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Linkline begins £15m warehousing expansion Linkline Transport has opened a purpose-built warehouse facility in Wellingborough as part of a £15m expansion programme. The Fortec member has also revealed plans to open a further two Linkline depots in Manchester and London Gateway in the next two years. The new hub includes 137,000sq ft of warehouse and distribution space and provides the company with a third UK location, taking overall capacity to 240,000sq ft.
It will be serviced by two new SDC Freespan curtainsiders supplied by Hertfordshire-based rental firm Trailer Resources (TRL), increasing daily operations across the UK and into Europe. The trailers are built as a ‘special’ in line with the celebration of the new site and specified by TRL according to Linkline’s requirements. Pictured are Trailer Resources sales director Ryan Jones (left), and James Bowes, commercial director at Linkline Transport.
Mounting losses prompt new owner to call time on Cardiff-based haulier, putting 400 jobs at risk
Covid-19 downs Rhys Davies By Carol Millett
Just over a year after being bought by Cathay Investments, Cardiff haulier Rhys Davies has gone under after accruing “unsustainable losses” during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ian Vickers and Philip Harris, partners at business advisory firm FRP, were appointed joint administrators to the company on 8 December. In a statement, the auditors said Rhys Davies, which was founded in 1952, “had been acquired by Cathay Group after a long period of losses and despite significant investment from its owners since acquisition, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in significant and unsustainable losses of revenue. “The administration does not impact any of the other businesses in the Cathay Group.” The statement added that “a number” of staff members will be made redundant with the remaining employees staying on to assist with the wind-down. The administrators added that they are open to considering “serious” offers from interested parties looking to acquire the business
After being hit by the loss of two major contracts in 2017 and suffering serious operational disruption during the ‘Beast from the East’ storms in March 2018, the business reported losses of £8m in the 18-month period to 28 February 2019, on turnover of £55.3m. In October 2019 Rhys Davies was bought by Cathay Investments for an undisclosed sum, as part of the Croydon-based investment firm’s strategy to expand into the UK logistics sector.
and assets of the company. They are also working with their agents to arrange for customers’ goods to be returned to them Steve Baluchi of FRP said: “The impact of the pandemic has resulted in unsustainable losses for the company and left the directors with no option but to place it into administration. “We will now be focused on the orderly wind-down of the business and returning customers’ goods
to them as quickly as possible. “We are also working with staff to support them and help make any claims to the Redundancy Payments Service during what we recognise will be a difficult time.” The Cardiff-based logistics and warehousing firm operated a fleet of 170 vehicles, including 150 trailers, and had more than 560,000sq ft of warehouse space across nine UK sites. It employed around 400 staff.
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Enforcement body chief claims current traffic commissioner system is outdated and expensive
DVSA call to abolish TCs The chief executive of the DVSA has told an influential group of MPs that traffic commissioners (TCs) should be “abolished” and operator cases pursued through the courts instead. Giving evidence to the transport select committee, which is currently investigating the work of the enforcement agency, outgoing chief Gareth Llewellyn described the TCs as “anachronistic”. He said: “They were probably okay in the 1930s, but the reality is
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we have a really good track record of enforcement through the courts and tribunal service and I think we should be doing that for operators as well. That will save us millions
and millions of pounds – not necessarily in terms of people, but in terms of simplifying systems and removing unnecessary estate.” The RHA said his comments were “unfounded and unfair”. “I am confident that we will have a more open working relationship with the new DVSA head, Loveday Ryder,” said RHA chief executive Richard Burnett. Llewellyn also told MPs that the industry’s significant driver shortage was an “image issue”. “The shortage of drivers is noth-
ing to do with the DVSA’s performance,” he said. “Before we went into lockdown in England, we had 6,500 vocational tests booked through to the end of the calendar year. We had 2,300 vacant slots. If there is an overdemand for our services, then I am not seeing it.” The Logistics Skills Network (LSN) said Llewellyn’s figures didn’t stack up, however, adding that it was “a bit alarming” he did not know how many HGV tests were normally delivered each year.
CVA planned to save Brian Yeardley division Brian Yeardley Continental has proposed to issue a company voluntary arrangement after its events transport division, TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley, suffered the “devastating” loss of £12m due to the pandemic. The West Yorkshire-based haulier has appointed partners Charles King and Hunter Kelly of EY to oversee the process. The company said that while its
general cargo division had recovered to around 60% of prepandemic levels, Covid-19 had had a “material impact” on its live event logistics division, which specialises in supplying trucking services to bands and events companies across the UK and Europe. Charles King, joint nominee and strategy and transactions associate partner at EY, said: “The structure of the proposed CVA provides flexibility for the business to recover and for creditors to benefit, should this happen earlier or to a greater extent than forecast. “It also preserves 51 jobs and provides a platform for future job creation, as well as providing ongoing business for the company’s suppliers.”
Bryan Yeardley director Kevin Hopper added: “We are optimistic that the company will be able to regrow profitably." ■ Gloucester-based parcels firm Lima Logistics collapsed into administration in September as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, its administrators have said. The firm had grown into a £300,000 turnover business before moving into premises and joining Pall-Ex in February 2020. However, the lockdown in March made it impossible for the company to approach potential clients and it lost income from existing customers. In October, fellow Pall-Ex member John Dinham Transport purchased the business, intending to relocate staff.
Tuffnells back in black after management buyout Tuffnells has returned to profit just six months after being bought by the firm’s management team in May this year. Dubbed ‘The Big Green Parcel Machine’ after its fleet of 1,200 green trucks, the Sheffield-based firm employs 2,300 staff and specialises in delivering mixed freight and items of irregular dimension and weight (IDW). When it was sold by Connect Group in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the company was making losses of around £14m on annual revenues of £164m. Connect Group, which also owns Smiths News, bought Tuffnells in 2014 when it was a 14.12.20
profitable company but by 2018 it had fallen into the red, reporting a first-half operating loss of £200,000, down from an operating profit of £4.3m in the same period in 2017. Despite a management reshuffle, a refocusing on IDW and the closure of its Pass my Parcel network, losses continued to mount at Tufnells until the sell-off. Announcing its return to profit, Tuffnells chief executive Michael Holt said the delivery firm aimed to reclaim its place as the number one IDW carrier in the UK. The company is attributing its transformation to major investments in its IT systems and
improvements to its customer service levels, along with a drive into the B2C sector to capture the surge in e-commerce volumes. Tuffnell’s performance has also been bolstered by a contract it won earlier this year with Special Engineering Plastics to deliver ventilator components and essential equipment for the London Nightingale Hospital on behalf of Honeywell.
Nursery retailer looks for multiple partners Baby and nursery retailer Kiddies Kingdom has begun looking for “multiple” transport partners after announcing the opening of a new distribution centre in Dewsbury on the back of an online sales surge. A spokeswoman told MT: “Transport is currently with DPD Local but the company is looking to increase to multiple carriers in the next few months, which will be in line with the new DC.” The 47,864sq ft unit, which will be fully operational by January, is Kiddies Kingdom’s largest warehouse and will consolidate seven existing warehouses into one space. The facility, which is equipped with the latest racking system and intelligent stock movement technology, will provide additional capacity. The Dewsbury-based retailer stocks over 200 brands and has seen sales rise by 40% in the past 12 months. The unit is set to be in full operation by January 2021 and will boost employment in the local area. MotorTransport 3
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New business says network membership will help it achieve ambitions
Synergix joins Pall-Ex and sets £10m target By Chris Tindall
The newest member to join the Pall-Ex network only launched in July, but its directors said its aim was to generate revenues of £10m within two years. Synergix Logistics Solutions, based in High Wycombe, joined the pallet network to increase freight volume and said the move would also help it to concentrate
freight delivery within the Twickenham area. Directors Anthony Champness and Jon Payne previously worked at Geodis, which closed its UK operation earlier this year. Champness said: “We have hit the ground running with the launch of Synergix and will continue that momentum with the support of the Pall-Ex network.
“To thrive within the sector, we recognise that we will always need a strong pallet network to help us fully service our customer base.” The company added that its O-licence was “currently held by our business partners” and its model enabled it to subcontract a fleet of over 30 HGVs. n Pall-Ex shareholder and founder member ADD Express has expanded its operation with an additional facility following a £1.4m refurbishment. The West Yorkshire haulier has created 10 new jobs at the 120,000sq ft Rochdale site, which also becomes Pall-Ex’s northern hub, offering an accessible location for members in the north to deliver freight for sorting.
