time being at least, the standard requirement and I know most probably the big operators here today are aiming to be fully Euro-6 compliant at least in their London or other clean air zone city operations by 202021 when these things start to kick in.

The only real way to go beyond Euro-6, from a local authority point of view, I suspect, are zero emissions zones. Whilst there probably will be a Euro-7 coming from the European Commission at some point, that’s unlikely to make a massive difference to particulates or NOx because Euro-6 is already so low.

Neither gas nor biofuels give you much of an air quality benefit over Euro-6 diesel. Some of the drop-in diesel substitute fuels may have a small NOx saving, but what testing we’ve done on gas so far is clearly showing no major air quality advantage over a diesel Euro-6.

How quickly fleets transition to Euro-6 or beyond is the crucial determinant as to whether clean air zones actually work or not.

When we talk about a zero emissions world, and I’m looking forward maybe another five or 10 years, then the question is, what do we mean by zero emissions? I think it means zero emissions capable. It doesn’t necessarily mean entirely zero emissions at all points in the operation.

For smaller vehicles, certainly up to 7.5, 12 or maybe 18 tonnes, or anything that’s predominantly urban delivery, then in that kind of timescale, fully electric zero tail pipe emissions options will be widely available, quite viable and therefore common. For the long haul operation, it is much more challenging to go fully zero using electric, hydrogen or other zero tail pipe emission options.

That’s where I see range extenders and hybrids coming in 26.11.18

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motortransport.co.uk

– a mix of combustion engines to do the bulk of the miles and a battery big enough to do the city centre operations.

On greenhouse gas emissions, it’s in long haul where the bulk of the miles are done and the bulk of the fuel is consumed.

Around 75% or so of the carbon emissions from road freight in the UK come from that type of duty.

With electric vehicles in urban centres, on grid average electricity, just plugging it in and not worrying about where the electricity comes, you’re probably going to get something like a 50% to 60% saving on greenhouse gases emissions over a diesel vehicle. If you’ve got a source of renewable electricity or you are on a fully certified 100% renewable electricity tariff, then you’re down to nearly 100% CO2 savings from an electric vehicle.

For long haul, there are some electrification options that might come in by 2025. Probably not overhead catenaries, but maybe as batteries get cheaper and more energy dense, then battery swapping starts to become an option. If a battery does 150 miles you can pull into a service station, drop that out and drop another one in with another 150 miles range. But I don’t see that happening in the shorter term. In that short to medium term, I think the options are much more around gas and biofuels.

With fossil natural gas versus pump diesel you can get maybe a 10% to 15% CO2 saving, which is worth having, but it’s not going to get us to zero by 2050 or the 50% to 60% reduction needed by 2030 to comply with the Climate Change Act and the Paris Accord.

Waitrose has been a pioneer of biogas vehicles with Scania, and biomethane, like renewable electricity, can get you into the 85% to 90% CO2 savings.

It’s important to make clear that, versus fossil pump diesel, by switching to 100% drop-in biodiesel you will get similar greenhouse gas savings. There is a range of biofuel options, not just biomethane, there are biodiesels and these could come into play in long haul operations as well.

Campbell: It’s true that biodiesel can play a role in reducing CO2 emissions, in today’s vehicle fleet. Rising biofuel supply obligations have made high percentage biodiesel blends cheaper than standard diesel, and demand for 20% and 25% biodiesel blends is growing as a result. A fuel quality standard has now been developed for B20 and B30, and we are suppling to that.

Robinson: There are some using 100% – Martin Brower operates its fleet fully on biodiesel, I believe, or at least has plans to achieve that quite soon.

Campbell: There is a plentiful supply of sustainable biodiesel to underpin supply. Greenergy has two manufacturing plants in the UK, the largest of their kind in Europe, producing biodiesel purely from used cooking oil (UCO). That’s all recycled oils, so it’s all renewable in that sense. We also have a new plant in Amsterdam which will start up next year.

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Gary Lang

Carl Milton

Paul Allera

Currently, if you look out to the Middle East and Asia, enormous amounts of cooking oil are simply poured down the drain, which has environmental implications. We’re creating supply chains that can give value to that by recovering it and converting it to biodiesel. That makes high percentage biodiesel blends a sustainable way of making greenhouse gas reduction in existing vehicles.

