Motor Transport 27 November 2017

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

27.11.17

FUTURE FUEL Gas: the way forward for low carbon transport?

November 2017

THE NEW SCANIA

Taking the Flach IVECO’s line up of gas vehicles

Further acquisitions likely as haulier buys Dooley Rumble to boost logistics operations The latest developments in the UK’s growing natural gas refuelling network

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Dolan’s national bid X

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SEE INSIDE: Our gas vehicle supplement sponsored by Iveco

NEWS INSIDE Eyes to the South

Universal Tanker Group plans southern expansion p3

Lost concern

Level of UK cargo thefts is worrying industry p6

Ports in a storm

FTA calls for viable customs system post-Brexit p12

OPERATORS IN THIS ISSUE Aggregate Industries ............................p6 AO.com ..............................................p10 Bowker Group .....................................p26 Ceva Logistics ....................................p10 CitySprint .............................................p6 Environcom ..........................................p6 James Kemball ....................................p6 Tesco .................................................p32 Universal Tanker Group .........................p3 Wincanton .........................................p30

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By Carol Millett

Cambridge-based James Dolan Group has bought Ipswich haulage firm Dooley Rumble. The deal comes 18 months after it snapped up Green & Skinner (Haulage).

Speaking to MT, group MD James Dolan said the deal, which brings the group’s turnover to more than £10m, is part of a strategy to create a national logistics business.

UPN member Dooley Rumble, which provides distribution, warehousing and freight forwarding, was established 30 years ago by former directors Neil Dooley and Simon Rumble.

Dolan added: “I am proud to have secured two of the most iconic logistics companies in the region. These acquisitions are a positive move for the group, and we are looking forward to the opportunities and benefits

they will bring. The expertise of each company complements each other well and by bringing the two together we can expand our capabilities and resources to benefit our customers.”

He said that Green & Skinner, which is also based in Ipswich, will move to the

larger Dooley Rumble site as soon as possible. Dolan told MT the firm is on the hunt for further acquisitions. “I have six prospective acquisitions on my desk right now,” he said.

He added that he is looking to make purchases in key locations such as Manchester and as far afield as Scotland to

strengthen the company’s national offering.

Candidates for acquisition must meet strict criteria, Dolan said. This includes an annual pre-tax profit of more than £50,000, sustainable sales and strong cash generation, and low or no debt, unless it can be strategically justified.

Both acquisitions were financed by internal funding, Dolan said, adding that additional finances had been generated by working with Close Brothers to refinance assets.

Dolan said the group’s acquisition spree is driven by the amount of owners in haulage reaching retirement age with no successor in place.

“The opportunities are there and we are not the only company doing that but, unlike others, we are not funded by venture capitalists,” he said.

Home deliveries are taking toll on nation’s health The boom in home deliveries is affecting the nation’s health and must be dealt with, according to Stephen Holgate, clinical professor of immunopharmacology at the University of Southampton.

Holgate, who was giving evidence to the joint committee hearing into air quality, issued the warning to MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee;

Environmental Audit Committee; Health Committee; and Transport Committee following the chancellor’s decision not to raise fuel duty or increase VED for CVs. “White van man is the one area [in terms of pollutants] that is going to increase as more people shop online. It’s a big issue and needs to be dealt with. No one is criticising the van, it’s what they are burn-

ing while they are delivering that’s the problem,” he said.

London mayor Sadiq Khan told the committee that the T-Charge introduced in October was a loss-maker but important in changing behaviour and a precursor to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). “The ULEZ will cost us but over time it will bring in revenue, which we’ll ringfence,” he said.

Focus: Politics p13 Highwayman p14 MT Top 100 p19 Interview: Neil Bowker p26 Finance p28 MT Awards Winners p30-33

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23/11/2017 09:20:15

News

motortransport.co.uk

Ambitious merged companies plan new depot in Swindon to boost waste and fresh water supply services

Universal Tanker eyes expansion

By Chris Druce

Middlesbrough-based Waters Waste Services has merged with Universal Tanker Solutions, which operates from St Helens in Merseyside.

The merger has resulted in the creation of the Universal Tanker Group, although the respective brands will remain,

BFGoodrich readies Tyre manufacturer BFGoodrich is entering the UK truck tyre market from January next year.

The company, known for its off-road specialism, sells more than 1.6 million tyres a year globally, except in Europe.

Guy Heywood, commercial director at BFGoodrich for the UK and Ireland, said: “This is one of the most significant new brand launches into the CV tyre market for years.”

and is the first step in the firm’s national expansion.

Although the group provides some emergency response services, the mainstay of its business is waste services and supplying fresh water for portable cabins, mainly in the construction industry.

The combined group has

40 vacuum tankers, with Whale Tankers and Sayers Road Tankers the main suppliers. Traction is supplied by a mainly rigid fleet of 26- to 32-tonners from DAF and Volvo. Annual group turnover will be approximately £10m with 50 employees.

Depots in Teesside, St

Helens, Newcastle upon Tyne, Doncaster, Bromsgrove, Milton Keynes, Beaconsfield and Dartford will soon be joined by a Swindon location.

Waters Waste Services transport and business manager Tom Waters said: “We’re family-run companies that share an ethos of putting

the customer first. We’re expanding as our customers – many of which are national – want us to replicate our services in the South.”

MD Simon Gunn and son Toby Gunn are directors of the group, and Waters Waste principal Neal Waters has become northern regional manager.

HIGH VOLTAGE: Tesla has promised a viable long-distance electric heavy haulage tractor unit after unveiling its Semi truck at an event in California. Despite scepticism over the ability of electric trucks to haul heavy loads over long distances, Tesla claimed its megachargers – high-speed DC charging devices – could supply 500 miles of range with a 36-tonne load in 30 minutes charge time. It suggested this could be done during loading, unloading, or driver breaks, although the charging infrastructure does not yet exist. The motors – two driving each of the truck’s two drive axles – are derived from the technology in its Model 3 car and, due to there being no engine or transmission to repair and maintain, Tesla claimed its product will require less maintenance than a conventional truck. It added that the battery should be good for one million miles. Production is claimed to start in 2019.

06:30 06.30… For CSRs Andrew Butler and Shaun Weston the shift won’t start for another hour, but it’s dedication to keeping their customers informed, with good news or bad that gets them on the phone early doors; that’s fantastic service in action – whatever the time.

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Rock ‘n Roll It takes a special truck to deal with gruelling and punishing terrain like this.

And with options including Enhanced Hill Hold and Clutch on Demand, the Scania XT can handle it. Every time.

Get the full picture at www.scania.co.uk/xt

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23/11/2017 09:23:32

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23/11/2017 09:23:47

News

motortransport.co.uk

CLEANING UP: Ryder has supplied Environcom with a steel-bodied Montracon tipper, a BMI moving floor trailer and a DAF CF460 tractor with AS Tronic transmission, Space Cab and dual-control power take-off. The equipment will be used on the recycling specialist’s work transporting bulk recycled material and Ryder will service and maintain them. Carl Sylvester, general manager of Environcom’s Grantham site, said: “We previously used third-party hauliers to handle bulk recycled material, but decided to take care of this work ourselves. After gaining an environmentally friendly way to dispose of polyurethane that would normally be landfilled, we needed to ensure this product arrived at customers’ premises totally free of any contamination.”

Survey reveals value of reported thefts in September across Europe and Middle East

Level of cargo losses in UK causes concern

By Carol Millett

Almost 70% of reported cargo losses across Europe and the Middle East in September occurred in the UK, according to the Transported Asset Protection Association.

The figures are revealed in TAPA’s latest survey of cargo losses across 11 European and Middle Eastern countries.

While TAPA acknowledged that some of the other countries in the survey may not be as vigilant in recording cargo losses, it said the figures revealed a serious problem with cargo thefts in the UK. This, it added, is costing hauliers and their clients millions of pounds a year.

Of the 165 new losses recorded in September, 114 took place in the UK, account-

ing for 69.1% of the monthly total, according to TAPA. In comparison, Germany recorded 23 incidents in the same period.

TAPA said that year on year the value of cargo losses across the 11 countries rose nearly 16% to £6.19m, with the average loss value for September 2017 standing at £47,900.

The most valuable cargo losses in the UK in September included the theft of a consignment of trainers worth more than £235,000 from a truck parked at Raunds in Northamptonshire; mobile phones valued at more than £230,000 stolen from a moving truck en route from Leicestershire to the West Midlands; and the theft of a tractor unit and a semi-trailer loaded with wine

and spirits valued at more than £210,000 from a secured yard in Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset.

Nine out of a further 16 thefts with a value of between £50,000 and £100,000 occurred in the UK. This included the loss of nearly £70,000-worth of electrical goods at the Toddington motorway service area in Bedfordshire on 6 September, when thieves cut the curtain sides of a number of trucks.

TAPA said that of the total number of incidents reported across the 11 countries in September, 76.3% occurred when trucks stopped in unsecured parking locations.

Earlier this year, TAPA launched a secure parking programme, which includes

an online parking tool to help members identify TAPAapproved parking locations.

It is also offering an e-learning course in association with world transport association IRU to help drivers prevent cargo theft, illegal immigration and smuggling.

IRU programme development head Pierre Miranda said: “We estimate that truck drivers are approximately six times more likely to get physically assaulted than injured in a road accident. Neverthe-less, the average carrier is more aware of road safety than security threats. There is a common misconception that security is an issue affecting only companies transporting high-value goods, when it affects all types of freight transport.”

Aggregate demands subbies have bronze Aggregate Industries will expect all its subcontractors to have at least bronze level FORS accreditation by March 2018.

The move will affect more than 600 subcontractors, although Aggregate will pay 20% of the annual FORS subscription fee for those in the scheme.

It added that successful FORS bronze audit passes would ensure subcontractors are no longer subject to its internal audit procedure.

ASOS is on the dot CitySprint’s On the dot service has expanded its same-day delivery contract with online retail giant ASOS. Six weeks after it began fulfilling same-day orders in London, On the dot has rolled the service out to postcodes in Leeds and Manchester. Deliveries can be made on the same day for £9.95 if an order is placed before 10am.

LOADED: Felixstowe haulier James Kemball has made a “multi-million pound” investment in a new loaded container storage depot at the Port of Felixstowe, as part of plans to expand its client base. James Kemball said the depot will allow it to offer state-of-the-art facilities and additional services to customers, which include retailers, shipping lines and freight forwarders. The 5-acre depot, which has capacity for more than 1,600 loaded containers, has Kalmar reachstackers, offering Felixstowe’s largest container weight lifting capacity outside the port, according to the operator.

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27.11.17

23/11/2017 11:02:56

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23/11/2017 10:17:34

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23/11/2017 09:27:05

Take it to the Limit Tough, rugged and robust the Scania XT can handle it, no matter what. And with a choice of P, G, R and S-cabs and any engine from Scania’s highly fuel-efficient range, there’s an XT model to suit every application.

Get the full picture at www.scania.co.uk/xt

performance redefined AD_271117__P8.indd 9

23/11/2017 09:27:17

News

motortransport.co.uk

Gas refuelling network development should drive keener and transparent pricing for hauliers

Gas price transparency urged

By Carol Millett

As the UK’s natural gas refuelling network expands –giving operators more choice of where to fill up – some stations using more expensive refuelling technology may be forced to close, experts have warned.

The business case for buying gas trucks depends heavily on the price operators pay for the fuel, so cheaper stations will see volumes increase faster than those charging more.

Steve Carroll, head of transport at the Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell technologies (Cenex), a notfor-profit consultancy, would like to see greater transparency on gas pricing. He points out that only one station advertises its prices online.

As a rule of thumb, Carroll told MT, lower-cost stations are CNG grid-connected ones, particularly CNG Fuels’ Leyland station. This is connected to the National Gas Grid via a local transmission system (LTS), providing gas

at a higher pressure of 20 bar, which makes it much cheaper to raise the pressure to the 200 bar required to fuel trucks.

He added that LCNG stations, which compress LNG, shipped to site, into CNG, are likely to be the most expensive, while LNG station prices vary, depending on how close they are to the LNG terminal on the Isle of Grain.

As more LTS-connected sites are developed, prices should come down, said Celine Cluzel, Element Energy associate director.

“The high-pressure points [on the gas grid] create opportunities for high-capacity stations delivering costcompetitive gas to hauliers.