AIT Worldwide acquires Panther White glove delivery firm Panther Logistics has been acquired by US-based AIT Worldwide Logistics for an undisclosed sum. The deal will see Panther MD Colin McCarthy step down, with commercial director Gary McKelvey taking on the role. McCarthy will support McKelvey during the transition. The two firms hailed the deal as a “new era of investment and innovation” for Panther and an opportunity for AIT Worldwide Logistics to strengthen its UK presence. Under the deal, Panther will continue to be run by the existing management team. McCarthy joined Panther in 2010, restructuring the business into a two-person delivery company. A Panther spokeswoman said: “Colin led the original MBO backed by LDC in 2016 and it was always his plan to ultimately hand over the reins.” The buyout follows rapid growth at Panther, driven by a number of new contracts.
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Drivers employed on clothing giant’s contract expected to be redeployed
Arcadia failure will be ‘minimal’ hit for Clipper Clipper Logistics is set to transfer around 70 drivers on its Arcadia delivery partnership to other contracts and will lose “minimal” amounts on the deal, following the retail giant’s collapse into administration, MT has learnt. Clipper Logistics won the store delivery partnership with Arcadia Group earlier this year after DHL Supply Chain declined to renew the deal. The contract, which is operated from distribution centres at Milton Keynes and Leeds, employs around 70 drivers and involves approximately 3,000 deliveries a week. Arcadia Group’s fashion brands include Burton, Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Evans. Union Unite called on Clipper Logistics to protect the 70 jobs transferred from DHL Supply Chain to Clipper Logistics in August when Clipper took over the contract. Clipper Logistics declined to comment. However, industry sources told MT that the logistics firm is preparing to transfer the
staff to other contracts to help meet rising demand as the firm’s online volumes continue to soar, boosted by a record Black Friday and Cyber Monday performance. A source added that Clipper was set to make “minimal” losses on the contract and that the company had entered the deal fully aware of the fragility of Arcadia and was prepared for any risks.
“The DHL/Arcadia trucks are at the end of their leases at the year-end and there are no large amounts of money outstanding as there were no deliveries last month,” the source said. “Clipper is already the delivery partner for Pretty Little Things which is part of Boohoo, putting it in a pretty strong position if Boohoo buys up part of Arcadia.”
Video-watching driver caught in M40 operation An HGV driver on the M40 was so distracted by his mobile phone he was unaware of two police cars with their lights flashing attempting to stop him. The detail emerged following “record breaking” results from Warwickshire’s commercial vehicle unit (CVU), which patrolled motorways in the county in a lorry looking for drivers putting themselves and others at risk. The unit captured footage of an HGV driver who is believed to have been watching a video while driving. Another vehicle was loaded with more than 30 tonnes of bricks held down only by gravity. The top offence was not wearing a seatbelt, with 69 out of 97 people stopped for the offence being professional lorry drivers. One HGV was 53% overweight gross and 67% on the rear axle. It was prohibited and immobilised and it took the driver nearly four hours to unload the vehicle after another attempt showed it was still overweight. Sergeant Carl Stafford said: “Whilst this has been a record breaking operation for offences detected by our officers, it has also been an extremely disappointing one.”
Expect Distribution styles it out with new home interiors contract Expect Distribution has won a five-year warehousing contract with interiors manufacturer and supplier Julian Charles. Expect, which was named Haulier of the Year at the 2020 MT Awards, said the partnership will create an additional 15 jobs at the family-run business, including a contract manager at its Grattan site in Bradford. Manchester-based Julian Charles currently has 72 stores nationwide with a fast-growing e-commerce site requiring a bespoke pick-and-pack operation. “I am delighted to share the news of this new business partnership with the team,” said Expect Distribution MD Neil 6 MotorTransport
Rushworth. “It highlights our ongoing success and the strength of our warehouse division. “As a result of this win, we are thrilled to be in a position to create jobs, particularly during such a difficult time. “We plan to continue growing our warehousing facilities in the future, to accommodate client growth and demand, which will lead to the opening of a new site within the next 18 months, creating even more career opportunities within our local community. “We are looking forward to supporting Julian Charles as they embark on an exciting journey to grow their ecommerce offering.”
HGV traffic returns to normal level HGV traffic is the only type of motor transport to have returned to pre-pandemic lockdown traffic levels, according to new data from the DfT. Since 1 September HGV traffic has matched early 2020 traffic levels before the first lockdown. In the first weeks of the first national lockdown in late March and April, HGV traffic fell by 40% during weekdays with Easter Monday recording a low point with a 75% drop. Since 1 September, HGV traffic has been 4% higher than pre-lockdown levels on week-
days and 16% up on weekends. Levels have remained high across September to November, consistently matching pre-Covid figures – with a spike predicted during the busy Christmas period. Car traffic has fallen sharply during the second lockdown, with a 30% decline during weekdays and 40% at weekends. Greg Wilson, founder of HGV, van and lorry and insurance comparison platform Quotezone. co.uk, said: “Recognition is due for those drivers who have worked throughout the pandemic.” 14.12.20
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Boris’ ten point plan By Tim Campbell When Boris Johnson announced his much publicised ‘Ten Point Plan For A Green Industrial Revolution’ all the public’s attention was understandably focused on the ban on new petrol and diesel passenger car sales after 2030. But to concentrate solely on the electrification of cars is to miss the point of the whole plan – it is the government’s pointer to how decarbonising all road transport will help achieve net zero and address the 28% of UK carbon emissions that road transport generates. We are all on a long journey, which many forecast will take at least the next 20 to 30 years to complete, but let’s talk about the next 10 years – which is the main thrust of Boris’ plan. Reducing our reliance on diesel power seems a daunting prospect, but battery electric commercial vehicles (BECVs) are becoming more commonplace, in particular in the van sector, and are expected to increase dramatically as new models become available. Early starters such as Renault Trucks’ D ZE models are now available at 16 and 26 tonnes, and we should expect an increasing number of major names to soon join Suez, Warburton’s and the parcel carriers in bringing larger electric vehicles into their fleets. And it’s this area in which the government is keenest to see progress. It recognises that to reach the UK’s committed target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, all OEMs will need to follow examples such as that set by Renault Trucks in bringing 12-tonneplus electric vehicles to market. Infrastructure, both private and public, will need to be developed to support the electrification of the whole urban commercial vehicle sector. As well as vehicle targets, equally ambitious plans to transform our electricity supply sector are being mapped out, with fossil fuel-derived energy to be replaced by renewable sources. 40GW of offshore wind power and 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production are targeted by 2030, with the further development of nuclear power. The government believes the UK can take a lead in the electrification of road transport and distance itself from the rest of Europe by setting such an ambitious and challenging target. Its ambition is for a zero emissions road transport sector built around electric and hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles, powered from renewable sources. To achieve that ambition will indeed be a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’. Whether or not all this can be achieved remains to be seen, but the direction of travel is clear. What can we do to hasten the adoption of more electric trucks? Who in the company starts the process? How much is urban myth and how much fact? We’ll look at some different elements of the challenge in coming weeks, but welcome your thoughts on the UK’s ‘road to zero’.
8 MotorTransport
Management firm continues fulfilment push
Clientbase sounds fine for Whistl Delivery management company Whistl has acquired Devon-based fulfilment and contact centre firm Clientbase for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition accelerates Whistl’s drive into fulfilment, increasing its portfolio of warehouses across the UK to eight. It closely follows the recent expansion of Whistl’s Rushden facilities and the opening of a new warehouse in Northampton. Based in Paignton, Clientbase comes with a complete fulfilment service for home shopping companies, including pick and pack, a 140-seat contact centre, warehousing, returns handling and delivery. The purchase of Clientbase will see MD David Fanous and sales
and marketing director Rob Smeddle remain with the company. Fellow founder and financial director Angus Dick is to retire. The company will continue to trade under the Clientbase brand and all 250 staff will remain at the firm’s two sites in Devon.
Silver Spoon is sweet on Knowles Knowles Transport’s ability to handle the storage and distribution for The Silver Spoon Company has resulted in its client adding another five years to the contract. The Cambridgeshire-based haulier has been responsible for all of the sugar company’s handling and transport requirements for the last three years. The Silver Spoon Company said it was attracted by Knowles’ proximity to its location, coupled with
its customer-centric ethos and the fact that it remained a family business. Bob Dunn, Silver Spoon logistics manager, said the haulier also stepped up during lockdown when demand for baking ingredients soared. “The firm pulled out all the stops throughout,” he said. “Knowles is proactive with its ideas, flexible and can quickly adapt to market demands and scale up.” 14.12.20
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Economic forecasts for 2020 lie in tatters after the impact of Covid-19. Can we do better in 2021?