Robinson: On the fuel duty differential between gas and diesel, we had a workshop with DfT early in September to present all that data. Our main conclusions was that there is no reason from the evidence we’ve seen to change the current duty differential. (In his autumn budget after this roundtable took place, the chancellor extended the duty differential between gas and diesel for a further five years to 2032).

There’s no reason to put people off using gas vehicles from the evidence we’ve got. We should first encourage them to use it in long haul operations, and probably a duty differential does that because those people use most fuel. Secondly, if you’re going to get a gas vehicle, if you can’t get biomethane to start with, at least have a clear plan to be putting more biomethane in it over its life.

At the moment, the current duty differential doesn’t really encourage that. Whether it’s fossil or bio-derived gas doesn’t make any difference from the point of view of fuel duty. We would certainly want that.

I don’t see the death of the internal combustion engine anytime soon, but I do think that the death of fossil diesel is a necessity.

It’s not something that might happen quickly but it absolutely needs to happen.

Semple: The situation has changed so much. The goal posts on gas have changed repeatedly since 1997 when gas was pretty strongly promoted for the first time. If you think back five years when the duty differential was introduced, it was about 30ppl roughly. It’s about half the duty on diesel.

At that point, there was no explanation as to why the government was making the differential. We have a total absence of policy from the government. At that time, the DfT thought that Euro-6 was going to be worse on fuel consumption than Euro-5.

It turned out that it’s better. The reality is that for the foreseeable future there is a very limited stock of biomethane.

A small number of very large operators in the main will be benefiting from this heavy taxpayer subsidy. What would be really useful from the government is to have an explanation of its vision for duty policy.

There is no equality of access to gas refuelling. It’s almost exclusively retailers that are using it. If we had a vision then I think operators could have far more confidence, but what we have is in the ‘Road to zero’ strategy that was published three months ago. There was a lack of understanding in that docuMotorTransport 33

19/11/2018 15:59:03

Roundtable sponsored by

David Batty

James Walker

Sean McGrae

Brian Robinson

Sam Clarke

34 MotorTransport MTR_261118_032-034.indd 34

ment as to what the emissions from gas are compared with diesel.

Walker: From our side, in terms of supply, financing and maintenance one of the challenges, if you look at gas, is that we have to look at the total cost of ownership of the asset. So we have to effectively pre-book what we think residual values will be on assets, whether it’s gas, diesel, etc.

If we take a gas truck, for example, there is a significant increase in capital cost, so we have to take a judgment in terms of where the residual value will be in three, four, five years’ time. Whether the market would have an appetite for that is questionable.

Richard Clarke: At Donovan’s our short-term programme has been a transition to Euro-6 and by the end of the year we will have bought 30 Euro-6 vehicles. We definitely want to move to alternative fuel vehicles. When it comes to HGVs we’d like to focus on electric vehicles, or maybe hydrogen, but mainly electric because, in our opinion, that is the future and we want to move away from fossil fuels.

In terms of the electric HGVs, for an SME like us the upfront cost is just totally prohibitive. An electric skip lorry is in the pipeline, but it’s three times the cost of a standard diesel.

Milton: Concrete mixers, because of the nature of the product, only travel about 50 miles a day on each cycle. Many of these vehicles are traditionally run by small companies with maybe one to five trucks. We have a life cycle of over 10 years and currently there is no incentive for those people to change to Euro-6 if they are on Euro-4 or Euro-5. It’s a massive cost. A lot of these people are at the end of their career and there are not a lot of younger people coming in as it’s a very marginal business in terms of profitability.

Allera: There was a report recently on a company that has done trials with gas versus Euro-6 in an urban environment in a large Yorkshire town. They did tests at Millbrook as well and the Euro-6 diesel was far cleaner than the gas vehicle. Bear in mind they have probably spent copious amounts of money so far in promoting these vehicles.

Robinson: We’re hoping over the next couple of years to develop a set of low emissions truck standards. Once we’ve got a test process we can actually define what technology is a step change better than a Euro-6 diesel or gas. Then local authorities and government can start to use incentives based on that when specifying contracts.

Batty: As an incentive to invest in a gas truck it should be exempt from VED so over five or seven years, that’s £7,000 or £8,000. The difference in price between a diesel 6x2 and gas is £40,000, and the difference in the back end price is about £5,000 to £7,000. So the net effect is probably about £35,000 to put some gas trucks on the road and the more people buy that it will start to go down.