Our research shows that the station operator will pay back its station two years earlier if connected to the high-pressure, compared with the medium-pressure network,” she said.

Carroll said the challenge for hauliers is to plan their fleet around lower-cost gas stations,

pointing out that companies on the Low Carbon Truck Trial did exactly that.

“A poorly used station will become uneconomic and potentially close – or be mothballed until vehicle activity picks up. That’s why it is important the number of gas vehicles increases so as to have

a network with thousands of gas vehicles and multiple stations along the same routes.

“A few did close down on the Low Carbon Truck Trial, which meant some operators weren’t able to refuel. The more gas used, the cheaper and more robust the network becomes for everyone, and the

better the residual values of the vehicles giving certainty on the economic operating model.”

■ For more details on gas vehicles and refuelling stations, see our Ivecosponsored supplement published with this edition of MT.

FTA warns against making London Ceva renews supply chain even more complex with Nutricia

RIGID REFRESHMENT: AO.com is predicting a significant cut in running costs after refreshing its fleet with 80 new rigid trucks. Built by Tiger Trailers, the rigid bodies, which are mounted on 7.5-tonne Mercedes-Benz Atego chassis, are designed to improve fuel efficiency by improving aerodynamics. The rigid bodies’ design also ensures weight is kept to a minimum by using aluminium in the bearers, chassis runners and in the panels of the rear roller door, and ultra-thin Ecofont side panels. The vehicles, which will operate seven days a week, making between 30 and 40 drops a day of large volume white goods, are also fitted with slam locks on the rear roller doors. The trucks have been taken on three- and five-year leases from Ciceley Commercials.

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The FTA has cautioned against adding further complexity to the London supply chain after TfL went live with its latest Direct Vision Standard (DVS) consultation.

TfL is seeking responses to its proposal to introduce a Safety Permit Scheme as part of the DVS, a move that could see the standard recognise efforts made by the industry regarding fitting camera and sensor systems to HGVs. The DVS will rate HGVs depending on the level of a driver’s direct vision from a cab. HGVs will be given a rating between zero and five stars.

Zero-rated vehicles will be banned from 2020, and three stars will be required in London by 2024.

However, the proposed permit would mitigate this, allowing HGVs over 12 tonnes

to continue operating in London past 2020 with certain safety equipment fitted.

TfL also confirmed the star ratings of vehicles would be published following feedback from the consultation, something the RHA attacked.

FTA head of policy for London Natalie Chapman said: “The narrow focus on direct vision was the wrong one and we are glad the proposals now being consulted on recognise the technical solutions that are available, and the improvements firms have already made.”

She added: “While the safe system proposal is a move in the right direction, the new permit scheme has the potential to make the regulatory environment in London even more complex.”

The consultation runs until 24 January.

Ceva Logistics has kept its drive into pharmaceuticals on the road after renewing a three-year transport and five-year warehousing deal with medical nutrition provider Nutricia.

The renewals coincide with the logistics firm opening its refurbished 132,000ft² facility at Redditch, which has been certified by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency as a safe and secure component of a medical supply chain.

Ceva will provide the warehousing and distribution of medical nutritional feed products for pharmaceutical wholesalers and home-bound patients.

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23/11/2017 12:27:53

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23/11/2017 09:28:45

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The FTA and RHA have issued warnings over a lack of a competent customs system

Ports in a storm

By Carol Millett

The road freight industry is in danger of being “thrown to the wolves” if the government fails to install a viable customs system in time for Brexit, the FTA has warned.

The caution came in response to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report: Brexit and the future of customs, published earlier this month.

The report raises concerns that HMRC’s current customs system is incapable of handling a predicted fivefold increase in customs declarations that Brexit will create.

It adds that HMRC’s new customs system, which is in development, will not be ready until January 2019 – just two months before the Brexit deadline.

Long time coming

HMRC has been working on the new system, known as the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), since 2014.

This will replace the outdated Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (Chief) system, which processes around 55 million import and export customs declarations each year.

Post-Brexit HMRC estimates customs declarations will rise to around 255 million a year.

The committee warned that if CDS is not in operation by the time the UK exits the EU

of business and the British public, it should be banging on the doors of the Treasury.”

The PAC report also criticised the lack of information available on HMRC’s website for traders, and questioned why HMRC has not made greater efforts to increase the number of Trusted Traders who are authorised to make customs declarations under simplified arrangements.

Extremely nervous in March 2019 and there is no contingency plan in place, the UK could suffer huge disruption, with lengthy queues at Dover resulting in food rotting in trucks at the border.

Its report calls on the government to provide sufficient funding to ensure CDS is up and running in time for Brexit, and that Chief is updated so it can operate as a back-up system capable of coping with the increase in customs declarations postBrexit, in the event of CDS being delayed.

It also wants HMRC to make CDS “one of its top priorities” and warned: “The UK cannot afford for this to go wrong.”

James Hookham, FTA deputy chief executive, told MT: “The government needs to throw money and resources at this to make sure it gets it right.

“It cannot skimp on this issue, and given that the timetable for Brexit is largely of the government’s own making it needs to support our businesses to make sure they do not get thrown to the wolves.”

Hookham said the concerns raised by the report give weight to the arguments for a transitional period, which would extend the Brexit deadline.

Lack of progress

The RHA criticised the government’s lack of progress on customs arrangements.

National policy director Duncan Buchanan said: “The government needs to get on and make the necessary arrangements so our members and their customers can start their own preparations.

“We need to know what to do in such a way that ensures fluidity through the ports for both importers and exporters

and we need to know what the arrangements are for the border with Ireland too and so far we see little progress on either.”

PAC chairwoman Meg Hillier MP warned that if the government failed to put in place a viable customs system before Brexit, it would “wreak havoc for UK business, trade and our international reputation. Confidence would collapse amid the potentially catastrophic effects”.

She added: “HMRC is under considerable pressure to deliver the new Customs Declaration Service in time, but it does not yet have funding to increase the capacity of CDS to deal with the consequences of Brexit, nor to develop contingency options.

This is deeply worrying.

“HMRC tells us it is merely in conversation over Chief upgrade costs when, on behalf

Kevin Hopper, MD of international haulier Brian Yeardley Continental, echoed PAC’s concerns and called for more information from the government.

“My customers, both in the UK and Europe, are extremely nervous about what Brexit will bring. What can I tell them to reassure them? What guarantees can I give them, when I do not know what the plan is and when no one in government appears to know what the plan is?

“And how do we tender for a contract that runs for three years when there is a big question mark around Brexit? Once those contracts are signed we are committed to giving that service for three years.

“We’ve got through many challenges in this industry over the years and I am not frightened of Brexit, but what does frighten me is the lack of information from government right now,” he said.

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Focus: Politics

Brexit questions linger as lorry park is shelved The government is showing a worrying lack of leadership in its approach to post-Brexit customs arrangements, according to the Home Affairs Committee’s report: Home Office delivery of Brexit: customs operations. The report highlights numerous shortcomings in the government’s preparations for trading when the UK leaves the EU. The Home Affairs Committee said it was dissatisfied with the answers to the “vitally important question: who is in charge”? It continued: “The government’s approach seems to lack focus, urgency and leadership. Any progress seems to rely on working groups of government officials, with no meaningful ministerial leadership.”

The committee recommended that a senior government minister should take the lead on post-Brexit customs arrangements, and that with multiple agencies and departments involved a “joined-up approach from government is urgently needed”.

The report also expressed deep concern that road haulage businesses do not have enough time or information to prepare for Brexit. It stated that the scenario that would cause the least upheaval for traders would be the government striking a deal with the EU that preserved current procedures at UK borders, and that the government should aim for this.

But, said the Home Affairs Committee, if no deal is reached traders are already up against the clock regarding preparation time and they cannot afford to lose any more.

Brexit secretary David Davis said he wants to reach an agreement on any transition period by the end of Q1 2018.

In response the select committee’s report said: “This timescale already poses immense difficulties if significant changes are required. If there is any further slippage to this timetable it will be extremely damaging to businesses.”

Institute of Directors head of EU and trade policy Allie Renison recently told the Treasury Committee and the International Trade Committee that businesses needed to know of any transitional arrangements by the end

of this year so they could make spending plans for the next financial year.

The committee also called for a “major contingency plan” in case the government does not reach a deal with the EU. “The country cannot afford no-deal arrangements to be left until the last minute,” the report said, and called on ministers to lay out a timetable for necessary decisions in early 2018.

The report welcomed the government’s plans to expand trusted trader and warehouse schemes, branding them “sensible”, but said that even this needed the government to provide businesses with “much more information immediately” about what these plans mean and require from them.

Lorry park U-turn

The government has pulled the plug on the planned lorry park in Stanford West, which was selected as a solution to the chronic congestion caused by Operation Stack.

The collapse of the planned lorry park contingency means there will be no alternative to Operation Stack until March 2019 at the earliest.

Former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne committed £250m to the site in 2015 to relieve congestion on the M20 when Operation Stack is in place, after a summer of disruption led to 30 days of queued HGVs on the motorway. However, campaigners against the site were granted a judicial review on the grounds that environmental impact assessment work at the location had been inadequate.

On 15 November transport minister Chris Grayling announced that plans to build the lorry park had been withdrawn, as the government could “no longer defend the judicial review”.

Grayling said the Df T is working on a new truck park in the area, which would be subject to a full environmental impact assessment and consider factors that had changed since Stanford West was selected in 2015. These include Brexit and the general parking shortage in Kent.

However, planning permission for this site is not expected to be filed until March 2019.

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27/10/2016 23/11/201709:13:36 12:03:10

Highwayman

motortransport.co.uk

What’s your name again?

If you have a story for Highwayman, send it to highwaymanMT@ gmail.com

Senior legal reporter Ashleigh Wight was dispatched to the salubrious Blackwall Tunnel area earlier this month to learn about the success of London’s Freight Enforcement Partnership.

A joint initiative from TfL, the Metropolitan Police Service, City of London Police and the DVSA, it sees officers target dangerously noncompliant drivers, vehicles and operators in the capital.

Two years after it was formed, it has now issued

more than 9,114 fixed penalty notices and traffic offence reports from more than 33,000 roadside vehicle checks.

However, Highwayman fears the team might be pushing themselves too hard and need a holiday. Despite Wight spending half an hour interviewing the Metropolitan Police’s inspector Alex Burlison, our reporter’s particulars were not duly noted, with Burlison later tweeting his thanks to urban editor Hayley Pink for attend-

LOOKALIKES? Ashleigh Wight (left) and Hayley Pink... or is it?

ing. Pink, who among other things is based in Yorkshire, enquired if our senior reporter had at least made her sound intelligent at the event.

It seems a switch to the CID might have to wait for Burlison, at least for now.

Keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone!

There was a lot of debate about safety at the Freight in the City Expo earlier this month, as you might expect. One point of discussion was what would happen as quiet er, alternativefuelled vehicles became more prevalent, especially those that are fully electric, given that so

many of us naughtily look at our phone screens when out and about.

Gnewt Cargo, which was exhibiting at the show, has a fleet of 100 electric vans in London, and co-founder Sam Clarke was asked during a panel discussion if his firm

had ever knocked anyone over in its nine-year history. “Only one person,” said Clarke. “To be fair, he was foreign and was looking the wrong way when crossing the road. He smashed the vehicle’s windscreen and was so apologetic he sent us a cheque to cover the damage.”

FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham considers the flow of trucks in and out of the UK after Brexit

Never mind the products Until now, all the Brexit talk has been about its effect on trade and goods movements and the rights of eastern European drivers to continue working and driving in the UK. These are still critical issues but at least they are now on the government’s agenda, and there may even be agreement on the right of EU citizens to stay in the UK after Brexit by the time you read this.

There remain many other matters to be sorted in the road transport sector, for Brexit to work smoothly. One of them is the ability for trucks to make international journeys into and out of the UK once the border is reimposed on 29 March 2019.

An unlimited number of these journeys is permitted under the EU’s Community Licence arrangements, but the UK leaves that community on Brexit day, and no community will mean no licences to journey freely across the EU any 14 MotorTransport MTR_271117_014.indd 14

longer. So what will replace them?

Freight flows

It was only 25 years ago that international road transport was governed by the permits and quotas issued under the ECMT rules, or under bilateral deals with individual countries. These were replaced by the open borders and Community Licences of the European Single Market in 1993. Back then, freight flows

between the UK and the EU were a fraction of what they are today, but with the number of Community Licences unlimited and freely available, the old ECMT permit limits have not kept pace with the explosion of UK-EU traffic that has taken place since. So, although they still exist as a fall-back option, the number of ECMT permits available is grossly inadequate to serve the current levels of trade.