Goodbye annus horribilis
Oil and fuel
Another key forecast that has been revised is one for the Brent crude oil price. In August, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) – regarded as an authoritative source – projected that Brent crude would average $43.5/barrel in Q4 this year. But last month, in view of the persistence of Covid-19 depressing demand, the EIA cut its Q4 forecast to $40. “The EIA expects high global oil inventory levels and surplus crude oil production will limit upward pressure on oil prices,” it explained. Brent averaged over $42 in November, rising strongly in the second half of the month on the Covid vaccine news and hopes that OPEC (Organization of the 10 MotorTransport
Haulage rates
CPI INFLATION 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 Jan
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BRENT CRUDE OIL PRICE 2020
Sterling
The accompanying chart depicts sterling’s value on the Bank of England’s Effective Exchange Rate Index (EERI). This evaluates the pound against a basket of currencies, weighted to reflect the volume of UK trade with other countries. This index was based at 100 in January 2005, but has fallen since then. Last month’s uplift was due to currency traders buying sterling in anticipation of a UK-EU trade deal that would boost the pound. Nevertheless, the EERI will average close to 78 for 2020 as a whole, virtually unchanged in the four years since the 2016 Brexit referendum. For comparison, it averaged 85.7 in the four years before that. But what will the pound be worth next year? The independent forecasters mentioned earlier are expecting to see a very small gain in value, with their median forecast for 2021’s average EERI coming in at 78.9. That would not be the dire outcome feared by some but still leaves sterling far weaker than its long-term average, making imports costlier but exports more price-competitive.
this year, reversing a 0.1% decline in Q2. The ONS research suggests Q3 rates were just 0.4% higher than a year earlier. With just one quarter’s data left to come, 2020 is on course to be the flattest year for rates since 2016.
Haulage rates have stagnated this year. The latest provisional data in the Services Producer Price Inflation (SPPI) index published by the Office for National Statistics shows typical rates edged up by just 0.1% in the third quarter of
Annual rate (%)
Petroleum Exporting Countries) would extend its production cap. Brent’s average price in 2020 is around $41/barrel, its lowest since 2004. Looking ahead, the EIA has also revised its 2021 average forecast, from $49 down to $47. It expects the price to be around $42 in Q1 but then track at around $47-$49 in the remainder of the year as demand returns and inventories drop. The median of recent UK forecasts for 2021 comes in rather lower, at $44.4 (HM Treasury, Forecasts for the UK economy: a comparison of independent forecasts, November). And last month t h e O f f i c e f o r Bu d g e t Responsibility’s hefty Economic and Fiscal Outlook report pencilled in $44.1 as next year’s average. These three projections would suggest that a typical average price of bulk diesel (full loads) next year could be between 90p and 97ppl, assuming no significant change in either the pound to dollar exchange rate or fuel duty – both risky assumptions.
70 60 50
$/barrel
Back in August this year, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opined that CPI inflation would average just 0.25% in the latter part of the year, with prices suppressed by lacklustre demand because of Covid-19. In fact, they were wide of the mark: annual inflation picked up quickly to 0.5% in September and then to 0.7% in October. This is good news for the MPC, which is tasked with keeping inflation as close as possible to a 2% target. Among other reasons, the MPC believes that the VAT cut in hospitality (from 20% to 5%, until 31 March 2021) has not been fully passed through to consumers, so some prices are not as low as anticipated. The inflation is in the services sector, rather than in the price of goods. But the usual inflationary effect of rising wages is weak. The median pay rise settlement during Q3 was zero because spare capacity in the labour market muted wage growth. In its latest Monetary Policy Report (November) the MPC now expects inflation to rise slowly to 0.9% by March and then accelerate to 2.1% by the end of 2021. September’s CPI rate is now used to determine changes in business rates on commercial and industrial properties for the next tax year, so these will rise by 0.5% in April.
40 30 20 10 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
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14.12.20
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The pain of a long goodbye B Steve Hobson Editor Motor Transport
y the time you read this it might be clear whether the Brexit transition period will end in two weeks with a trade deal, or whether the UK will start trading with the EU on WTO terms in 2021. Previous deadlines have come and gone but, like many a pub in Tier 3, Last Chance Saloon is about to call time and eject its fractious customers out on to the street. The Conservative-led UK government’s inability to find a compromise with the EU isn’t all that surprising – the culture of our government is very different from many of those on the continent. The UK sees EU directives as laws to be strictly enforced, while some other EU states see them as targets to be worked towards. To the UK a deal is a deal that has to be stuck to, an attitude many other European leaders find hard to comprehend. The EU way has always been to find a pragmatic solution behind closed doors to keep the EU project on the road despite the often divergent interests of its 27 members. The other thing that is no surprise is the
reluctance of the EU to allow a seamless border between its single market and the UK on the island of Ireland without regulatory alignment – anathema to many Tory MPs. For the vast majority of UK operators who never cross any water – either to Ireland or mainland Europe – the dispute might seem irrelevant. But the UK economy has already shrunk 8% as a result of Covid-19 and a no-deal exit could knock off another 2%. That matters. Longer term, it could even lead to the break up of the UK as Northern Ireland is pushed closer to the Republic economically and the Scots rebel against a forced exit from the EU. And that would matter a great deal. n This is our last issue of 2020, and Motor Transport returns on 18 January. Don’t forget to keep checking the website for regular news updates on Covid-19, Brexit and all the other big issues. Everyone on Motor Transport wishes all our readers a safe and happy Christmas and a better 2021 than the year about to end.
Asian supply chains are losing appeal W Mark Rollinson MD Dachser UK
hile the Chinese manufacturing phenomenon has radically reduced UK retail prices over the last two decades, the cost of sourcing in China has long been rising, with other Asian economies benefitting from their lower labour costs. The Covid-19 crisis, however, may well be encouraging the trend for near-sourcing policies to be re-energised as longer supply chains are seen as more susceptible to disruption. Added to this trend is the current boom in omnichannel sales. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show that in April this year, 30% of retail sales in the UK were conducted online. This figure compares with just 18% in the same month last year and 21% at the Black Friday/ Christmas peak in 2019. Much of this online market is made up of fashion items and clothing that are changing in nature (more hoodies, fewer suits for example) as lifestyle changes are forced on a ‘lockdown’ population. Shorter lead times on textile products are being demanded by retailers of their manufacturers, and that means transit times of four or five days by road and ferry from Tunisia and Morocco are preferable over 20 to 30 days by sea from the Indian
12 MotorTransport
sub-Continent, China and other Asian origins. The option of airfreight with transits comparable to North Africa at five to six days door-to-door is far more expensive and currently lacking in capacity. The groupage and partial load services offered by Dachser let customers move freight in smaller quantities regularly from the region. UK retailers need not commit to the high-volume orders of items when shipping full container loads from Asia. Reliability of delivery is also crucial to the UK retailer. Merchandise delivered when expected and intact is a standard requirement for the fashion retailer to stay competitive. Again the shorter, overland North African supply chain has its advantages over the Asian alternative. Dachser has operated in these regions for over 25 years, with its own branch offices in Tunisia and Morocco. The services are driver accompanied direct weekly road freight departures, utilising box trailers for added security.
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To contact us: Tel: 020 8912 +4 digits or email: name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Steve Hobson 2161 Head of content Tim Wallace 2158 Events and projects editor Hayley Pink 2165 Group production manager Isabel Burton Layout & copy editor Nick Shepherd Senior display sales executive Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Event sales Tim George 0755 7677758 Classified and recruitment advertising rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Sales director Emma Tyrer 07900 691137 Divisional director Vic Bunby 2121 Head of marketing Jane Casling 2133 MT Awards Katy Matthews 2152 Managing director Andy Salter 2171 Editorial office Road Transport Media, First Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170 Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publisher’s terms of control. For details, email mtsccqueries@roadtransport.com, or call 01772 426705 Subscriptions Email:customercare@dvvsubs.com Quadrant Subscription Services, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH Rates UK £135/year. Europe £163/year. RoW £163/year. Cheques made payable to Motor Transport. Apply online at mtssubs.com Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper Published by DVV Media International Ltd © 2020 DVV Media International Ltd ISSN 0027-206 X
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RECEIVED MOTORCYCLE TRAINING1
PROGRAMME COMMENCED TO INVESTIGATE HUMAN TRAFFICKING ALONG TRADE CORRIDORS IN EAST AFRICA
900 CHILDREN TRANSPORTED
TO A HEALTHCARE FACILITY BY BICYCLE AMBULANCE IN RURAL ZAMBIA2
REACHED 300,000 PEOPLE IN RURAL ZAMBIA WITH OUR
INTEGRATED COVID-19 AND MALARIA RESPONSE2
1,000 COMMUNITY HEALTH VOLUNTEERS IN RURAL ZAMBIA TRAINED ON COVID-19 & SUPPLIED WITH PPE2
2,840 COVID-19
SAFETY
PACKS GIVEN TO HGV DRIVERS
IN UGANDA3 1
1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020,
2
1 April – 31 July 2020,
3
1 June – 31 October 2020
Est. 1989
UK registered charity no. 1072105
Patron HRH The Princess Royal
02.12.2020 13:37:19
Marketplace
Asset Alliance looks for northern exposure with Leeds opening north of England that is convenient for our customers became more important than ever. The location is proving perfect for some of our long-standing customers in and around Yorkshire, and we’ve already attracted new business in Leeds, Bradford and even Liverpool.” New recruit Jenna Williams will be the rental and sales executive at Batley. Asset Alliance Group has sites in Wolverhampton and Newmains, and the new and used truck and trailer operation, Hanbury Riverside, near Ipswich.