For me, long haul has got to be gas. There is no doubt about that. They’ve got the range now. The fuel saving over the diesel is 40% with the duty differential so within 18 months you’ve paid for the price difference on the truck.You put them on fixed price maintenance with the manufacturer so you’re not worried about the maintenance and there is a guaranteed residual value.

For me, any high street retailer now who runs back to base must be going gas. Everybody who is running 10 gas vehicles and are back to base, you just drop your refuelling skid on site.

You’ve got Calor and BOC queuing up to give you these things.

They’ll put them on your site, pipe them up and deliver once a week. Anyone who is not doing it now is going to miss the boat.

Campbell: The problem is that LNG is still a fossil fuel and biomethane is limited by the availability of resources to make it. You need the right waste to make it. That’s why the likes of Waitrose are doing it because they have the food waste.

Robinson: There are some interesting new technologies around biomethane production, but of the current standard technologies, anaerobic digestion is the main one. There is, in energy terms, about 100 petajoules of resource in the UK. To put that in context, the 500,000 HGV fleet gets through 300 petajoules worth of diesel per year. The biomethane resource can take out a big chunk of the CO2 output of diesel fuel.

Lang: At this moment, we don’t run any of our own vehicles in this country. Our French operation has a considerable truck fleet and everybody is rightly concerned about which way they should go. For me, I’ve listened very closely to the discussion

motortransport.co.uk

and I think gas would be the only way that I could conceivably say that we would go.

That has been our thoughts all the way through, especially with our milk collections and long distance trunking.

Anderson: Menzies runs a fleet of 3.5-, 7.5- and 44-tonne vehicles.

What we’ve done for the LEZ in London is redistribute our fleet.

We’ve not reduced our overall emissions footprint, we’ve just reduced it in certain areas.

We are discussing the use of gas vehicles, and are doing some work at the moment where we might potentially be swapping out vehicles on one contract for gas vehicles. The issue for me is the infrastructure. I know in Scotland there is a big filling station in Lockerbie but further north it’s very limited. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly.

Sam Clarke: The fundamental problem is that the technology is getting better but not at the speed at which we are being forced to make the changes, especially in your world of the bigger stuff.

They push you in one direction but the technology just isn’t there yet. It’s getting there but not at the speed you need.

Milton: I spoke to a technical expert who has just come back from the States, and he said he’d seen the future, which was a Nikola hydrogen 1,000hp tractor unit. It has big power and no emissions.

Robinson: There are a few hydrogen buses now, but they are still monumentally expensive. The problem with hydrogen is that from an energy point of view it’s a basket case. You need to be swimming in renewable energy, enough to waste it producing and storing hydrogen and then turning it back into electricity on the vehicle.

Allera: Sam’s a pioneer. One of the biggest concerns that anybody would have with battery electric vehicles currently is range. To achieve the range, I believe the future is possibly electric with hydrogen.

Sam Clarke: I’ve been driving electric vehicles for 15 years, and range anxiety is going to be around for a very long time. But now my issue is not range anxiety as much as charge anxiety – the ability to recharge is equally as worrying as the range of the vehicles themselves.

A major issue is that it’s predominantly a self-employed industry and the guys take the trucks home. A lot of them do not have access to on-street or off-street charging, and even if they did, an electric Daily is £90,000. It’s ridiculous.

But lack of grid capacity to charge EVs is a myth. We’ve got 60 smart charge points which is the second largest privatelyowned smart charging infrastructure in the country. All our vehicles are charged by 10pm. With smart charging we can charge very quickly but actually we don’t need to.

McGrae: We have an interesting problem as well. We run a lot of 8-wheel rigids. What you’ve got is lots of focus on gas for big trucks, electric for small vehicles and we’re in the middle. We’ve got nothing because neither actually works for our operation.

The manufacturers aren’t going to look at our market, specifically, because it’s not big enough.

Campbell: There is another fuel option, which would work for Euro-6. Diesel engines will run on ethanol with the right additives. That’s a clean biofuel. Obviously, you don’t get any benefits in air quality but it does give you a big carbon saving.

Bioethanol is very much an option.

Hobson: Thank you all for taking the time to attend today’s roundtable and thank you to Fraikin for sponsoring it. ■ 26.11.18

19/11/2018 16:00:04

Sustainable fuels for thought...

LNG and BioLPG. Perfect for any size of fleet to cut costs and emissions.

Find us on stand S01, and ask us how.

www.calor.co.uk/transport

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22/11/2018 10:19:28