The idea of a limit on the number of foreign trucks allowed to enter the UK on international journeys in a year may well appeal to some in the sector who see potential to reclaim work lost to cabotage. But those manufacturing and retail businesses reliant on high frequency, shortnotice crossings to keep them and their customers supplied,

will be horrified that the continuation of their just-in-time deliveries could depend on a first-come-firstserved allocation of a limited number of old-style international haulage permits.

Permit allocation

Of course, you would expect a relaxation on the number of international journeys permitted would be included in the new free trade deal, which the government wants to reach with the EU. The FTA understands this is indeed the intention. But the DfT will need to work on a plan B, because if no agreement is reached, or negotiations collapse and we have a no-deal Brexit, then the number of permits available to UK hauliers will cover only 5% of the number of journeys made last year.

Probably the only upside of that is that it will at least solve the problem of queues at the Port of Dover because there will be no point setting off in the first place.

Never mind the customs checks – no haulage permit means no crossing.

Without a deal on international road transport, ro-ro traffic to the continent and Ireland will effectively cease, no matter what agreements have been reached on trade and customs. This is, of course, an unthinkable – but so far unthought of – situation.

As the next stage of the UK-EU negotiations gets under way, both sides need to address the need to lift the restrictions on the number of international haulage permits available, to at least reflect the levels of activity. Or face the embarrassing outcome of reaching a new free trade agreement, but with no trucks to carry it out with.

27.11.17

23/11/2017 10:26:15

Viewpoint

motortransport.co.uk

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 Aftermarket editor Roger Brown 2168 Vans editor George Barrow 2156 Urban editor Hayley Pink 2165 Senior legal reporter Ashleigh Wight 2167 Reporter Emma Shone 2164 Group production editor Clare Goldie 2174 Chief sub-editor Rufus Thompson 2143 Key account managers Andrew Smith 07771 885874 Richard Bennett 07889 823060 Display telesales Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Group sales manager Julie McInally 2122 rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Sales director Vic Bunby 2121 Head of marketing Jane Casling 2133 Head of events/MT Awards Stephen Pobjoy 2135 Managing director Andy Salter 2171

Remote intervention is the future C Tom Blackie Head of automotive RealVNC

Editorial office Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170

ould future hauliers take remote control of commercial fleets?

The DVSA’s proposed earned recognition scheme for hauliers to share maintenance and tachograph data will usher in an era of targeted, preventative policing of road haulage.

The stringent criteria for earned recognition status – including minimum inspection pass rates of 95% and no more than a 5% infringement of drivers’ hours compliance – and the transparency it will bring to road safety, will spur a more hands-on style of fleet management.

Key to this will be enabling remote human intervention in vehicle fleets. Emerging remote access technology will give fleet managers the power to log in to trucks, and calibrate and fix environmental or safety defects in real-time to prevent infringements.

Auto technicians will soon be able to view dashboards and instrument clusters to see if, for example, a tyre pressure reading is inaccurate, and then connect to the vehicle to recalibrate the

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

THE NEW SCANIA

Artificial intelligence will never replace drivers Concept

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27.11.17

MTR_271117_015.indd 15

sensor and correct the reading. They can even intervene to fix faults affecting cargo safety; an impending breakdown in a refrigeration unit could be corrected by remotely triggering an emergency cooling system to keep food safe.

We are seeing evidence of an industry shift towards remote human intervention. One commercial vehicle manufacturer is building technology into its vehicles to allow technicians to remotely fix software on the road from anywhere.

With the UK due to start testing self-driving trucks, there are also other applications.

Autonomy kits for trucks will allow for remote ‘teleoperation’, enabling us to view onboard sensors and remotely guide vehicles to avoid accidents.

With the rise of data-driven policing and ultimately autonomous vehicles, fleet managers will increasingly use remote access to detect and correct faults on the road – just as corporate IT helpdesks use remote access strategies to offer IT support to a globally distributed workforce.

Steve Hobson Editor Motor Transport

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nformation technology – or should we call it artificial intelligence (AI) these days? – has undoubtedly led to some fantastic improvements in productivity and the ‘customer experience’, especially in parcels delivery.

But we should never lose sight of the vital role of human beings in customer service. This was brought home to me recently when a friend reported answering the door to find a driver from a leading parcels company with a delivery for him.

But the driver was four minutes early and the AI built into his handheld computer would not let him hand over the parcel until the appointed hour. So the pair stood shivering on the doorstep until computer say yes and he could sign for the delivery. That really is automated customer service gone mad.

Operators in areas where getting bad let alone good drivers is becoming almost impossible must yearn for the day when AI will replace drivers in autonomous vehicles. But let’s face it, drivers do much more than just drive.

Even assuming an autonomous truck could safely navigate from A to B without a deliberate or

accidental computer glitch sending it into a bus queue, who would then supervise the loading and unloading and get that all-important PoD signed?

Would hauliers trust the customer to be gentle with their precious £100,000 truck, sign an accurate PoD and send it on its way on time?

An item on BBC Radio 4 the other day asked which professions would be replaced soonest by AI and robots. In healthcare, for example, they will replace doctors faster than nurses because it is easier for a computer to replicate the diagnostic process than for a robot to replace the care provided by nurses.

By the same token, automated routeing and scheduling can replace transport planners quicker than robots will replace drivers.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, drivers are going to be around for a long time yet, so we had better start training the next generation now.

Got something to say?

If you would like to contribute to MT’s Viewpoint, email steve.hobson@roadtransport.com MotorTransport 15

23/11/2017 11:54:15

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23/11/2017 09:32:13 25/08/2017 09:20

Top 100 operators in the UK keep expanding, but average return on sales is under pressure. Is there a cost-base squeeze?

Big wheels keep on turning

O

n the face of it, the 100 largest road transport operators in the UK have had another successful year… however there’s a ‘but’. The good news: there’s plenty to be pleased about this year. On the most basic measures, average pre-tax profit is up 4.5% and the average number of people employed is up 75 to 3,406. These 100 companies contribute some £28bn to the overall economy of the UK, and employ some 340,500 people. There’s more to be glad about: 65 of the 100 businesses listed saw year-on-year increases in turnover.

Concerns over the Brexit state of the economy appear not to have stifled growth. Yet. The bad news: more than one third (35) of Top 100 companies saw year-on-year turnover fall and almost half (48) saw a year-on-year fall in pre-tax profit. That’s the largest number of pre-tax profit fallers since the recession, and way higher than the 38 that saw similar falls last year. This could be attributed to several reasons. Operators, particularly of the largest fleets, have splurged capital on new trucks like crazy since the introduction of Euro-6, and particularly in the past two years. There’s plenty of evidence from both the SMMT and the Office of the Traffic Commissioner to prove that.

Relinquishing some of that built-up cash on the balance sheet is no bad thing for the road transport industry at large, particularly if the

most logical assumption is that it is being spent on technology. That has resulted in an average return on sales of 2.98% – way below the 4.02% seen in last year’s survey. When the industry operates on wafer-thin margins such fluctuations are accentuated.

We’ll have to wait to see whether this profit position is long-term, or a one-off as the result of Euro-6. If it’s a new norm then the industry should have some concerns about its long-term profit and cost base.

And then there’s the acquisition activity. We expected a fair bit of churn in the Top 100 this

KEY AVERAGES Turnover latest Turnover previous year Profit latest Profit previous year Employees latest Employees previous year Sales per employee Changes in sales per employee Profit per employee Change in profit per employee Return on sales

£280,401,268 £277,015,403 £10,903,856 £10,393,486 3,406 3,331 £138,357 2.36% £6,061 1,253.78% 2.95%

year: we’ve said goodbye to Great Bear Distribution, NR Evans, Goldstar Transport and Macintyre Transport. These four have merged into parent entities Culina, NFT Distribution and Turners (Soham) respectively, thanks to the vagaries of corporate restructures and financial reporting. TNT and UK Mail remain separate listings, for now. FedEx’s integration of TNT continues slowly (see notes, p24), with both businesses remaining separate legal entities, whereas DHL is yet to fold UK Mail into the framework of the family just yet – expect more clarity as 2018 unfolds.

Outside of M&A activity there has still been some churn towards the bottom end of the rankings. There are eight new entries in the Top 100 this year, with operators in the £20m to £30m playing musical chairs. The difference between 100th and 101st (apologies to JBT Distribution) is about a semi-detached house in the South East, or £329,414 to the rest of us.

One thing we haven’t acknowledged is average turnover growth, which is up 1% year-on year. However, the Top 100 never adjusts for inflation. In 2016 (of which the majority of financial reporting in the Top 100 covers) UK inflation stood at 0.64%. So the market outgrew inflation, just. This year inflation stands at 2.58%. There is every chance that in real terms, the value of the Top 100 2018 could be much lower than this year’s iteration. ➜ 20

So many reasons to choose Goodyear.

27.11.17

MTR_271117_019.indd 19

MotorTransport 19

23/11/2017 11:18:48

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 4 5 6 8 7 11 9 13 10 26 14 15 12 16 18 17 19 20 23 21 28 22 24 25 34 31 27 30 36 39 33 32 37 35 38 43 57 41 44 40 45 55 46 47 48 50 78

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

Mar-17 Dec-16 Dec-16 Mar-16 Jan-17 Dec-16 Dec-16 Dec-15 Nov-16 Dec-16 Feb-16 Jun-16 Dec-16 Dec-16 Dec-16 Dec-16 Apr-17 Dec-16 Jun-17 May-16 Apr-17 Dec-16 Dec-16 Mar-16 Jan-16 Mar-16 Dec-16 Aug-16 Dec-15 Oct-16 Mar-16 Dec-16 Dec-16 Dec-16 Jun-16 Dec-16 Jul-16 Dec-16 Dec-16 Nov-16 Apr-16 Jun-16 Feb-16 Sep-16 Mar-16 Sep-16 Mar-16 Aug-15 Mar-16 Mar-16

7,658,000 4,035,769 1,257,210 1,118,100 1,089,382 944,927 809,640 717,699 570,200 528,449 510,369 505,713 420,700 416,678 394,484 366,087 340,100 313,608 291,900 253,035 231,123 224,593 200,774 200,037 194,471 190,731 180,691 175,661 169,396 165,310 149,991 130,337 119,013 114,716 111,625 111,410 105,930 102,463 98,952 97,804 96,304 76,124 74,097 71,172 64,344 64,232 61,071 58,776 56,776 56,589

411,000 116,559 34,903 45,000 169,860 62,321 31,386 -22,104 48,200 8,391 33,727 -58,249 19,500 17,707 16,147 7,605 16,100 27,346 -82,300 32,939 2,404 5,875 1,376 -6,504 8,396 4,286 8,058 12,238 11,217 6,550 5,155 6,060 4,623 -1,236 5,699 9,098 -442 1,255 678 -1,130 437 -1,279 1,554 7,172 4,263 2,638 2,915 2,713 2,676 -2,795

138,692 45,595 16,767 17,170 6,283 5,817 11,054 8,992 4,646 1,319 2,226 5,083 4,015 4,384 3,953 2,786 3,900 3,365 3,044 2,175 1,498 2,021 2,001 2,621 2,031 1,261 774 2,809 414 1,763 1,327 1,362 1,010 627 1,144 582 1,328 752 615 662 1,060 1,082 318 604 735 617 621 602 423 359

7,671,000 4,968,833 1,133,182 1,058,900 948,996 869,151 601,270 724,921 496,500 552,650 442,569 504,615 227,300 382,394 357,364 480,982 290,300 246,822 287,900 244,764 227,899 198,304 225,858 203,836 199,855 190,974 174,165 112,143 146,873 156,342 151,617 99,842 96,702 114,282 113,537 98,640 99,972 97,954 83,371 58,630 90,226 69,964 96,578 60,847 65,994 67,236 62,572 53,859 54,612 24,681

434,000 127,148 16,945 65,800 124,900 58,330 24,256 -16,721 44,500 -18,753 36,357 -61,419 8,800 18,231 15,177 15,023 13,100 22,334 -82,700 34,788 2,915 5,353 -6,913 4,443 9,558 4,109 10,870 9,297 6,751 6 3,675 3,815 4,780 -6,038 5,078 5,529 5,055 1,107 -2,210 -2,494 1,849 7,550 547 4,901 4,288 3,610 2,912 700 1,415 1,416

FuelMax. Drive further on less fuel.