Asset Alliance Group has opened its fourth retail and finance depot to better meet the needs of existing and future customers. The new 2-acre site on Pheasant Drive, Birstall in Batley near Leeds, is close to the M62 and M621 motorways, and hosts a range of stock for leasing, contract hire and rental, as well as assets for sale and finance. Brian Kempson (pictured), sales director for the group, said: “In spite of the current climate, demand for vehicles continues to grow and ensuring we have a base in the
No-deal Brexit on top of Covid-19 would be a disaster, says ACEA
Industry warns of ‘double-whammy’ The full extent of the devastating impact of Covid-19 on European commercial vehicle and car manufacturers has been laid bare at an online conference with more than 1,000 attendees. The event, ‘Putting the EU auto industry back on track post-Covid’, was organised by Brussels-based European Association of Vehicle Manufacturers (ACEA). Those attending were left in no doubt that failure of UK and European Union negotiators to agree soon on the terms of a freetrade deal from 1 January 2021 – a so-called ‘no-deal Brexit’ – would represent an even more harmful ‘double-whammy’. “The Covid-19 pandemic is clearly the biggest single risk ever to face the auto industry,” said Michael Manley, ACEA president and currently Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) chief executive. “It is adding massive pressures on our sector at a time when
Shutterstock
By Tim Blakemore
it is navigating fundamental technological shifts, as well as the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. “We urgently need to find ways to pull through this with minimum damage to jobs and investment, while at the same time keeping strongly focused on the climate challenge.” A no-deal Brexit would mean combined EU/UK motor industry trade losses of around €110bn
(£99bn) between now and 2025, says ACEA. This would be on top of the €100bn in ‘production value’ already lost as a direct result of the coronavirus crisis. Without a deal in place by 31 December, the UK and EU would be forced to trade under World Trade Organisation ‘nonpreferential’ rules, which include a 10% tariff on cars and up to 22% on vans and trucks.
MAH UK sings the praises of its Volvo Used deal Croydon-based MAH UK Transport has expanded its fleet with the purchase of five Volvo FH 6x2 tractor units from Volvo Used Trucks The new additions will be in operation six days a week, hauling box trailers from Croydon to Birmingham, covering up to 180,000km per year as part of a contract with another haulier. MAH Transport boss Michael Harry said the company had been fortunate enough to see its work increase. “As soon as there was a need to grow the fleet, I turned straight to Volvo Used Trucks and they were able to help me secure the additional tractor units I needed quickly,” he explained. All of the additional trucks, which are no more than four years old, have a premium Globetrotter cab. Power is provided by Volvo’s D13K engine producing 500hp, coupled with an I-Shift automated gearbox. The latest vehicles are backed by a Volvo Blue Contract which ensures all preventative maintenance is taken care of by skilled technicians using genuine Volvo parts at Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London in Croydon.
Manchetts Peterborough replaces Motus Commercial as Isuzu dealership Isuzu has appointed Manchetts Peterborough a full sales, service and parts dealer, replacing the former dealer Motus Commercials. Located in the city’s Fengate industrial area, its site has a seven-bay workshop, which includes ATF facilities and a tachograph centre, 16 MotorTransport
as well as 15 technicians including three Isuzu Master technicians, parts staff and an Isuzu Care (service programme) specialist. “With Manchetts taking on the existing dealer site in Fengate, Peterborough from Motus, as well as their experienced, fully trained staff, this
ensures the continuity of service for existing Isuzu customers, while giving Manchetts an excellent platform to expand the Isuzu vehicle parc in this busy part of Eastern England,” commented Isuzu’s UK head of sales, Richard Waterworth. 14.12.20
motortransport.co.uk
Scania franchise invests £2.7m in facility adjacent to former premises
New Preston depot for Haydock Commercials By Kevin Swallow
North-west-based independent Scania franchise Haydock Commercials has moved into a new £2.7m purpose-built facility in Preston, Lancashire. The new site is next to its former site at Walton Summit. Chairman Simon Dykes said the new site occupies 2.5 acres close to junction 29 of the M6 and 1 mile from the M61 and M65 intersection. Dykes said: “Preston Scania has long been a key site for us. The new facility is the latest step up for us, following on from the opening of our Warrington site two years ago. It reinforces our long-term commitment to the area’s transport operators.” The site incorporates seven 28m workshop bays with three 22m
pits, and a 5m-high door height allowing access for trailers and double-deck buses It also features new brake rollers, tachograph calibration equipment and a range of special tools, and has been fitted with
LED lighting throughout. Dykes said the old workshop will be demolished to further extend the site’s secure truck, trailer, bus and coach parking area. Thirty-four people work at the Preston depot.
Wareing joins TruckEast board Suffolk-based Scania dealer group TruckEast has appointed Shane Wareing as used sales director, which sees him join its board. He has been responsible for the retailer’s used division since joining the organisation in 2010, subsequently increasing the department’s business by an average of 60%. “TruckEast has a fantastic reputation and has always had a family feel to it – something that attracted me in the first place,” said Wareing. “I am humbled to have achieved this level in my career and delighted that the hard graft has paid off.” The group has made a series of other changes to its board, including moving Harley Coulson to sales and operations director and Martyn Clipston to group aftersales director for all branches except Wellingborough, which continues to be run by director Graham Broughton. All of the changes are effective from 1 January 2021.
A unique solution to improve road safety whilst boosting profits The transport industry places huge importance on safety and demands the highest performance. Fleet owners need to keep their costs down to remain competitive in this market. It is tough out there! MirrorSafe cares about improving road safety for all. They understand how important their road safety profile is for fleet operators, how it can make or break a tender bid. But they also know, staying competitive often gets in the way of large investments. With this in mind, MirrorSafe have invested into the best design, developed by British engineers with years of experience and into materials that have been carefully chosen and extensively tested. They came up with
a virtually unbreakable truck mirror that is patented and manufactured in the UK. Compared with other mirror solutions, the material is extremely tough but flexible and has rubber bumpers to protect vulnerable road users from injury. It also reduces the risk for drivers to cause more serious accidents by swerving during a mirror strike. This is saving considerable costs and keeps trucks safely on the road. MirrorSafe present to the transport industry a solution to prevent mirror breakage, keep mirror replacement costs down and at the same time address the dangers truck mirrors can pose to vulnerable road users. A unique combination.
To find out how they achieved this, visit their website:
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MotorTransport 17
Second-hand trailers
Demand outstrips The knock-on effect of trailer production grinding to a halt is that the second-hand market is struggling to cope with the shortfall. Steve Banner reports
S
taffordshire-based manufacturer Don-Bur is establishing its own used trailers operation. “We’re setting up a website and we’ve rented some land, which we’ll be using to hold our stock,” reveals group marketing manager, Richard Owens. “We’re doing it because a lot of our customers ask us to dispose of their existing trailers. We’ll now be in a position to say ‘don’t worry about it, we’ll take them off your hands’.” The new operation will be multi-make, he stresses and adds: “We’ve just taken in some SDC trailers that we’ll be selling.” Trailer industry veteran Ian Bolton has been recruited as sales manager.
