Burning issue

Yodel raises expectations by £30m as 2021 volumes soar

Yodel saw volumes surge by 59% between January and March compared with the same period in 2020 and it now expects full-year revenues to be £30m higher than predicted just three months ago.

In a trading update for Q3 the carrier said it would return to being “strongly profitable” in the year to June 2021.

Total volumes in the nine months to March grew by 35% and full-year revenue is projected to be £565m, compared with £430m in 2020.

Yodel has previously said that the pandemic had created a step-change in online shopping volumes.

It said operational conditions during the

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third national lockdown had been very challenging, but that customer service remained unaffected.

Mike Hancox, Yodel chief executive, said: “We are using technology to get smarter; our customer service is improving thanks to a more integrated approach to technology, and this is helping to reduce our operational costs.

“Just as importantly, it’s supporting us on our environmental journey too,” he added.

“We’re using less fuel as a result of driving more efficient routes, and our work with SmartDrive has helped us analyse driver behaviour and push for improved efficiency.

“We’re expecting our existing client base to continue to grow and we have a solid pipeline of new business opportunities which will deliver further growth in the new financial year.”

Judge brands boss ‘pig-headed’ for repeatedly ignoring warnings Haulier ignored warnings over illegal waste burning

An agricultural haulage boss has been branded “pig-headed” by a judge after he repeatedly ignored warnings about burning waste on his land illegally.

Father and son David and Nicholas Channer, partners at Amersham haulier J Channer & Sons, ignored waste management laws and were convicted following an investigation by the Environment Agency.

The company holds a standard national operator’s licence authorising four lorries and six trailers out of its Bucks site.

The pair were caught continually storing and setting light to rubbish at the farm at Mop End, putting the environment at risk.

High Wycombe Magistrates heard how the two accumulated

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everything from wood and metal to waste from two agricultural concerns and then set light to it as a cheaper alternative to authorised disposal.

When asked to explain their actions, the Channers told the agency they either hadn’t seen letters from crime officers, or were unaware exemptions from permits for managing the waste had expired.

Nicholas Channer was sent to prison for 13 months, including five months for breaching an unrelated suspended sentence and his father received a six-month jail term, suspended for two years.

Drunk driver left trailer on roundabout to buy beer

An HGV driver who abandoned his unhitched trailer on a roundabout to buy alcohol at a supermarket has been jailed.

Robert Fego, 48, was arrested and charged with drink driving after being caught more than three times the legal drink-drive limit at the roadside in Harwich, Essex.

Police were called to Europa Way at around 3pm on 20 April following reports that a lorry trailer had become unhitched on a roundabout after it left Harwich Port.

Essex Police said it had received reports from the public and port security that Fego had left the scene and entered a supermarket, where he bought alcohol before returning to his lorry.

It added that port security found him with a beer in his hand, while his vehicle had visible damage where the trailer had become unhitched.

At Colchester Magistrates’ Court, the Hungarian national was convicted and jailed for eight weeks and disqualified from driving for four years.

Investigating officer PC Ryan Gilroy, said: “As a lorry driver, Robert Fego has a huge responsibility to ensure his vehicle is safe and that he is taking the greatest care on the road.

“When we located him, he was more than three times the legal drink driving limit.

“Fortunately his actions were reported to us by members of the public and the port’s security, meaning we could respond quickly.”

Tax evasion rife at Irish border, claims report

Many companies are exploiting a hole in border security between Ireland and Northern Ireland and illegally shifting goods into the UK without paying VAT or customs duties, says a new report.

In research illuminating the changing trade regulations on transport and logistics companies, freight outsourcing solutions firm DDC FPO said one post-Brexit trend was the illegal movement of goods across borders.

Garth Young, MD at customs broker and intermediary Wellmark Customs and Logistics, said firms had spied a way of saving money in the short term: “They say, ‘Look, there’s no checks at the border, we just drive in’,” he said.

“The courts are going to be full at the end of this.”

DDC FPO said that while HMRC was permitting companies to defer or simplify customs declarations for certain goods during the current six-month grace period, keeping adequate records of all transactions was still required.

It said: “Additionally, declarations for controlled goods such as alcohol, tobacco and animals are not eligible to be deferred or simplified. Without the proper paperwork on file, responsible parties can be taken to court, fined, and possibly imprisoned.”

The report also highlighted the ongoing Brexit-related challenges faced by hauliers, 3PLs, freight forwarders and warehousing firms. It said 69% believe the problems will continue to hit their businesses for longer than 12 months.