20 MotorTransport MTR_271117_020-023.indd 20

27.11.17

23/11/2017 11:28:36

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

49 53 51 58 73 61 52 59 56 62 65 63 60 54 74 71 90 64 69 68 76 new 77 82 67 89 85 79 83 86 81 new 88 91 87 96 new new 85 84 99 93 new 98 80 94 100 new new new

Maxi Haulage Knights of Old Hargreaves Services - Transport Geodis UK Aspray Transport Moran Logistics ARR Craib Transport Currie International Solstor UK Lenham Storage R Swain & Sons Owens (Road Services) Abbey Logistics Group RT Keedwell (Holdings) Jack Richards & Son Boughey Distribution Panther Warehousing Rhys Davies & Sons Fred Sherwood & Sons (Transport) Advanced Supply Chain Group Lomas Distribution Warrens Warehousing and Distribution Grocontinental Countrywide Freight Group Brit European Transport Freightroute Montgomery Transport SJ Bargh STVA UK McBurney Refrigeration McPherson GBA Services Circle Express Bartrums Acumen Logistics Group ET Holdings (Evans and Seymour T’port) TJ Transport Carlson Vehicle Transfer Elddis Transport (Consett) Pollock (Scotrans) WM Armstrong (Longtown) Meachers Global Logistics AKW Group Alan Firmin White & Co H Sivyer Transport Saints Transport Bedfords Stan Robinson Group BP Mitchell Haulage Contractors

Sep-16 May-16 May-17 Dec-16 Dec-16 Sep-16 Mar-16 Dec-16 Sep-16 Aug-16 Dec-16 Jun-16 Jun-16 Oct-16 May-16 May-16 Dec-16 Aug-16 Mar-16 Nov-16 Jan-16 Dec-16 Oct-16 Mar-16 Dec-16 Dec-16 Sep-16 Apr-16 Dec-16 Dec-15 Jul-16 Dec-16 Oct-17 Dec-16 Dec-16 Mar-17 Dec-16 Dec-16 Dec-16 Aug-16 Mar-16 May-16 Jun-16 Apr-17 Jan-17 Mar-16 Dec-16 Oct-16 May-17 Jun-16

56,178 52,307 49,832 49,330 48,924 48,490 48,106 47,870 46,801 46,275 45,942 45,670 45,096 44,661 40,674 38,125 37,777 37,570 36,710 34,877 34,363 34,244 33,684 33,531 32,051 31,680 31,484 30,577 30,190 29,944 29,376 29,374 28,559 28,444 27,531 27,468 27,466 25,842 25,675 25,614 25,174 25,001 24,697 24,649 24,534 24,400 24,340 24,253 24,185 24,019

2,288 255 817 -4,248 779 1,771 1,307 -102 19 1,147 2,797 1,865 1,176 1,685 1,016 1,076 2,467 405 1,306 1,313 870 2,545 4,611 349 340 1,389 2,300 1,337 -110 1,789 1,977 455 -268 1,665 504 1,199 60 1,393 465 26 409 1,901 1,556 -1,136 -552 530 -525 -32 460 5,753

323 467 n/a 297 753 295 420 334 137 524 493 594 475 492 491 463 385 420 40 861 262 374 353 338 278 402 276 363 34 223 360 286 272 275 249 260 216 186 316 244 255 172 300 226 475 71 329 175 337 119

55,881 51,450 54,500 48,014 35,910 42,396 52,790 47,007 49,478 42,214 41,486 41,847 44,998 45,006 35,553 37,786 27,372 41,772 38,617 29,137 34,482 31,219 33,666 31,512 40,264 28,494 30,030 33,260 31,373 30,317 32,816 26,965 39,172 26,740 29,672 24,781 25,461 24,800 26,104 30,992 24,065 25,482 20,263 24,257 33,193 25,161 23,505 17,561 23,919 21,018

1,617 674 1,846 -3,117 1,071 1,426 1,800 371 793 636 2,742 1,835 905 1,885 951 759 1,216 375 1,603 1,377 868 1,996 4,010 42 -753 1,885 1,522 815 1,000 988 2,646 1,052 -396 1,820 821 1,600 644 2,198 553 -123 473 2,082 950 6,929 617 1,140 259 1,322 1,172 6,480

KMax. Delivers up to 35% more mileage.

27.11.17

MTR_271117_020-023.indd 21

MotorTransport 21

23/11/2017 11:29:13

GROWTH IN TURNOVER Turnover Overall Company or growth rank trading name rank 1 50 Redhead Freight

Latest year turnover (£000s) 56,588,558

Previous year turnover (£000s) 24,681,469

Growth in turnover (%) 129.28

Turnover Overall Company or growth rank trading name rank

Latest year turnover (£000s)

Previous year turnover (£000s)

Growth in turnover (%)

51

95

Saints Transport

24,340,268

23,505,181

3.55

2 3

13 40

Culina Logistics BCA Automotive

420,700,000 97,803,747

227,300,000 58,629,667

85.09 66.82

52 53

20 54

FedEx UK Geodis UK

253,035,000 49,330,461

244,764,000 48,014,411

3.38 2.74

4 5

28 97

Tuffnells Parcels Express Bedfords

175,661,000 24,253,124

112,143,000 17,560,885

56.64 38.11

54 55

58 52

Currie International Knights of Old

47,870,125 52,307,474

47,006,807 51,450,426

1.84 1.67

6 7

67 55

Panther Warehousing Aspray Transport

37,777,310 48,924,304

27,372,035 35,910,181

38.01 36.24

56 57

96 21

Alan Firmin Yusen Logistics (UK)

24,648,993 231,123,000

24,257,122 227,899,000

1.62 1.41

8 9

7 32

Kuehne + Nagel Langdon Group

809,640,000 130,337,000

601,270,000 99,842,000

34.65 30.54

58 59

19 98

DX Group Stan Robinson Group

291,900,000 24,185,048

287,900,000 23,918,713

1.39 1.11

10 11

18 33

Turners (Soham) Holdings Hoyer Petrolog UK

313,608,000 119,012,659

246,822,000 96,701,895

27.06 23.07

60 61

66 51

Boughey Distribution Maxi Haulage

38,125,000 56,178,282

37,786,000 55,880,848

0.90 0.53

12 13

92 70

AKW Group Advanced Supply Chain Group

24,697,032 34,876,677

20,262,817 29,136,748

21.88 19.70

62 63

34 63

Movianto Abbey Logistics Group

114,716,000 45,096,293

114,282,000 44,998,066

0.38 0.22

14 15

39 17

Europa Worldwide Logistics Clipper Logistics Group

98,951,819 340,100,000

83,371,204 290,300,000

18.69 17.15

64 65

12 72

Yodel Distribution Grocontinental

505,713,000 33,684,328

504,615,000 33,666,144

0.22 0.05

16 17

44 29

Howard Tenens Gefco

71,172,000 169,396,000

60,847,000 146,873,000

16.97 15.34

66 67

26 1

Harry Yearsley Royal Mail

190,730,616 7,658,000,000

190,974,479 7,671,000,000

-0.13 -0.17

18 19

11 9

Hermes Parcelnet Eddie Stobart Logistics

510,369,000 570,200,000

442,569,000 496,500,000

15.32 14.84

68 69

70 64

Lomas Distribution RT Keedwell

34,362,911 44,660,987

34,481,524 45,006,429

-0.34 -0.77

20 21

5 65

DPD Group UK Jack Richards & Son

1,089,382,000 40,673,851

948,996,000 35,552,946

14.79 14.40

70 71

8 79

TNT UK McBurney Refrigeration

717,699,000 29,944,474

724,921,000 30,316,514

-1.00 -1.23

22 23

56 99

Moran Logistics BP Mitchell Haulage Contractors

48,489,671 24,019,279

42,396,395 21,018,134

14.37 14.28

72 73

88 35

Elddis Transport (Consett) CM Downton (Haulage Contractors)

25,674,619 111,624,530

26,103,599 113,537,363

-1.64 -1.68

24 25

22 36

Maritime Transport Pentalver Transport

224,593,000 111,410,000

198,304,000 98,640,000

13.26 12.95

74 75

24 91

NFT Distribution Operations Meachers Global Logistics

200,037,000 25,001,000

203,836,000 25,482,000

-1.86 -1.89

26 27

75 3

Freightroute XPO Logistics

31,680,309 1,257,210,000

28,494,436 1,133,182,000

11.18 10.95

76 77

15 47

Ceva Logistics John G Russell

357,364,000 61,071,497

366,067,000 62,572,188

-2.38 -2.40

28 29

85 61

ET Holdings (Evans, Seymour T’port) 27,467,551 R Swain & Sons 45,941,879

24,780,683 41,485,702

10.84 10.74

78 79

45 25

Reed Boardall Group W H Malcolm

64,344,158 194,471,000

65,994,171 199,855,000

-2.50 -2.69

30 31

71 60

Warrens Warehousing and Dist Lenham Storage

34,243,604 46,275,030

31,219,031 42,214,428

9.69 9.62

80 81

94 78

H Sivyer (Transport) STVA UK

24,399,536 30,190,000

25,161,035 31,373,000

-3.03 -3.77

32 33

62 48

Owens (Road Services) Lloyd Fraser Holdings

45,669,754 58,776,478

41,847,404 53,859,433

9.13 9.13

82 83

10 46

Whistl UK Pickfords Move Management

528,449,000 64,232,285

552,650,000 67,235,760

-4.38 -4.47

34 35

14 81

Gist GBA Services

416,678,000 29,373,696

382,394,000 26,965,274

8.97 8.93

84 85

69 31

Fred Sherwood & Sons (Transport) Fowler Welch

36,710,159 143,991,000

38,617,452 151,617,000

-4.94 -5.03

36 37

42 6

PCL Transport 24/7 UPS

76,124,000 944,927,000

69,964,000 869,151,000

8.80 8.72

86 87

59 84

Solstor UK Acumen Logistics Group

46,800,745 27,531,237

49,477,868 29,672,099

-5.41 -7.22

38 39

86 41

T J Transport Suttons Group

27,466,491 96,304,380

25,461,080 90,226,499

7.88 6.74

88 89

77 53

S J Bargh Hargreaves Services – Transport

30,577,058 49,832,000

33,260,452 54,500,000

-8.07 -8.57

40 41

73 83

Countrywide Freight Group Bartrums

33,530,667 28,443,998

31,511,568 26,740,359

6.41 6.37

90 91

57 68

ARR Craib Transport Rhys Davies and Sons

48,106,000 37,569,631

52,790,000 41,772,368

-8.87 -10.06

42 43

37 30

Canute Haulage Gregory Distribution (Holdings)

105,930,000 165,310,000

99,972,000 156,342,000

5.96 5.74

92 93

80 23

McPherson Bibby Supply Chain Services

29,375,602 200,774,000

32,815,639 225,858,000

-10.48 -11.11

44 45

4 76

Wincanton Montgomery Transport

1,118,100,000 31,484,320

1,058,900,000 30,029,650

5.59 4.84

94 95

89 2

Pollock (Scotrans) DHL

25,614,231 4,035,769,000

30,991,768 4,968,833,000

-17.35 -18.78

46 47

90 38

WM Armstrong (Longtown) ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service)

25,173,614 102,462,708

24,065,353 97,954,282

4.61 4.60

96 97

74 43

Brit European FreshLinc (Spalding)

32,050,587 74,097,107

40,264,422 96,577,506

-20.40 -23.28

48 49

87 49

Carlson Vehicle Transfer Woodside Haulage (Holdings)

25,841,911 56,776,409

24,800,203 54,611,834

4.20 3.96

98 99

16 93

UK Mail White and Co

356,087,000 24,533,773

480,982,000 33,193,374

-25.97 -26.09

50

27

DSV Road

180,691,000

174,165,000

3.75

100

82

Circle Express

28,559,000

39,172,000

-27.09

TreadMax. The cost effective alternative to new.