Little stock
Curtainsiders are selling particularly well as used vehicles
18 MotorTransport
Don-Bur is entering a buoyant sector. “Demand is high, and stock is low,” reveals Andy Livingstone, trailer sales manager at Stockport Truck Centre (STC). “A few months ago, it was a buyer’s market. Now it’s a seller’s market.” Brian Parkinson, Boalloy’s trailer sales manager, says: “There’s no stock to be had and it’s really frustrating. At one point recently I’d sold everything I’d got.” Everything is finding a home, explains Livingstone, with flatbeds selling especially well as a consequence of the HS2 construction project. As Motor Transport went to press, Hireco was offering 2006- and 2011-vintage Cartwright triaxle step-frame flats on drum brakes with a 12-month MoT for from £4,950 to £7,950. In a recent online sale held by Commercial Vehicle Auctions, a pair of Dennison triaxle flats on drums dating back to 2017 went for £12,000 apiece. ‘Skeletals, flatbeds and curtainsiders are all difficult to come by,” reveals Stephen Johnston, who runs trailer dealer Rainford Trailers. “I get 10 calls a day for curtainsiders and I have to pass the callers on to somebody else.” A key reason used sales are soaring, says Livingstone, is that trailer builders are still battling to fulfil orders, having shut down during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. If operators cannot acquire the new trailers they need, their only options are to rent, or buy used. The demise of the Cartwright Group has exacerbated the situation by reducing the trailer industry’s UK produc-
tion capacity. Although that shortage has not resulted in prices rocketing skywards, says Parkinson, and adds: “They’ve stayed fairly static for the past 12 months.” Vince Croot, used sales specialist at SDC Trailers, agrees and says prices have remained steady over the past year. “It’s very much business as usual. Most things are selling quite well,” he adds. Livingstone says used prices are above book values – but the company is trying to hold them down as far as possible, so it does not appear to be taking advantage of buyers in a tough climate. He does not expect the values of Cartwright-built trailers to decline heavily in the wake of the company’s collapse. “Good products will always hold their price,” he remarks. The shortage means that operators are willing to consider older trailers. “They’ll sell just so long as they are tidy and come with a 12-month MoT,” he comments. STC has got its own bodyshop and workshop, so that it can carry out any necessary repairs and refurbishment work on trailers before offering them for sale. “We bought a batch of curtainsiders going back to 2007 recently and we couldn’t get them through the workshop fast enough,” he says.
Restoration
Well over 90% of the used trailers Boalloy sells are refurbished in the company’s workshop, says Parkinson. “Most of them are standard curtainsiders or step-frame double-decker curtainsiders plus the odd skeletal,” he says. “They’re up to 10 years old but I’m increasingly looking for examples that are five or six years old.” An eight-year-old curtainsider trailer that has been given a makeover by Boalloy, which includes shot-blasting and new curtains, costs around half the price of a new one, he says, and will earn the new owner just as much money. “It is not possible, however, for us to refurbish an older curtainsider to the EN 12642-XL standard if it wasn’t built to that standard to begin with,” he explains. Curtainsider bodies constructed to the standard are deemed to be capable of withstanding a sideways force equivalent to 50% of the maximum payload without the need to strap the cargo down. They have to be able to cope with a rearwards force of 50% and a 100% frontal force. The work Boalloy’s workshop undertakes can nevertheless be extensive. “I had 24 pillar-less curtainsiders come in recently dating back to 2012,” he recalls. “They were all at 4.75m, which is quite tall, so we cut half of them down to 4.3m or 4.5m.” That is not to suggest that there is no demand for tall trailers. Hireco was offering Lawrence David/Montracon double-deck triaxle curtainsiders at a lofty 4.87m and dating back to 2013 for from £12,500 to £14,500. As a 14.12.20
motortransport.co.uk
supply for trailers comparison, another dealer was selling standard curtainsiders of the same age for £9,500. All the trailers on the John Hudson Trailers 1,200-strong rental fleet are for sale second-hand and the company has been selling up to twice as many as usual in recent months. Owner John Hudson reports: “We’ve gone from 30 a month to 55 to 60.” He is able to replace them, he says, because the new trailers the company ordered earlier on in 2020 are now starting to come through. Much of Hudson’s fleet is made up of flats, expandables and machinery carriers, and they are all under three years old. They are also affordable, he says, suggesting that money is cheap at present. The pharmaceuticals and food industries are still
working flat out, so refrigerated trailers are in demand. “I’m selling nine or 10 a week at 8m, 10.6m and 13.6m,” says Johnston. The majority of his customers ask for barn-type rear doors. “Roller shutters aren’t so popular,” he says. “Only the supermarkets want them.” Fridge trailers on disc brakes are far less popular than those fitted with drum brakes, with the latter attracting a price premium of several thousand pounds, he says. Indeed, drums are preferred on most types of trailer. “The BPW drum is everybody’s favourite, although some like SAF axles,” says Parkinson, pointing out that hauliers have long memories and drums brakes on trailers are still viewed by many as being more dependable than discs. ■
Left to right: manufacturer Don-Bur is responding to customer demand by setting up a used trailer dealership; refurbished trailers are likely to earn the owner as much money as a new one; the Cartwright badge still stands for quality in the second-hand market
MirrorSafe truck mirrors – A unique solution for you?
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MotorTransport 19
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Cost tables ALL goods vehicles over 12 tonnes will soon require a permit to enter London.
Direct Vision Standard Are you ready?
0 Holding steady How Brigade can help Brigade Electronics can advise transport operators on the requirements of the Direct Vision Standard and how to achieve a permit to enter London if your vehicle falls short of the minimum star rating. If you are unsure what your vehicle’s DVS star rating is, we offer a free service to obtain that information for you.
Brigade Electronics has a range of products to comply with the DVS requirements For comprehensive information about the requirements of the Direct Vision Standard and how we can help you comply; visit our website or give us a call.
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The pandemic appears to have had some beneficial effects on operating costs over the last few months, writes Colin Barnett
W
