Free movement plan unveiled

UK to bring in dual registration scheme removing limits on foreign trips

Events firms given free movement

By Chris Tindall

Hauliers involved in musical, sporting and cultural events will be able to move their vehicles freely between the UK and the EU after the government said it was introducing new measures this summer.

A dual registration scheme will allow operators with a base in this country and another outside the UK to transfer their vehicles between both O-licences without the need to change vehicles, have their journeys limited, or pay VED in GB.

Since the UK’s exit from the EU, events hauliers have been limited

Photo: Shutterstock

to just three stops in Europe before having to return home.

The new rules will allow companies to switch vehicles between the respective operator licences and make use of the internal movements permitted within each territory.

The government said this would apply not just to the EU, but to other countries too.

Grant Shapps, transport secretary, said: “British talent has long been at the heart of global performing arts and our specialist haulage sector is critical to the success of their tours.

“It is unacceptable that because of EU bureaucracy, the operations of our specialist haulage sector on which our artists rely have been put at risk, impacting the livelihoods of touring artists and sports people.”

XPO tanker drivers call off strike action

XPO said it was still “an employer of choice” for fuel tanker drivers after striking a deal to raise pay by an average of £12,000.

“The vastly improved” deal was agreed after the 57 drivers on the outsourced Tesco petrol station contract recorded a 100% vote for strike action following an initial offer.

Union Unite said the drivers were determined to improve their rate as they were on lower pay than their competitors.

Fresh talks were held, and following another ballot on the new offer, the drivers voted to accept it.

Unite said the deal translated into a 27% increase and that now that strikes were off the table, fuel supplies across southern and south-west England and Wales were no longer in doubt.

C&D expansion to boost local jobs

Transport firm C&D South West has bought a 27,000sq ft warehouse in Somerset after a “successful yet challenging year”.

The site in the village of Martock also provides a yard and office space, as well as job opportunities for the local community.

Chard-based C&D provides a guaranteed 24-hour delivery service to UK postcodes, with 96% of its business within a 40-mile radius of its HQ.

It said the purchase should supply new jobs to the area through the expansion of its fleet and service offering.

Lorna Hammond, C&D MD, said: “After battling through the past few years adapting to life with Covid-19, C&D has continued to stay strong and resilient.

“With increased reliance on our transport services, these past few years gave us the push we needed to expand our services in order to continue providing a 5-star service for each and every client.”

Parcels sector hails McColl’s rescue

McColl’s has been rescued out of administration by Morrisons after it beat a rival Photo: Shutterstock offer for the convenience store and newsagent chain. The deal means all 16,000 staff and 1,100 shops will transfer over to Morrisons. Morrisons had an existing supply agreement with McColl’s and provided a range of products under the Safeway brand. Its final offer was accepted ahead of an improved bid by Asda’s owners, EG Group.

The deal will be a relief to McColl’s employees and the wider parcels and e-commerce logistics sector.

It is the largest independent operator of post offices and many of its stores contain Amazon Lockers. It also offers services to customers wishing to return items, aiding reverse logistics operations.

Palletways claims world first with sensor technology

Palletways has rolled out new forklift truck-mounted sensor technology, which it believes will make current standalone pallet assessment and measuring obsolete.

Announcing the news at its 2022 UK Conference at Silverstone race circuit, the company said ‘Palletways ID’ was a world first for the global logistics industry and took operational efficiency and health and safety within pallet-focused environments to new levels.

The result of two years of research and development, it combines four key data measurements in one go and identifies a pallet through imaging and barcode scanning, while delivering accurate weight measurements as the pallet is being moved.

For the first time, it also cubes its dimensions in seconds, again while the forklift is in motion.

Initially born from a requirement to capture and harness accurate data on individual pallets instantly and on the go, the technology is also said to deliver greater than ever real-time information for health and safety.

Palletways hopes to introduce the technology across its UK hubs by the end of June.

“This is not simply a first for pallet networks, but a first for the whole logistics industry," Palletways UK MD Rob Gittins (pictured) told MT.

“Our technology’s ability to effectively combine these four processes into one and capture instantly while on the move is a world first and a giant leap forward for logistics safety and efficiency.”