22 MotorTransport MTR_271117_020-023.indd 22

27.11.17

23/11/2017 11:30:23

motortransport.co.uk

GROWTH IN PROFIT Latest rank

Company or trading name

£100m-plus turnover 30 10 13 23 3 34 29 36 32 31 5 28 7 17 18 38 35 22 9 6 15 12 26 19 14 33 1 20 11 2 25 21 27 4 8 16 37 24

Gregory Distribution (Holdings) Whistl UK Culina Group Bibby Supply Chain Services XPO Logistics Movianto Gefco Pentalver Transport Langdon Group Fowler Welch DPDgroup UK Tuffnells Parcels Express Kuehne + Nagel Clipper Logistics Group Turners (Soham) ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) Maritime Transport Eddie Stobart Logistics UPS Ceva Logistics Yodel Distribution Harry Yearsley DX Group Gist Hoyer Petrolog UK Royal Mail FedEx UK Hermes Parcelnet DHL W H Malcolm Yusen Logistics DSV Road Wincanton TNT UK UK Mail Group Canute Haulage NFT Distribution Operations

Latest year pre-tax profit (£000s)

Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s)

Growth in profit (%)

6,550 8,391 19,500 1,376 34,903 -1,236 11,217 9,098 6,060 5,155 169,860 12,238 31,386 16,100 27,346 1,255 5,699 5,875 48,200 62,321 16,147 -58,249 4,286 -82,300 17,707 4,623 411,000 32,939 33,727 116,559 8,396 2,404 8,058 45,000 -22,104 7,605 -442 -6,504

6 -18,753 8,800 -6,913 16,945 -6,038 6,751 5,529 3,815 3,675 124,900 9,297 24,256 13,100 22,334 1,107 5,078 5,353 44,500 58,330 15,177 -61,419 4,109 -82,700 18,231 4,780 434,000 34,788 36,357 127,148 9,558 2,915 10,870 65,800 -16,721 15,023 5,055 4,443

109,066.67 144.74 121.59 119.9 105.98 79.53 66.15 64.55 58.85 40.27 36 31.63 29.39 22.9 22.44 13.37 12.23 9.75 8.31 6.84 6.39 5.16 4.31 0.48 -2.87 -3.28 -5.3 -5.32 -7.23 -8.33 -12.16 -17.53 -25.87 -31.61 -32.19 -49.38 -108.74 -246.39

2,713 1,554 678 2,676 -1,130 7,172 2,288 2,915 4,263 2,638 255 437 -1,279

700 547 -2,210 1,415 -2,494 4,901 1,617 2,912 4,288 3,610 674 1,849 7,550

287.57 184.1 130.68 89.12 54.69 46.34 41.5 0.1 -0.58 -26.93 -62.17 -76.37 -116.94

£50m-£100m turnover 48 43 39 49 40 44 51 47 45 46 52 41 42

Lloyd Fraser Holdings Freshlinc (Spalding) Europa Worldwide Logistics Woodside Haulage (Holdings) BCA Automotive Howard Tenens Storage & Distrib Maxi Haulage John G Russell (Transport) Reed Boardall Group Pickfords Move Management Knights of Old Suttons Group PCL Transport 24/7

27.11.17

MTR_271117_020-023.indd 23

Latest rank

Company or trading name

50

Redhead Freight

Latest year pre-tax profit (£000s) -2,795

Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s) 1,416

Growth in profit (%) -297.39

349 340 2,467 1,147 1,337 2,300 1,076 1,176 2,545 1,771 4,611 405 1,016 2,797 1,865 870 1,313 1,685 1,306 1,389 779 1,307 -4,248 817 19 -110 -102

42 -753 1,216 636 815 1,522 759 905 1,996 1,426 4,010 375 951 2,742 1,835 868 1,377 1,885 1,603 1,885 1,071 1,800 -3,117 1,846 793 1,000 371

730.95 145.15 102.88 80.35 64.05 51.12 41.77 29.94 27.51 24.19 14.99 8 6.83 2.01 1.63 0.23 -4.65 -10.61 -18.53 -26.31 -27.26 -27.39 -36.28 -55.74 -97.6 -111 -127.49

26 1,789 1,556 -268 1,665 1,901 5,753 409 465 1,199 1,977 1,393 504 530 455 460 60 -32 -1,136 -552 -525

-123 988 950 -396 1,820 2,082 6,480 473 553 1,600 2,646 2,198 821 1,140 1,052 1,172 644 1,322 6,929 617 259

121.14 81.07 63.79 32.32 -8.52 -8.69 -11.22 -13.53 -15.91 -25.06 -25.28 -36.62 -38.61 -53.51 -56.75 -60.75 -90.68 -102.42 -116.39 -189.47 -302.7

£30m-£50m turnover 74 75 67 60 78 77 66 63 72 56 73 68 65 61 62 71 70 64 69 76 55 57 54 53 59 79 58

Countrywide Freight Group Brit European Transport Panther Warehousing Lenham Storage SJ Bargh Montgomery Transport Boughey Distribution Abbey Logistics Group Warrens Warehousing and Distribution Moran Logistics Grocontinental Rhys Davies & Sons Jack Richards & Son R Swain & Sons Owens (Road Services) Lomas Distribution Advanced Supply Chain Group RT Keedwell (Holdings) Fred Sherwood & Sons (Transport) Freightroute Aspray Transport ARR Craib Transport Geodis UK Hargreaves Services - Transport Solstor UK STVA UK Currie International

£10m-£30m turnover 90 80 93 83 84 92 100 91 89 86 81 88 85 96 82 99 87 98 94 95 97

Pollock (Scotrans) McBurney Refrigeration AKW Group Circle Express Bartrums Meachers Global Logistics BP Mitchell Haulage Contractors WM Armstrong (Longtown) Elddis Transport (Consett) ET Holdings (Evans and Seymour T’port) McPherson Carlson Vehicle Transfer Acumen Logistics Group H Sivyer Transport GBA Services Stan Robinson Group TJ Transport Bedfords Alan Firmin White & Co Saints Transport

MotorTransport 23

23/11/2017 11:31:19

NOTES TO TABLES The rankings were finalised on 1 November 2017. 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 2016, unless otherwise stated. Business considered for entry are taken from O-licence data sourced from the Office of the Traffic Commissioners. 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.

■ Aspray Transport has changed the period of its financial year, so its performance reflects an 18-month trading period from January 2015 to June 2016.

■ Bartrums comprises Bartrums Haulage and Storage and Bartrums Road Services.

■ BCA Automotive comprises Walon and Paragon Automotive Logistics. BCA Marketplace, parent company to Walon, acquired Paragon in July 2016. In bringing together the financial years of both businesses, the latest year refers to the 16 month period to 31 March 2016, while the previous year accounts for the 12 months to 30 November 2015 in the case of Paragon. In the case of Walon the latest year refers to the 16 months to 3 April 2016, while the previous year accounts for the nine months to 30 November 2014. We accept that this is an imperfect methodology but, given the data available, it has been done to give a reflection of the true size of the whole business.

■ Bedfords results are taken from SP & PL Holdings, the holding company for Bedfords, RPL Logistics and Linq Alliance. The year runs from 28 September 2015 to 2 October 2016, while the previous year results have been restated. It said that the drop from profit to loss was due to the previous year pre-tax profit position benefiting from the sale of a significant asset.

■ Brit European reflects the performance of parent company Carman (Holdings).

■ Circle Express has filed two sets of accounts since the 2016 Motor Transport Top 100, with the previous financial year running from November 2014 to March 2015.

■ Culina Group consists of Culina Logistics, Great Bear Distribution, Integrated Packing Services, Morgan McLernon and CML F&L (Telford). The data in the Top 100 was supplied by the company.

■ DHL comprises DHL Supply Chain; Exel UK; Tradeteam and DHL International (UK) – which trades as DHL Express. DHL Supply Chain and Exel UK saw turnover of £3.09bn and £47.4m respectively, and combined its supply chain activities would still rank second in the Top 100 as a business on its own. Turnover at Supply Chain fell from £4.01bn, attributable to a change in the way its NHS Supply Chain contract reports revenue. Pre-tax profit at Supply Chain fell from £108.1m in 2015 to £99.4m in 2016.

Turnover in Exel UK dropped from £129.3m in the same trading period, with pre-tax profit rising to £1.6m from £521,000. The business continues to renew consumer and retail contracts reported in its Exel UK and Tradeteam divisions in DHL Supply Chain where possible. Tradeteam saw turnover fall from £118m to £106.4m with pre-tax profit falling from £2.7m to £441,000. It would rank 37th in the Top 100 as an individual business. DHL International (UK) saw turnover rise 11.9% to £795.7m, from £711.1m in 2015. Pre-tax profit fell to £15m from £15.8m. It would rank eighth in the Top 100 as a standalone business. DHL acquired UK Mail in December 2016, but has yet to incorporate a full year of trading as a subsidiary. As a result, this year we have left UK Mail out of the equation when it comes to DHL’s overall business in the UK. We have also excluded the performance of its Freight Forwarding activities in the UK.

pre-tax profit and employee numbers are based on combining the performance of NFT Distribution Operations (year-ending 1 March 2016) and NR Evans & Son (year to 31 August 2016). The same approach has been taken for the previous year of trading – even though both businesses were trading separately. We accept that this is an imperfect methodology but it has been done to give a reflection of the true size of the whole business.

■ FedEx UK: see TNT UK.

■ TNT UK has not updated at Companies House since the Top 100 was published in 2016. While FedEx’s acquisition of TNT Express was completed in May 2016 both TNT and FedEx UK remain separate legal entities reporting for very different trading periods – for the year-ending December 2015 and June 2016 respectively. As a result it would not be a fair reflection of the trading performance of the business to simply combine the two entities into one entry in the Motor Transport Top 100. Globally FedEx has been integrating TNT Express on a country by country basis, completing 64 countries in financial year 2017, and is moving onto larger, more complex markets in 2018.

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

■ 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 (£723.9m in 2016, compared with £809.6m in 2015) has been excluded to best reflect the domestic road freight related contributions to the business – much in the same way that turnover contributions from similar business lines at XPO Logistics and DHL have been excluded. Its Contract Logistics division had a turnover of £516.7m (up from £389m). However, as K+N does not split the divisions into separate legal entities, we have been unable to break down pre-tax profit and employee numbers in the same way. Therefore, and unfortunately, profit contributions and employee figures include its international freight forwarding business. Were we to list K+N Contract Logistics as a separate business, it would have a turnover of £389m and rank 15th. K+N Drinks Logistics had a turnover of £212.2m in 2015 and would rank 23rd on the list.

■ Lloyd Fraser Holdings has not updated at Companies House since the Top 100 was published in 2016.

■ Redhead Freight: on 1 February 2016 Schenker AG purchased a 75% stake in Redhead Holdings, subsequently the land division of Schenker UK was integrated into Redhead Freight with the Redhead management targeted at eradicating the substantial losses of the division and turning it into a profit. The previous year reflects the performance of Redhead Freight in the nine months to 31 December.

■ Turners (Soham) Holdings’ most recent financial year ran from 3 January 2016 to 31 December 2016, and is compared to the trading period that ran from 4 January 2015 to 2 January 2016. The figures excluded turnover and operating profit contributions from its park homes division. It also includes contributions from the two container hauliers it acquired in 2016: Macintyre Transport and Goldstar Transport (Holdings).

■ UK Mail: see DHL. UK Mail’s most recent financial year was for the nine months ending 31 December 2016 as it brings its reporting in line with that of DHL.

■ McBurney Refrigeration has not updated at Companies House since the Top 100 was published in 2016.

■ 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.

■ NFT Distribution comprises NFT Distribution Operations and NR Evans & Son. NFT Distribution Holdings subsidiary Homecrest Bidco acquired NR Evans (Holdings) on 15 July 2016 for £14.8m. The turnover,

■ Yodel Distribution includes subsidiaries Arrow XL and Arrow XL (Scotland). Were Arrow XL to be a separate business it would have a turnover of £82.9m and a pre-tax profit of £2.7m ranking 42nd in the Top 100.

Proven record of working with Top 100 fleets.

24 MotorTransport MTR_271117_024-235 new.indd 24

27.11.17

23/11/2017 12:48:03

motortransport.co.uk

Fleet by numbers The data opposite is based on O-licence data supplied by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in September. It is a measure of the number of vehicles specified on each O-licence held by operators on the list and is a snap-shot in time.

We advise readers that this is a guide, and not a precise metric of the number of vehicles on each fleet. For example, in some cases 3PLs operate DCs, but not vehicles, for a client. This means the 3PL is the O-licence holder for the site, but the client owns the vehicles and is responsible for the transport manager CPC holders: it all depends on the nature of the contract.