ell, we didn’t see that one coming! Any predictions we made a year ago were thrown away when Covid-19 surfaced in Q1. Its impact on road transport costs has affected most elements from fuel to inflation. In terms of business performance, the parcels industry has seen unimaginable increases in traffic as home shopping has surged Construction has also performed well, sporadic shortages of various material notwithstanding. At the other extreme, areas such as exhibitions and live entertainment transport have been annihilated. Pre-occupation with Covid-19 has pushed the looming spectre of Brexit into the shadows, but it hasn’t gone away. Even at this late stage, the lack of an agreement makes it impossible to gauge the effects. For international operators there’s the uncertainty over physically getting in and out of the country, and all operators are likely to incur higher vehicle acquisition costs to some degree, though for now, most manufacturers are holding fire on price realignments pending more certainty. On the positive side, inflation is currently at 0.5% where it looks likely to settle for some time, and the threat of negative interest rates should mean paying less on new deals. Some operators have already reported paying slightly less for insurance, but the trend is static. Another cost reduction, at least for the first seven months of 2021, comes from the suspension of the HGV Road User Levy. Covid-19 has created a significant drop in demand for road fuel. At its lowest point in May, it was possible to buy diesel at retail outlets for under £1 per litre. Official figures at the time of writing showed the average cost of diesel was 10.1% lower than at the corresponding time last year. Moreover, the price hasn’t varied by more than 1p/litre in four months, though it is currently showing a slight dip again as the second English lockdown takes effect. We anticipate prices will not move much until demand returns to normal. Driver pay rates, meanwhile, have been confused by the furlough scheme but for now appear to have remained unmoved. n 14.12.20
motortransport.co.uk
ARTICS
32-tonne 4x2 unit, taxed for tandem-axle trailer
38-tonne 4x2 unit, taxed for triaxle trailer
44-tonne, 6x2 unit, taxed for triaxle trailer
Tandem-axle trailer (curtainsided)
Triaxle trailer (curtainsided)
71,170 101.7 10.4 33.0 7 10,857
73,485 101.7 9.2 33.0 7 11,210
84,628 101.7 8.5 33.0 7 12,910
19,323
20,645
12 1,965
12 2,100
38,923 3,086 22,536 560 8,616 3,503 77,224 3,861 81,085
38,923 3,607 22,843 560 8,896 3,616 78,445 3,922 82,368
38,923 3,990 24,857 560 10,245 4,165 82,740 4,137 86,877
1,447 1,661 3,107 155 3,263
1,545 1,829 3,374 169 3,543
1,763 353 32.05
1,791 358 32.56
1,889 378 34.34
71 14 1.29
77 15 1.40
44 0.58 2.03 8.13 55.19 2.8 57.95
50 0.65 2.32 8.23 61.46 3.1 64.53
54 0.71 2.82 8.65 66.57 3.3 69.90
1.74 2.83 4.57 0.2 4.80
2.68 3.16 5.84 0.3 6.13
193 159 139
202 167 147
215 178 157
10 9 8
12 11 10
7.5-tonne GVW (curtainsided)
13-tonne GVW (curtainsided)
18-tonne GVW (curtainsided)
26-tonne GVW 6x2 (curtainsided)
32-tonne GVW 8x4 (tipper)
45,221 101.7 17 33.0 5 7,136
52,462 101.7 15 33.0 5 8,279
67,880 101.7 13 33.0 5 10,663
85,897 101.7 10.5 33.0 5 13,873
114,934 101.7 7.5 33.0 7 22,386
31,232 1,825 7,628 165 7,617 1,190 49,657 2,483 52,140
34,064 2,086 11,181 95 8,837 1,380 57,643 2,882 60,525
35,282 2,316 14,869 300 11,443 1,778 65,988 3,299 69,288
36,585 2,832 15,617 300 14,405 2,313 72,052 3,603 75,654
36,585 2,832 20,147 560 13,221 2,985 76,330 3,817 80,147
1,133 227 20.61
1316 263 23.92
1506 301 27.39
1645 329 29.90
1742 348 31.68
27 0.35 2.32 7.39 37.26 1.86 39.1
31 0.40 2.63 8.33 42.18 2.11 44.3
36 0.46 2.75 7.92 46.70 2.33 49.0
44 0.57 3.47 8.65 56.72 2.84 59.6
62 0.80 8.03 14.67 85.14 4.26 89.4
169 126 104
196 145 120
222 165 136
249 186 154
290 223 190
Vehicle Cost (£) Fuel cost: (p/litre) Ex VAT Average montly MPG AdBlue cost: (p/litre) Depreciation period: (years) Residual value: (£)
ANNUAL STANDING COSTS (£)
Driver wages and NI Vehicle insurance Establishment/overheads Vehicle tax (VED) based on no RPC but with Levy Depreciation Finance cost Subtotal Profit allowance (5%) Total annual standing costs (£)
STANDING COSTS ALLOCATION
Per week (£) based on 46 weeks Per day (£) based on a 5 day week Per hour (£) based on an 11 hour day
RUNNING COSTS (P/MILE, 80,000 M/YR)
Fuel AdBlue (at 4% of fuel consumption) Tyres Maintenance & repairs Subtotal Profit allowance (5%) Total (p/mile)
CHARGE PER MILE (P)
60,000 miles/yr 80,000 miles/yr 100,000 miles/yr
RIGIDS Vehicle cost (£) Fuel cost: (p/litre) Ex VAT MPG AdBlue cost: (p/litre) Depreciation period: (years) Residual value: (£)
ANNUAL STANDING COSTS (£)
Driver wages and NI Vehicle insurance Establishment /overheads Vehicle tax (VED) based on E6 & Levy without RPC Depreciation Finance cost Subtotal Profit allowance (5%) Total annual standing costs (£)
STANDING COSTS ALLOCATION
Per week (£) based on 46 weeks Per day (£) based on a 5 day week Per hour (£) based on an 11 hour day
RUNNING COSTS (P/MILE, 60,000 M/YR)
Fuel AdBlue (at 4% of fuel consumption) Tyres Maintenance & repairs Subtotal Profit allowance (5%) Total (p/mile)
CHARGE PER MILE (P)
40,000 miles/yr 60,000 miles/yr 80,000 miles/yr 14.12.20
➜ 30
MotorTransport 29
Cost tables
VANS Vehicle cost (£) Fuel cost: (p/litre) Ex VAT MPG Depreciation period: (years) Residual value: (£)
ANNUAL STANDING COSTS (£)
Driver wages and NI Vehicle insurance Establishment /overheads Vehicle tax, based on E5 Depreciation Finance cost (5-yr term) Subtotal Profit allowance (5%) Total annual standing costs (£)
STANDING COSTS ALLOCATION
Per week (£) based on 46 weeks Per day (£) based on a 5 day week Per hour (£) based on an 11 hour day
RUNNING COSTS (P/MILE, 30,000 M/YR)
Fuel Tyres Maintenance & repairs Subtotal Profit allowance (5%) Total (p/mile)
CHARGE PER MILE (P)
20,000 miles/yr 30,000 miles/yr 40,000 miles/yr
motortransport.co.uk
1.6-tonne GVW (550kg payload)
2.1-tonne GVW (750kg payload)
2.8-tonne GVW (1-tonne payload)
3.5-tonne GVW (1.4 tonne payload)
15,740 101.7 43 5 1,769
15,967 101.7 40 5 2,084
22,195 101.7 33 5 2,458
23,289 101.7 28 5 4,043
25,921 1,144 5,377 140 2,794 360 35,736 1,787 37,523
25,921 1,219 5,377 140 2,777 424 35,858 1,793 37,650
25,921 1,447 5,377 140 3,947 526 37,358 1,868 39,226
25,921 1,608 5,377 140 3,849 653 37,548 1,877 39,426
816 163 14.83
818 164 14.88
853 171 15.50
857 171 15.58
10.8 0.61 3.48 14.84 0.7 15.6
11.6 0.71 4.11 16.38 0.8 17.2
14.0 1.08 4.53 19.62 1.0 20.6
16.5 1.43 4.96 22.90 1.1 24.0
203 141 109
205 143 111
217 151 119
221 155 123
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Tyre management
Wheels of fortune
Good tyre management can save a lot of money and increasingly tyre manufacturers are developing technological solutions to help operators get the best out of the rubber. Malory Davies reports
W
e all know that what gets measured gets managed. Not surprising then that more and more technology is coming onto the market to enable operators to manage their tyres more effectively. Incorrect tyre pressure is one of the main reasons for increased costs for fleet operators. Under-inflated tyres suffer irregular wear, which can decrease the tyre’s service life and increases costs due to premature and more frequent tyre replacement and increased vehicle downtime. “Under-inflated tyres also increase fuel consumption, which as the biggest single budgetary expense for many fleets, can have a significant cost impact,” says Tony Stapleton, head of group fleet sales at Continental Tyres. “Tyres that are under-inflated by 20% can increase fuel consumption by as much as 3%. And finally, the gradual, unnoticed loss of air pressure following a puncture is the main cause for tyre blowouts and expensive roadside breakdowns.” Chris Smith, MD of Michelin UK, is clear: “There is an increasing use of technology in tyre management. Sensors are common to ensure that tyres are running at the optimum pressure.”
34 MotorTransport
NUMBERS GAME: Continental’s in-cab ContiPressureCheck is one of a number of monitoring systems that uses sensors to monitor tyre pressure
And Paul Emery, sales director of Hankook Tyre UK, agrees: “Technology is seen as the way forward, with real-time monitoring and connectivity to reduce operating costs, vehicle down time and maintenance planning. Success in fleet business today, and more so in future, will come from an ability to minimise the costs for the fleet while maximising the value the mobility solutions deliver. “This leads to an expansion of the scope of tyre manufacturers into technologies such as tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), load sensing, vehicle tracking, alignment, wheel security, driver monitoring and also supports the fleet’s drive for a minimal ecological impact.”
On location
Alongside the Effitires PPK system, Michelin has developed Effitrailer, which not only offers pressure and temperature monitoring, but also geo-location. The system enables the operator to see how efficiently the trailer fleet is being used, and, says Smith, can enable operators to reduce the total number of trailers in the fleet. He highlights the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) which can be used in drive-over solutions to test tread depth, saying this concept will develop massively over the next five years, enabling tyres to be tracked from cradle to grave. These are all part of a strategy by Michelin, which owns ATS Euromaster, of broadening its offering towards better mobility. Premium tyre producers need to broaden their service offering, says Smith. They can’t afford to be caught in a commodity price battle. For a typical commercial vehicle, tyres make up 3% to 4% of the operating costs, so saving 10% of that is not huge for the operator. But if you can save the operator 10% of the fuel cost, that is big, says Smith. Another step in this strategy came last year when Michelin bought Masternaut, the fleet telematics provider, which it sees as a key part of its strategy to optimise customer mobility. Smith points out that Michelin uses Masternaut in its tyre technicians’ vans and has seen a 9% saving. Continental has taken its ContiPressureCheck TPMS a step further and in a joint initiative with Mercedes-Benz 14.12.20
motortransport.co.uk
COMMON METHODS OF AQUISITION
Trucks UK developed a standalone trailer TPMS that integrated tyre pressure monitoring into the existing Mercedes-Benz Truck App Portal. Stapleton says: “Pressure and temperature monitoring of trailer tyres, particularly on multi-deck trailers, is critical from a safety perspective. These trailers are growing in popularity as more and more fleets – especially those transporting in the grocery sector – recognise the environmental and cost benefits that these spacemaximising trailers can bring. “The new fully integrated system pairs data from the trailer tyre sensors with the in-cab Mercedes-Benz Truck
PUMP IT UP To get the best fuel economy, tyres need to be inflated to the correct pressure. But there are risks involved in inflating a tyre to around 100psi, notably if it has been damaged. Harvinder Virdee, technical director of risk management specialist Inspire International, says it is important that proper health and safety procedures are followed. Virdee points out that there have been some serious accidents where damaged tyres have exploded during the inflation process, injuring the technician. Consequently, he says, it is important that the tyre is checked before it is inflated. If there is evidence of damage, or the pressure is lower than expected, then it needs to be investigated further. It is also important to follow the correct inflation procedure. A safety cage is recommended, while the technician should stand 3m away. Virdee points out that sometimes workshops have been fitted with air-lines designed for cars, which have the gauge too close to the valve. This means that the technician’s head will be too close to the tyre during the inflation process, and could result in serious injury if a tyre were to explode. Virdee also recommends that technicians wear goggles and ear defenders, and are given refresher training every couple of years. 14.12.20
ACQUISITION METHOD
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
Transactional: buy tyres as and when needed
Operator can change brand easily and take advantage of special deals
Big outlay if buying a lot of tyres at once. Operator must take all responsibility for compliance and management
Products and services: operator buys tyres when needed but uses third party for inspections and other services
Takes pressure off the operator to manage compliance issues
Additional cost of using third party
Fully managed: Pence per kilometre (PPK)
Low risk. Pay as you go system means costs are easy to manage. All management issues are handled by the provider
Traditionally targeted at large operators, but smaller operators are increasingly making use of PPK
Fully managed: Fixed monthly payments
Similar to PPK. Monthly cost is predictable
Operator pays monthly charge regardless of how much the vehicle is used
App Portal. So, in the event of a pressure drop in a trailer tyre, or if the temperature around the tyre rises while driving due to increased load, drivers receive audible and visual dashboard warnings. The system has also been designed to be highly adaptable and will work on any trailer configuration, not just multi-deck trailers.” Wayne Bell, national fleet account manager at Prometeon, highlights the importance of monitoring systems in giving an insight into driver behaviour. “Fuel is the biggest cost. Any cost savings you can make in fuel are important.” TPMS also allows the operator to plan replacement and remedial work, he says. If you have a tracking system you know where the vehicle is and where it is going to be so you can plan where maintenance is going to take place and ensure that remedial work is done in a timely manner. “Monitoring systems will become the norm across fleets over the next five to ten years,” says Bell.
Buying choices
While technology is enabling operators to maximise the efficiency of their tyres, they still need to make crucial decisions on whether to buy tyres outright or to go down the managed service route. Michelin’s Chris Smith highlights the benefits of the fully managed approach. “In this case, we take the risk – we know how our tyres perform in a given environment and charge either a price per kilometre or price per vehicle. We are responsible for inspections and compliance. For the operator this is the lowest risk option.” Fully managed systems used to be the preserve of the larger operators but, says Smith, more and more smaller hauliers are going down that route. He points out that if an operator is leasing its vehicles, then a pay-as-you-go tyre management system is likely to be included. Continental’s Tony Stapleton says: “Choosing a premium tyre brand will allow operators to access a complete tyre management policy, including budget planning and reporting, product monitoring, assistance in how to correctly select and fit tyres, regular tyre inspections to ensure compliance and fast response in the event of a tyre breakdown. “Conti360° Fleet Solutions help customers ➜ 36 MotorTransport 35
Tyre management
motortransport.co.uk
ANTI-DUMPING TARIFFS
achieve the lowest overall driving cost, offering a vast selection of tyres, correct fitting, regular inspections and maintenance, on-going monitoring and reporting, fast response in the event of a tyre breakdown and a full lifecycle approach for worn tyres with the retreading options in the form of ContiRe and Bandvulc brand retread tyres,” says Stapleton.
Helping hand
Picking the right option has become more critical this year with the impact of Covid-19, says Prometeon’s Wayne Bell. Operators on a PPK contract have benefited from the fact that if the vehicle is off the road, then they are not paying for tyres. However, that is not true for fixed monthly payment deals. Bell says that Prometeon has taken the view that it should help customers struggling in this situation. “We want to build long-term relationships. We, the manufacturer, service provider and customer, have got to work together. Part of my job is to co-ordinate relationships and build trust,” he says. In the end, says Hankook’s Paul Emery, “establishing a partnership with a manufacturer enables an understanding and effective planning to ensure that a commitment to service is achieved and control of costs. “Buying on price, on whatever brand is available, may be a short-term solution. But the financial outlay of buying more stock then necessary to take advantage of a deal, and the result of a mix and match of brands in service, may be detrimental to the optimum use of the products and therefore lead to an increase in cost.” n
36 MotorTransport
The volume of low-cost tyre imports from China exploded a few years ago and the impact was so significant that in November 2018 the European Commission imposed anti-dumping duties of €40 to €60 per tyre. The number of imported tyres fell significantly in the following 12 months. However, says Michelin’s Chris Smith (right), the number has been rising as importers have found ways around the tariffs. The main beneficiaries of the anti-dumping tariffs have been the retreaders, says Smith. Prometeon’s Wayne Bell agrees, pointing out that it tends to be smaller operators that buy budget tyres. EU tariffs have made retreads for drive and trailer axles more cost effective, he says. Smith points out that a premium retread can last two to three times as long as a cheap tyre. And premium retreads offer similar performance to new tyres. The strategy to get the maximum use of commercial vehicle tyres, he says, is first to regroove them, then to retread them. Continental’s Tony Stapleton (left) reinforces the point: “Although budget tyres may be attractive at first glance, premium tyres offer far better performance in the long run. Budget tyres may offer only half of the mileage that a premium tyre can deliver. Key factors of premium tyres include a stronger construction, optimised pattern designs, advanced filler technology, and the ability to be retreaded and regrooved.” The proportion of retreads has dropped over the past few years. Smith says they now account for about 20% of all CV tyres in the UK, while the other 80% are new. “We can see a recovery in the proportion of retreads. Brexit might actually be a help, as retreading is done in the UK, while importing new tyres might attract new tariffs.” He points out that Michelin aims to maximise the use of retreads, where appropriate, in its managed contracts. Hankook’s Paul Emery (right) reckons the anti-dumping tariff seems to have had a limited long-term impact. “Initially Hankook saw a reduction in the volumes of imported low-priced ‘budget’ tyres. Since the middle of 2018 there has been gradual recovery of the imported volumes with significant growth from Vietnam, Thailand, Turkey, Russia etc. “When Covid-19 affected supply from China and Asia in March and April, there was a drop in imports, but now that most of the global production is back on line, it is likely we will see recovery back to normal 2019 levels.” 14.12.20
Whilst 2020 has been a challenging year, here at Hexagon Leasing our relentless focus upon #TheShapeOfRental and being here 24/7 for our customers with Hire to Help has ensured we continued to grow. For 2021 we’re going to strengthen our team even further, so our customers continue to receive our unique and award-winning service. We have these exciting positions available for the industry “A-Players� out there.
WHERE QUALITY MATTERS
HAULAGE INDUSTRY SPECIALIST
Want to join our award-winning team? Convince us. Please send our recruitment partner Revival Resourcing a covering letter outlining which role you would excel in, explaining why you are an “A-Player� and why you want to join us along with your up-to-date CV and career history to: Email: info@revivalresourcing.co.uk Post: Revival Resourcing, The Old Vicarage, Market St, Castle Donington, DE74 2JB
Business Development Managers We want to hear from highly talented individuals responsible for developing and winning new business and clients. Your focus will be upon identifying and closing both HGV and LCV Contract Hire and Rental. Positions Nationwide
De-hire Coordinator A key position within the organisation. We will need you to deliver industry-leading customer service, managing the return function for vehicles returning off-hire from our clients. Derby Headquarters
Rental, Sales and Operations Coordinator A fantastic opportunity to be responsible for the short-term rental sales and administration of our organisation’s rental yiiĂŒ ĂŒ i - Ă•ĂŒ 7iĂƒĂŒ v } > `° 9 Ă•Ă€ v VĂ•Ăƒ Ăœ Li Ă•ÂŤ increasing short-term rental and effectively managing end-toend the rental process. South West Location
Contracts Manager We are looking for a talented individual who will be responsible for managing the relationships of our most important clients across the UK. You will develop and oversee the day-to-day strategy and serve as the link of communication between the client portfolio and the organisation in this key role. Derby Headquarters
South West Location Hexagon
Leasing. Hire to Help.