As the lists are of specified, not allocated, vehicles on an O-licence it does not take into account fleet assets that are supplied on a rental, leased or contract hire basis, or where fleet assets are outsourced to a third party. The split between own-account and hire and reward operators is not based on the operator holding a restricted or standard national/ international O-licence, but on MT’s judgement of the nature of the business.

TOP 50 HIRE AND REWARD OPERATORS BY FLEET

TOP 50 OWN-ACCOUNT OPERATORS BY FLEET

Rank 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

Rank 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

Operator name No of vehicles specified DHL 6,858 Royal Mail Group 3,700 Wincanton Group 3,404 XPO Logistics 3,277 FedEx UK 2,346 UPS 2,163 Eddie Stobart Logistics 1,794 Turners (Soham) 1,784 Kuehne + Nagel 1,382 DPDgroup UK 1,327 Gist 1,205 Maritime Transport 1,068 Ceva Logistics 884 BCA Automotive * 737 Gregory Distribution 709 NFT Distribution 678 Tuffnells Parcels Express 665 Yodel and Arrow XL 631 Bibby Supply Chain Services 582 CM Downton (Haulage Contractors) 567 Hermes 562 ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) 542 Culina Logistics 530 Hoyer Petrolog UK 441 DX Group 435 Suttons Group 433 Fowler Welch 414 Nagel Langdons 403 Canute 387 WH Malcolm 358 Abbey Logistics 341 Aspray Transport 338 Clipper Logistics 334 R Swain & Sons 332 Jack Richards & Son 320 DFDS Logistics Services 290 Yusen Logistics (UK) 272 Freshlinc 271 Owens (Road Services) 269 UK Mail 257 Lomas Distribution 239 ARR Craib Transport 229 James Kemball 229 PCL Transport 24/7 214 Moran Logistics 212 Stan Robinson (Stafford) 197 Clarke Transport 187 Freightroute 180 B Taylor & Sons (Transport) 179 Palletways (UK) 173

* Supplied by company

Operator name No of vehicles specified Veolia 2,832 Biffa Waste Services 2,362 Travis Perkins 2,118 Tesco Distribution 1,588 Brake Bros 1,580 Saint-Gobain 1,530 3663 Transport 1,315 Muller UK & Ireland Group 995 Asda Stores 959 Kier Services 917 John Lewis 915 Warburtons 894 G4S Cash Solutions (UK) 891 Suez Recycling and Recovery UK 868 Certas Energy UK 798 British Telecommunications 787 Amey 785 Booker Group 731 Co-Operative Group 710 Grafton Merchanting 701 ABF Grain Products 690 Viridor Waste Management 650 Palmer & Harvey Mclane 610 SIG 602 BOC 585 Calor Gas 584 Serco 548 Ringway Jacobs 539 Johnsons Apparelmaster 535 Sainsburys Supermarkets 529 AW Jenkinson Transport 477 Wm Morrison Supermarkets 446 Aldi Stores 437 Watson Fuels 422 Balfour Beatty Group 420 Breedon 392 Mick George 390 Ford Motor Co 368 Hovis 351 Cemex UK 345 Ashtead Plant Hire 338 Menzies Distribution 335 AF Blakemore & Son 322 Mercado 321 Flogas Britain 308 Wolseley UK 304 Supply Chain Managemant Services (MoD) 297 European Metal Recycling 295 Grundon Waste Management 291 DFS Trading 287

Goodyear.

Solutions that reduce your total cost of ownership.

27.11.17

MTR_271117_024-235 new.indd 25

MotorTransport 25

23/11/2017 13:45:32

Interview: Neil Bowker

BUSINESS PARTNERS: from left, Bill Bowker jnr, director of WH Bowker and Derek Potter

In the family Bowker Group commercial director Neil Bowker talks to Steve Hobson about its long history

L

ancashire haulier Bowker Group acquired Potter Logistics in 2016, making it one of the largest players in the field of specialist chemicals, healthcare and food logistics in the UK, with 200 trucks, 450 trailers, more than 1.1 million ft2 of warehousing and 450 staff.

Like Potter, Bowker is a family firm, founded in 1919 as WH Bowker when Billy Bowker snr returned to Blackburn from the First World

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

War and bought his first truck. Almost 100 years on, the firm is owned and run by the Bowker family, as commercial director and grandson of the founder Neil Bowker explains.

“We were a Blackburn-based business moving cotton between the mills and Liverpool docks,” Bowker says. “We also moved fruit back from Liverpool docks to Blackburn and the surrounding East Lancashire markets.

“We got a big break in 1926 in the general

A key reason for Potter Group chairman Derrick Potter wanting to sell his logistics business last year was that none of the next generation wanted the responsibility of running a complex food and chemicals transport operation. Equally, a key reason for selling to Bowker is that it is also a family firm with a very similar ethos. Neil Bowker is the third generation of the family to come into the business, and there is a fourth generation following on.

“I’ve been here 35 years and my cousin’s been in the firm 38 years,” he says. “My daughter is working in the business, as is my nephew; they’re both 28. My nephew works on the transport side, while my daughter works for my brother in the retail motor dealerships. We believe we are custodians of the business and the plan is to pass it on to the next generation. That obviously becomes more difficult as the family widens.”

At least Bowker has a viable succession plan with so many of the family wanting to be involved in the business, something growing numbers of second or third generation family-owned hauliers are struggling with.

The family ownership and control of the business means Bowker can take a more long-term view of investment decisions. “The PLCs have a completely different business philosophy,” Bowker says. “It’s all about satisfying shareholders. We’re not risk-averse but we’re considered in what we do. We’re constantly looking for further opportunities and we invest in the future. We bought 6.5 acres on the docks last year which was a big investment.

“We look to develop the brand all the time. We have a diverse range of products: Harley-Davidson, BMW, Mini, BMW Motorrad and Maserati; and in transport doing chemicals and food spreads the risk. It’s a mixed bag but works very well – I’ve always been of the opinion that diversification gives us a great deal of strength by not relying on one particular market.”

26 MotorTransport MTR_271117_026-027.indd 26

strike. The fruit was at Liverpool docks and needed to be in the market, so we started one of the first overnight services to Covent Garden in London.”

Along with the rest of the industry, WH Bowker was nationalised in 1949, at which point it had expanded the fleet to 85 trucks. In 1954, transport was denationalised and Billy Bowker started again with 15 demobbed vehicles.

“The business only survived in the interim as Bowker had warehousing,” he says. “My grandfather was the BRS East Lancashire traffic manager but unfortunately he died in 1955.

My father was only 11 at the time, and my uncle, who was in his first year in Dublin University, came back and took the helm of the business alongside his uncle Tom. The belief at the time was that the business would fail, but it’s testament to him that it succeeded.”

Bowker’s uncle Bill died aged 81 in September 2017 after 62 years at the helm.

Names can be confusing at the family firm, as Neil Bowker explains. “My grandfather was called William and known as Billy; my uncle William was called Bill; my cousin William is called Bill; and my nephew is also William but called Will,” he says. “I’m actually called Kenneth after my father, but my middle name is Neil so I’m known as Neil.”

Bowker’s father came into the business in the late 1950s, and the firm started in international transport. “We’ve been in international transport for more than 50 years and ended up with depots in Liverpool, London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Avonmouth, Blackburn, Hull and Zeebrugge in Belgium,” says Bowker. “That was all organic growth, and we had managers and vehicles based in all those depots.

27.11.17

21/11/2017 16:33:08

motortransport.co.uk

EXTRA STRING TO THE BOW

ON SHOW: Neil Bowker, right, at this year’s Multimodal show

HAPPY COUPLE: When Bowker’s daughter married in May, her choice of wedding car was no surprise

STAYING LOYAL: WH Bowker is a long-standing Volvo customer

“Then with the changes in the industry and the invention of the cab phone, we didn’t need all these outposts and we consolidated into Blackburn and Hull.”

In 1989 the transport business in Blackburn was working from five sites, adding cost and reducing productivity. So when the opportunity came up to buy a 7-acre site with 80,000ft2 of warehousing in Bamber Bridge, Preston, the family jumped at it.

“Everyone except one mechanic relocated with the business and when we took occupancy we thought, ‘how are we going to fill this?’” says Bowker. “Two weeks later, it was full.”

Since then the Bamber Bridge site has grown to 15 acres with more than 100,000 ft2 of lowertier Comah warehousing for the storage of hazardous substances.

Bowker Group moved into chemicals distribution 30 years ago when it was awarded a contract with a German chemicals producer that had a distribution facility in Preston.

“We still work with the customer today,” says Bowker. “We’re their packaged goods service provider in the UK and Ireland.

“In the 1960s we were largely a food carrier.

Fruit changed significantly with containerisation. In those days, we got oranges in the summer time as produce was seasonal. Now we get oranges all year round. Containerisation changed our business so we had to look for new markets and that was international.

“We were pioneering then, overlanding to Saudi for the oil industry and we kept going until the mid-1970s until everybody else started getting involved. But it’s still a huge part of our business and accounted for around a third of our logistics turnover last year.”

27.11.17

MTR_271117_026-027.indd 27

While the company offers a top quality service and does not compete purely on price for its international work, Bowker says it has to be comparable on cost with foreign operators.

“It’s imperative the round trip runs full on both legs because we have to be competitive,” he says. “Our customer base is full of blue chip clients in the food and chemical sectors and they’re under pressure from their customers so we’ve got to make sure we deliver for them.”

The international fleet is a mixture of drawbars and artics. Trailers are loaded in the UK and dropped on the quay in Zeebrugge where Bowker’s Belgian partner handles the short sea delivery and collection of the return load.

Bowker Group had outgrown its chemical warehousing capacity – limited by the Comah restrictions – which is why the Potter acquisition was a timely opportunity.

“We were actively challenged by customers who wanted to give us business but, because of the quantities that we could store, sometimes we couldn’t accommodate them,” says Bowker. “We had been actively looking in the marketplace either for another facility or to acquire somebody in that area of expertise.

It’s a specialist niche and the cost of entry is high. There are few opportunities and when Potter came up we obviously gave it serious consideration.”

The acquisition of Potter with sites in Droitwich, Knowsley, Ripon (all top-tier Comahaccredited), Selby and York gave Bowker significant additional capacity and introduced the company to a number of new clients.

“If you look at the benefit for the combined business, Bowker was stronger in transport infrastructure with a relatively small amount

Bowker Group began diversifying in 1984 with the acquisition of a BMW car dealership and in 1989 added a another along with a Maserati dealership in the Ribble Valley and BMW Motorrad and Harley-Davidson motorcycle franchises. The aim was to provide a hedge against the ups and downs of road transport but the car and motorcycle dealerships accounted for £149.6m of Bowker’s 2016 turnover of £177.9m. This is expected to increase to £160m of group turnover, £202.6m, in 2017.

“My father went to buy a BMW car for his brother at Clock Garage in Accrington and bought the dealership,” says Neil Bowker. “After the drivers’ strike in 1979, the family was looking for diversification to give some stability.”

In 1989, at the same time as logistics’ relocation to Bamber Bridge, Bowker had the chance to acquire the Kinders BMW dealership in Preston. As well as rebranding the car dealerships to Bowker and relocating the Accrington operation to Blackburn and the Preston dealership to the docks, the car retail division includes BMW and Mini dealerships in Preston and Blackburn.

Bowker BMW Preston has opened a state-of-the-art purpose-built 28-bay workshop.

But our interview takes place in Bowker’s HarleyDavidson dealership in Preston, which, in common with most shrines to the Milwaukee iron horses, boasts rows of gleaming, very expensive V twins, a clothing boutique and coffee shop. Our conversation is occasionally interrupted as the bikes rumble into life.

It was a start-up business in 2007, ahead of the credit crunch, but has come with a loyal customer base. “It’s been a struggle, but it has achieved all the accreditations from Harley-Davidson and we were European dealer of the year in 2012, 2013 and 2014,” says Bowker.

“It’s one of the best Harley-Davidson facilities there is.”

of warehousing,” says Bowker. “Potter didn’t have the transport but had a huge amount of warehousing with upper-tier sites in three locations and great BRC-accredited food warehousing at York and Selby.”

A good example is one of Potter’s largest customers where Potter was providing warehousing but not transport services.

“We’re now looking to provide further transport services to it,” says Bowker.

The acquisition included House of James, a York-based Palletline member that Potter purchased in 2012. Volumes at the merged business are split 60/40 food/chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The Selby depot is railconnected and this is an opportunity Bowker will be investigating.

Potter’s distinctive yellow livery will be replaced by Bowker’s more conservative white and blue over the course of 12 months, marking the end of one family transport dynasty as another goes from strength to strength. ■ MotorTransport 27

21/11/2017 16:33:48

Finance

Big bucks Financing a new or used truck is no walk in the park, but it is essential to get it right when deciding whether to buy outright or to sign a lease. David Harris looks at the options

O

ther than property, trucks are a haulier’s single biggest asset, so it is no surprise that deciding how to acquire vehicles is one of the most crucial financial decisions a haulage firm can take.

Is there a best option? And exactly what acquisition methods are truck operators choosing as 2018 approaches? And when they do decide on an acquisition method, who arranges it for them?

Broadly speaking there are three methods of getting vehicles on the road: outright purchase (including conventional hire purchase or HP), leasing and contract hire. The accepted difference between the latter two is that contract hire typically includes maintenance contracts and costs a little more, while leasing can be cheaper but leaves maintenance to the operator.

These are straightforward choices to understand, but the consequences of getting them wrong can make or break a business.

There are specialist leasing and contract hire companies that many hauliers deal with to get advice and arrange truck acquisition, but most of the manufacturers also encourage operators to come directly to them or their captive finance subsidiaries to acquire their vehicles.

MAN, for instance, estimates it handles more than 60% of the financing for its own trucks.

Buying patterns

MAN’s financial services director Peter Collins says that of the trucks for which it handles financing, there is a 60/40 split between outright sales and some form of contract hire or leasing.

The measurement of the split depends on a variety of factors, but at present it is 60% con28 MotorTransport MTR_271117_028-029.indd 28

tract hire or leasing and 40% outright purchase.

Collins says to some extent this is a division between small operators, many of whom like to own their vehicles, and larger hauliers who tend to prefer other arrangements.

He says: “It’s not an invariable rule but by and large the bigger operators regard trucks as a means to an end. For smaller operators there is a more personal link to the trucks so some of them like to own them outright.”

Collins adds there are geographical variations. There are more owners in Scotland, for instance, a statistic he puts down to a higher proportion of “traditional” hauliers north of the border.

But not all manufacturers report similar proportions of leasers against buyers. Kevin Mooney, business development director at Paccar Financial, DAF’s finance arm, says most of its buyers want to own their vehicles.

“The majority of customers still take the HP route. This is because they feel there is still value in long-term ownership. The trucks hold value over a three- to five-year period.”

This means for DAF the 60/40 division between buyers and leasers is weighted in favour of those purchasing their vehicles, the opposite of MAN. But Mooney agrees with Collins that, whatever the proportions, it is the bigger companies that tend to favour contract hire or leasing and the smaller operators who enjoy owning their trucks.

Flexibility

For those that take vehicles on contract an increasing feature in 2017 was the number that wanted break clauses so they could end the

deal early if necessary. This appears to be a direct consequence of the hauliers’ customers wanting shorter contracts. It seems as if a desire for maximum flexibility has meant the ability to get out of contracts early if necessary is much sought after.

The uncertainty surrounding Brexit may be another factor, adds Collins, making many wary of committing longer term.

Asset Alliance, which offers a range of options including contract hire, flexi-hire and spot hire – for one-off or seasonal use – underlines this and adds many of its clients want the ability to end contracts with shorter notice periods.

Commercial development director Dave Potter says: “If a haulier’s client wants a contract for two years then it’s logical the haulier will want a similar contract for the vehicles. They also like to be able to end contracts with 12 months’ notice.”

A second chance

Crucial to the way Asset Alliance and other vehicle finance providers work is their ability to understand residual values. This is all about the resale market, which is why the ability of contract hire firms to offload vehicles in the second-hand market is a major influence on the cost of contract hire.

Often they have a second life with those UK hauliers who do not mind running trucks older than five or six years, as long as they still run well, while foreign markets remain a vital exit point for older trucks. UK hauliers handing back commercial vehicles to contract hire specialists after a five- to seven-year contract might find the vehicle is shortly plying its trade thousands of miles away. Africa remains an 27.11.17

21/11/2017 15:59:57

Image: Rex

motortransport.co.uk

COUNTING THE PENNIES: The financing of new trucks is crucial to any haulier’s success

HYBRIDS AND EVS

important market, as is Myanmar, says Potter.

Vehicles delivering in Birmingham this year might be working in Burundi next year.

A longer lifetime

However, the decision to renew trucks is complicated by their increasing reliability, which means if business conditions are right, vehicles can be used on a contract for longer if they are maintained in good condition.

This has become evident to a business such as fleet management and rental company Fraikin in the past couple of years.

Sales director Colin Melvin says: “Contract hire remains the most popular form of getting vehicles through us, largely because of the fixed monthly costs and because we take on the maintenance commitment. But we have noticed the same vehicle can last six to seven years under this sort of arrangement, whereas it used to be four to five. Vehicles are more reliable and more robust.”

Fraikin’s division of business is 75% contract hire to 25% rental. Melvin advises operators to take their time deciding which vehicles to sign up for, and for how long, so he thinks a consultancy period of eight to 10 weeks is a sensible way to start. A little caution initially can save headaches later.

Melvin adds: “Hauliers’ biggest concern, today, perhaps even more than cost, is making sure they are compliant with all the rules and regulations.”

This atmosphere of caution also plays into the hands of the contract hire and leasing specialists, not just because that can mean a shorter term commitment but because the costs are predictable.

27.11.17

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Richard Tilden, head of commercial vehicles at Lex Autolease, which specialises in vans rather than trucks, emphasises the predictable costs and flexibility of contract hire. He says: “One of the primary benefits of a contract hire agreement or leasing plan is the fixed monthly cost, providing access to increased cashflow and giving businesses the flexibility to add new and more advanced LCVs to their fleets than if they were purchasing outright.” ■

While manufacturers seem relaxed about the emergence of electric and hybrid CVs, most acknowledge that initially many of the new generation vehicles will be sold directly through them to encourage sales of emerging technologies.

MAN is trialling electric trucks in Austria, including a 26-tonner, pictured, from the end of this year. In February the manufacturer signed a memorandum of understanding with CNL – Austria’s council for sustainable logistics – planning the use of e-trucks for inner city and suburban distribution from 2020 onwards.

MAN’s financial services director Peter Collins says: “The most expensive part of the technology is the battery, but everything is advancing so quickly it is hard to see where we will end up. At the moment the main challenge for trucks – as for cars – is to build up a network of charging points.”

Despite this challenge there seems little doubt electric vehicles are on the way. Richard Tilden, head of commercial vehicles at Lex Autolease, says: “With the government’s launch of its Clean Growth Strategy, it has signalled its commitment to moving towards low-carbon transport.

The introduction of low emission zones in five UK cities, with more likely to follow suit, means fleets need to start considering a greener vehicle policy.”

Hitachi Capital MD Jon Lawes says a further driving force in the move towards hybrid and electric vehicles is that many hauliers are tendering for public sector contracts, which put emphasis on the environmental credentials of bidders.

Going green can help firms to win business as well as friends.

But he adds one of the challenges is working out the resale value. “It is hard to accord residual value on assets with new technology but imaginative solutions can usually be found.”

And will be, according to DAF marketing manager Phil Moon, who picks 2025 as the date when manufacturers will need vehicles ready for low emission zones.

DAF has previously developed an all-electric vehicle that did not go to market, primarily on the grounds of price – it was too expensive to make – but now expects a 40-tonne 4x2 hybrid to be up and running in the next few years.

It runs mostly on a conventional engine but has a small battery that allows it to run electrically in emission control zones.

Whatever it takes, it seems manufacturers will find a way to produce trucks that do the job at the right price.

MotorTransport 29

21/11/2017 16:00:56

MT Awards 2017 winner profile Haulier of the Year

Great success

This year’s winner of the Haulier of the Year award was Wincanton, the UK’s largest logistics operator, which has seen a remarkable turnaround in performance after a difficult few years

W

incanton, the largest British logistics operator with more than 200 locations, 3,500 vehicles and 5,000 drivers, has seen a remarkable turnaround in its performance in recent years.

After some badly timed overseas and UK investments ahead of the 2008 credit crunch, Wincanton struggled, with debts reaching £152m in 2011.

Eric Born came in as CEO and restructured the business, pulling it out of Europe, and his successor Adrian Colman has continued the turnaround since stepping up from CFO in 2015. The company has cut net debt from £65m to £40m in the past two years and reduced the pension deficit. It made pre-tax profits of £65m on turnover of £1.1bn last year and the share price rose from 148p in March 2016 to 282p in February 2017.

“Wincanton is a fantastic business that has come through some difficult times,” said one judge. “This is a remarkable success story,” added another.

Operating in the general haulage, container haulage, construction, grocery and retail, home and DIY and general merchandise sectors, Wincanton also owns the R&M network Pullman Fleet Services. Business highlights of 2016 were securing the national transport contract with discount retailer Wilko and entering the ready-mixed concrete market with an eight-year contract with Hanson.

A team effort

Chris Fenton, MD, Industrial and Transport, collected the trophy on behalf of the company and told MT Wincanton was “immensely pleased” to be awarded the Haulier of the Year title. “We are a British business with more than 90 years of history, and it is really good recognition for all the 18,000 people who work at Wincanton,” he said. “I was simply the person collecting the award, as it really was a team effort to win something of this scale.”

Fenton was appointed MD in April 2016 after joining Wincanton in 1996 straight from Cardiff University, where he studied international transport. He has also completed 30 MotorTransport MTR_271117_030-031.indd 30

an MBA at Warwick University and worked in a variety of operational and change management roles across the business in his 20 years with the company.

“My career has been in Wincanton,” Fenton said. “It has been very diverse in terms of the number of contracts I’ve worked across and it’s presented me with fantastic opportunities.

It’s been a business where I’ve never stood still; and then to get the opportunity to do one of the top jobs was what I set out to do.”

Industrial and Transport brings in 42% of group revenue and includes transport services (container and general haulage), construction, food and fuel tanker operations, defence and the Pullman R&M business. Alongside Liam McElroy, MD, Retail and Consumer Goods, Fenton reports into CEO Adrian Colman.

“Although we organise the business into the two operating segments, there are a number of services that I provide to Retail and Consumer,” said Fenton. “For example, I provide all the repairs and maintenance, both to the external market and across Wincanton.

“Part of creating Industrial and Transport

was to get the transport-related activity into the same place under a single point of leadership but also there are services that I provide to Retail and Consumer and, where required, vice versa.

“I look after group fleet so I am responsible for the operating licence and fleet engineering for the business.”

Despite its size, Fenton said Wincanton keeps its management structure flat to ensure decisions can be made quickly.

“I sit on the operating board and report to Adrian,” he said. “I’ve got a number of directors who run the business units, each with their own general management teams, so there are not lots of layers. That’s important for quick decision-making and effective communication across the organisation. If we had too many, you’d just be pushed further and further away.”

Changing habits

Wincanton is looking to expand both sides of the business, and Fenton said there were “a lot of opportunities” in online retail.

“We’re seeing changes in buying habits and changes in the channels to serve the 27.11.17

23/11/2017 14:11:11

Sponsored by Wincanton Industrial and Transport MD Chris Fenton, third left, and his colleagues receive the award from Mike Corcoran, commercial director at Volvo Trucks, second right

digital marketplace and that’s obviously a big growth area for us,” he said. “We’ve got to be agile enough to provide different solutions.”

Wincanton is, however, not turning its back on more traditional haulage businesses such as construction.

“We know there’s going to be investment around infrastructure and we see construction as a key market for us to invest in,” said Fenton. “So we’ve recently gone into the ready-mix business. A year ago, we didn’t have anything within ready-mix, and a year later we’re a big player with more than 100 vehicles in that market.”

Although Wincanton has extricated itself from mainland Europe, it is still involved in international transport.

“We do work with customers in international markets so we will get customers saying they want to expand and asking if we can help them,” said Fenton. “Sometimes we will put resources into the market, and we’re doing that at the moment to help them develop that capability.

“We do quite a bit of international freight and buy transport both in and out of the UK to support our customers. It’s not on a massive scale and there’s no intention to start buying and acquiring across Europe, but we work with some really big brands and a requirement of those brands is having an international capability.”

Fleet make-up

The 3,500 vehicles Wincanton runs are a mix of owned and leased. “The lease agreement works for us in terms of getting the right cost to serve, but there are other times where it makes sense to own equipment because it gives us more flexibility,” said Fenton.

“There are a number of assets more recently that we’ve chosen to own, but the reality is we’ll look at the returns and the best solution for it depending on the business case. There are still customers who want to buy their own equipment and have us operate it for them. That’s always been the case in our markets. We may see some change in that as customers are taking the view that they’re just going to buy haulage capacity from us.”

Collaboration has been talked about for 27.11.17

MTR_271117_030-031.indd 31

many years by retailers looking to cut their transport costs, and Fenton said the talk is now translating into action.

“We work more collaboratively every day, particularly with retailers, utilising our fleet capacity as well as theirs, rather than just adding more capacity,” he said. “Getting better utilisation out of the fleet is important and there are still lots of opportunities for our industry to be even more collaborative.”

Standard bearer

As a Carbon Trust standard bearer, Wincanton is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, achieving an 11% reduction in the past two years. A large part of that has been done by reducing empty running, as well as choosing the right equipment for the job.

“We’ve invested a lot of money in the past 18 months, buying the latest equipment,” said Fenton. “That includes some of the technology that is going to be deployed in vehicles of the future – perhaps in the long run including some level of autonomous capability.

“Our drivers are obviously a core element of our business, both now and in the future, and right now some of that equipment is intended to guide them in terms of gear selection and using the GPS more intelligently.”

Wincanton was a pioneer of longer semitrailers and has just signed up to provide data for a project to develop more aerodynamic vehicles backed by Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ Innovate UK fund.

Safety is also a key focus for Wincanton, which is on track to hit its target of reducing lost-time accident rates by 70% over the past five years. Key elements in this achievement are its STAR – stop, think, assess, react – and GOAL – get out and look – campaigns to persuade staff to take responsibility for their own safety.

“We’re trying to create something that’s memorable and that our management teams can use,” said Fenton. “Everything we deliver has to be really simple to brief to large teams, easy to remember but also relevant.

“Part of the general managers’ focus is to work directly with the health and safety director to bring that operational site to the high

standards we aim for. So some auditing, a lot of behavioural training, and then, ultimately, it comes down to the quality of the management.

“The results show that we have made a significant improvement in terms of our safety performance. From a health and safety perspective, Wincanton is a market leader.”

Fenton argues that looking after the health as well as the safety of its 5,000 drivers makes financial as well as moral sense.

“What we plan to do with wellness is to provide access to healthy food on our sites and to incorporate some preventative measures. For example, we have developed a kiosk where a driver can get a self-service health check. As a result we have been able to provide opportunities for intervention which has seen some drivers contact their GPs. This intervention has had a positive impact on the drivers’ health and ensures we continue to operate in the safest manner.”

Wincanton also takes the safety of vulnerable road users extremely seriously and has been a big supporter of the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS).

“We have a number of sites that are FORS silver,” said Fenton. “The important thing for the industry is that we agree on a standard, which doesn’t become different if it’s in Manchester or Birmingham. We need consistency.”

Ahead of the curve

To make sure it keeps ahead of the innovation curve Wincanton has joined with specialist start-up investor L Marks to launch W2 Labs, an incubator programme to exploit disruptive technologies developed by small companies.

“It has two elements but the most important is that we’ve gone out to a number of start-up businesses around the world and invited them to pitch their services against six corporate goals.

“One of them includes load exchange and using big data to improve vehicle utilisation, and we’ve asked those businesses to come back with their ideas of what the solution could be. We’ve selected a group of about seven companies that we’re working with now and we are excited to continue this journey with them.” ■ MotorTransport 31

23/11/2017 14:10:36

MT Awards 2017 winner profile Technical Excellence Award

Every little helps

Tesco fleet engineer Caroline Milnes might have had little truck experience, but she and her team are obviously doing something right

T

esco fleet engineer Caroline Milnes’ winning entry for the Technical Excellence Award proves success does not depend on bulky or overelaborate presentations; Milnes’s succinct four-sided entry told the judges all they needed to know.

“Tesco’s entry was brief and to the point,” said one judge. “They have not hidden behind a glossy presentation,” added another. Our judging panel praised the team for “seeking contributions from all parties” and said the entry was “very informative with a brief breakdown of methods and figures”.

Milnes leads a Tesco Engineering team of five in Tesco Distribution, managing a fleet of 6,000 assets at 28 UK depots serving the Tesco UK estate of more than 3,500 stores. These range from small Express convenience stores to larger Extra stores with petrol filling stations.

The fleet breaks down into 4,000 trailers, of which 700 are double-deckers, 1,342 tractor units, mostly 4x2s, and 470 rigids, plus the fuel fleet of 121 tractors and 122 tankers.

Since winning the award, Milnes has also taken responsibility for Tesco’s grocery home delivery operation, which uses 4,700 Sprinter and Daily vans based at six customer fulfilment centres around London and 350 larger Tesco stores throughout the UK.

Remarkable story

The story of how, at the age of 33, Milnes came to be looking after more than 10,000 vehicles for the UK’s largest supermarket is remarkable even by the standards of the logistics industry, where most managers seem to arrive more by accident than design.

“I joined Tesco five years ago in the climate change team in corporate affairs,” she said. “I worked with the environmental manager for distribution and after a year he moved into a transport operations role. He asked if I wanted to come over to distribution to take on that role, and because I found it an interesting area I did.

32 MotorTransport MTR_271117_032-033techex.indd 32

“I was only doing that job for about six months when the head of engineering asked if I wanted to become his fleet engineer. My first reaction was ‘are you mad? I don’t know one end of a truck from another’. He said ‘it’s fine, don’t worry, you can learn’. I was up for the challenge so I did it. I learned a lot and was doing that for over a year when he went off to manage some other projects and I was given the opportunity to take on his role. I’m still here, so I must be doing something right!”

The fact Milnes was able to make this transition with no engineering background was testament to the faith Tesco placed in her as well as her ability to learn on the job.

“One of the things about Tesco is that there are opportunities to get on and if you’ve got the right management skill sets they are transferable,” she said. “For me, it was a challenge.

Someone said ‘have a go at this job’ that I knew nothing about and I threw myself in the deep end.

“Now, I like that there is something different every day. You can make some real changes and I enjoy working with our suppliers. We’re

a fairly small team and one of the key building blocks, which enables us to achieve the levels of performance we do, is we work well with our suppliers. I love building those relationships.”

Driver feedback

Milnes has created a forum to get better feedback from some of her most important customers – Tesco’s 2,000 drivers.

“We have a driver forum every quarter, and we’ve had great feedback from that,” she said.

“For example, we went up to Mercedes to look at a demo vehicle it had built for us. We had one of our driver trainers involved from the start, because we’ve learned it’s better to get them on board from the beginning rather than pick up the pieces afterwards.”

Feedback from the driver forums was that Tesco’s 400hp tractors hauling fully-laden double-deck trailers were under-powered, and as a result Milnes uprated 35 units to 450hp, improving productivity and cutting fuel consumption by 10% on some routes.

“It turned out not only to be better for the 27.11.17

21/11/2017 16:17:14

Sponsored by FROM LEFT: Tesco head of transport Nick Dunn, host John Bishop,Tesco regional engineer John LaRosa, Tesco fleet engineer Caroline Milnes, Tesco regional engineering manager Keith Waite, Hankook Tyre UK sales director Brett Emerson and MT editor Steve Hobson

drivers, but we returned better fuel consumption,” she said. “We listen carefully and take their feedback on board. They are not so keen on some of the technological advancements like Microlise telematics and using the driver tablet but we work with them to give them the tools they need to do their job.”

Vehicle life

Tesco Distribution works its vehicles hard to make sure the operation remains efficient while delivering the high service levels the stores demand. Average vehicle availability was 98% in 2016. Although Tesco Engineering no longer runs its own workshops, most of the large DCs have on-site vehicle maintenance units (VMUs) run by third-party maintenance providers.

“On busy weekends, especially sunny bank holidays, you want every piece of kit on the road,” Milnes said. “It needs to be available so we have the support structures around when we do servicing and MoTs. “For example, Fridays are a busy day for rigids, but on Sundays they are not so busy so at some sites all the rigid servicing is done then.

It’s about working that partnership to know exactly what you can do when, and having the 24/7 on-site support. We are in a very competitive marketplace and we know we need to take cost out of the operation.”

The company is running its vehicles longer if they are on lower mileage routes.

“Previously we would lease all our vehicles, and after five years they were gone,” said Milnes.

“Our vehicles in Livingston are doing 100,000 miles a year but a vehicle in Dagenham is probably doing half that. Keeping them for the same amount of time didn’t make sense. So that’s one of the things that we’ve been looking at to reduce cost.”

The changing mix of the Tesco estate is posing challenges to the distribution operation, as most store openings are small convenience 27.11.17

MTR_271117_032-033techex.indd 33

stores that are often hard to service.

“Where possible we try to use the biggest trailer we can,” said Milnes. “But in reality, with all the new stores that are opening now, it’s great if you can get in with a large rigid because they’re getting more difficult to deliver to.

“So our rigid numbers are increasing. When we first started opening convenience stores, it was the 10m trailer. Then it became the 8m trailer, then a rigid with an 8m body and now it’s a rigid with a 6m body.”

Competitive tenders

While the majority of Tesco’s store delivery fleet is Mercedes-Benz, it also runs some DAFs, and the fuel fleet is all MAN or DAF. “We hold competitive tenders every year,” said Milnes. “Obviously it’s not just the purchase price of the vehicle. We look at the whole-life costs, especially in terms of fuel efficiency, and safety features. When Euro-6 came out we did a full fuel economy and reliability test. So we’re constantly reviewing which manufacturer we purchase from.

“We have a unique spec which can make things a bit trickier. But we do keep an eye on residual values which is why you will see the large Actros in front of an 8m trailer. It looks silly but we don’t want to buy specialist lowheight cabs. The residual value doesn’t make it worthwhile.”

Most refrigerated trailers are made by Gray & Adam while Lawrence David is the preferred supplier of curtainsiders. But Milnes has placed orders for some curtainsided trailers with Montracon this year. She is also dipping a toe in the water with moving decks on the latest double-deckers.

“They’re all fixed deck, but we’ve been trialling a floating deck,” Milnes said. “When we started we had three different types of lift on them, but that was causing a lot of problems, so we put lifts in all the DCs and certain stores and just had fixed-deck trailers.

“That model has served us well for a long time. But the floating deck is more mature, the technology has improved and that could open up new stores that we can deliver to with a double-deck rather than a standard 13m.”

Milnes has halved the number of trailers fitted with tail-lifts in order to reduce damage, especially from sideswipes when manoeuvring in tight spaces.

“Historically we would put a tail-lift on every 13m trailer,” she said. “But we worked with the transport operation and decided only 50% of the 2016 acquisition of 13m trailers needed tail-lifts. But all the rigids still have them.”

Just over a third of the Tesco fleet is Euro-6 and Milnes says there was a “slight improvement” in fuel economy over Euro-5. She added: “The latest batch of Mercedes we bought last year with the second-generation engine has seen a big improvement over the old Actros.”

Based at one of Tesco’s national DCs in Daventry, Milnes is only a stone’s throw from Gasrec’s gas refuelling station, and Tesco is again looking at gas vehicles after the failure of its dual-fuel fleet.

“We have got rid of 35 dual-fuel vehicles,” she said. “Dual fuel didn’t work for us. We have trialled the Scania and Iveco 4x2 gas tractors and had a look at Volvo’s forthcoming 460hp gas vehicle. They look a lot more promising than the dual-fuel vehicles.”

Milnes and her boss, Tesco director of transport Nick Dunn, agreed winning the Technical Excellence Award was “very exciting”.

“It was huge recognition for the team on the evening and an even bigger recognition internally when we got back to head office,” said Dunn. “Also among our peers, people who you’ve not seen for a while, will mention it to you. It is a very powerful forum.”

Milnes added: “It brought a smile to my face the moment it was read out. It’s good recognition because we’re a small team, very close. They all work so hard and give 110% every day.” ■ MotorTransport 33

22/11/2017 15:34:14

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