MT examines the financial performance of the UK logistics industry ahead of a challenging year
Good time for home work
T
he success of online retailing is clearly underlined in this year’s Top 100 with parcel carriers such as Hermes, Yodel, DPD and UPS all increasing sales at double the industry average rate of 2.3%. And it is this sector that again performs strongly when it comes to profits. DPD and UPS are well ahead of the other major players in terms of return on sales, while Hermes and FedEx also performed strongly. Even Yodel has made progress in cutting its massive losses. The figures for this year’s Top 100 come mainly from companies’ 2019 accounts and so are not affected by the Covid-19 crisis. However, it is clear that the home delivery specialists have been the major beneficiaries as consumers have taken to the internet to do their shopping, and that is likely to be reflected in next year’s Top 100. While last year was good for home delivery, it was tougher for other sectors of the industry and our figures reveal an average 36% fall in pre-tax profits. And that is also reflected in a fall in average return on sales from 2.33% to 1.45%.
38 MotorTransport
However, this is not an across-the-board fall; there are one or two companies that reported heavy losses. For example, Royal Mail’s UK business saw its pre-tax profit fall from £160m to zero as it struggled to adapt to the decline in the letters market. And Eddie Stobart Logistics showed a pre-tax loss of £239m. However, it expects to be back
KEY AVERAGES
Turnover latest year Turnover previous year Pre-tax profit latest year Pre-tax profit previous year Number of employees latest year Number of employees previous year Sales per employee latest year Sales per employee previous year Changes in sales per employee Profit per employee latest year Profit per employee previous year Change in profit per employee Return on sales latest year
£319,625,000 £311,688,000 £4,519,000 £7,243,000 3,639 3,607 £87,830 £86,412 1.64% £1,242 £2,008 -38.16% 1.41%
in profit this year. Not only that, it secured the Stobart name, paying £10m to former parent Stobart Group, which plans to change its name to something different next year. But while some companies have struggled, others have bounced back strongly – notably DHL which came back from its £36m loss of the previous year to record a pre-tax profit of £107m. There has also been further consolidation in the market, notably with Culina’s takeover of Fowler Welch. This will take Culina’s revenue to more than £750m when fully consolidated. One clear impact of Covid-19 is the fact that a few companies have been slower than normal to file their latest accounts at Companies House. They are listed in the notes. Operators face a challenging few months. Covid-19 is expected to make the home shopping peak even higher this Christmas. Royal Mail, for example, expects to recruit a record number of temps this year. Then, straight after that, will come the change in the UK’s trading relationship with the EU. It will be a challenging period, but there is the prospect of more settled trading conditions as 2021 progresses.
14.12.20
motortransport.co.uk
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 7 8 11 9 10 13 12 14 15 17 16 18 20 21 29 23 24 25 30 27 26 37 28 31 32 35 33 36 34 38 40 42 39 41 44 45 54 50 48 49 47 53 51 43
Royal Mail (UKPIL) DHL XPO Logistics DPD Wincanton UPS Menzies Distribution FedEx Corporation Hermes Parcelnet Eddie Stobart Logistics Kuehne + Nagel Whistl UK Culina Group Yodel Gist Clipper Logistics Group Turners (Soham) Holdings Ceva Logistics Maritime Transport DX Group Gregory Distribution (Holdings) Yusen Logistics (UK) W H Malcolm DSV Road Fowler Welch Europa Worldwide Logistics Bibby Supply Chain Services Kinaxia Ltd Tuffnells Parcels Express Gefco UK Langdon Group Movianto UK Hoyer Petrolog UK BCA Automotive ECVL Downton Pentalver Transport McBurney Transport Group FreshLinc Group ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) Howard Tenens Owens (Road Services) Suttons Tankers John G Russell Woodside Logistics Group Redhead Freight R Swain & Sons Maxi Haulage Reed Boardall Group Abbey Logistics Group Moran Logistics
29/03/20 31/12/19 31/12/19 31/12/19 31/03/20 31/12/18 31/12/18 31/05/19 29/02/20 30/11/19 31/12/18 31/12/19 31/12/18 30/06/19 31/12/18 30/04/19 31/12/18 31/12/19 27/12/19 30/06/19 30/09/19 28/03/20 31/01/19 31/12/19 31/03/19 31/12/18 31/12/19 31/12/19 31/08/19 31/12/19 31/12/19 31/12/19 31/12/18 31/03/19 30/06/19 31/12/18 31/12/19 02/02/19 31/12/19 30/09/19 30/06/19 30/04/19 31/03/19 31/03/19 31/12/18 28/12/19 30/09/19 31/03/19 29/06/19 28/12/19
7,720,000 4,812,228 1,627,253 1,389,107 1,201,200 1,134,875 937,300 888,725 860,037 857,526 779,616 634,893 584,671 508,757 462,035 460,171 414,553 357,053 328,736 322,500 238,894 219,940 206,147 197,522 178,747 175,907 170,175 169,976 164,450 161,916 160,863 155,355 132,879 130,090 117,458 114,387 103,902 103,459 100,184 96,080 89,701 72,218 68,077 67,337 66,086 65,765 63,370 62,804 62,679 61,953
0 107,048 55,030 158,346 43,800 102,218 -22,700 45,789 46,213 -238,937 48,811 -4,672 26,775 -66,996 6,190 16,930 33,041 9,954 9,437 -1,700 8,011 2,384 5,275 9,037 4,360 5,244 -930 -1,826 -29,262 4,442 7,985 -4,594 1,409 1,140 2,168 2,892 4,955 504 1,904 10,770 1,854 3,924 5,357 3,578 -332 172 74 970 -3,668 1,158
141,466 46,123 21,884 8,946 18,390 8,508 2,966 10,341 3,559 6,491 11,712 1,934 5,826 5,254 4,770 5,640 3,476 3,313 2,620 3,521 2,492 1,368 2,103 717 1,479 675 1,567 1,793 2,746 606 1,518 789 1,244 1,090 1,183 418 812 454 800 727 953 600 649 518 360 577 359 773 608 433
7,732,000 5,010,560 1,551,765 1,315,305 1,141,500 1,084,441 1,049,000 913,104 749,457 781,462 749,525 563,663 497,791 481,505 437,331 400,115 396,283 399,589 304,877 299,500 173,971 215,946 200,149 196,283 168,560 144,353 192,416 114,907 175,195 165,875 150,235 124,253 132,046 121,933 112,123 118,426 100,536 87,770 100,544 94,193 70,496 70,042 61,075 64,407 64,594 65,392 66,293 61,641 63,144 74,694
160,000 -36,024 50,229 164,586 48,600 82,491 24,000 53,083 36,092 -22,255 35,170 4,795 28,091 -110,986 8,832 17,966 31,696 2,297 8,124 -19,900 5,703 823 7,550 10,357 4,252 3,224 -3,725 -756 -5,343 6,156 6,905 -4,300 2,162 2,023 1,136 8,392 3,929 1,280 1,824 30,766 1,628 1,463 4,661 3,000 -939 1,917 1,915 1,385 -4,417 334
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14.12.20
MotorTransport 39
LARGEST 100 COMPANIES (BY TURNOVER) Latest rank
Previous rank
Company or trading name
Financial year end
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
55 56 52 58 71 87 46 64 60 63 61 57 68 62 65 66 69 72 73 67 75 74 81 79 77 76 80 78 92 85 84 82 86 113 83 90 94 22 89 109 88 95 123 98 104 97 100 101 91 107
Pickfords Move Management KNP Logistics Group Panther Warehousing Jack Richards & Son Rhys Davies and Sons WS Specialist Logistics PCL Transport 24/7 Advanced Supply Chain Group Geodis UK Lenham Storage Group GBA Services Solstor UK Boughey Distribution Currie International Warrens Warehousing and Distribution RT Keedwell Lloyd Fraser Holdings Agro Merchants Whitchurch S J Bargh Montgomery Transport Lomas Distribution Countrywide Freight Group Knowles Transport McPherson Fred Sherwood & Sons (Transport) Freightroute T J Transport Brit European Expect Distribution ET Holdings JW Suckling Transport Buffaload Logistics The Bartrum Group White and Co Meachers Global Logistics WM Armstrong (Longtown) Neill & Brown Global Logistics Group Lineage UK Transport H Sivyer (Transport) Kammac Circle Express Elddis Transport (Consett) Master Removers Group Pollock (Scotrans) BP Mitchell Haulage Contractors Acumen Logistics Group Fagan & Whalley JBT Distribution Associated Cold Stores and Transport Mansel Davies & Son
30/09/19 31/05/19 31/12/19 31/05/19 28/02/19 30/11/2019 30/06/19 30/11/19 30/12/17 31/08/19 31/12/18 30/09/19 31/05/19 31/12/18 31/12/18 31/10/19 28/02/19 31/12/19 30/04/19 30/09/19 29/07/19 31/03/19 31/12/19 25/07/19 31/03/19 31/12/18 31/12/19 31/12/19 30/11/19 31/03/19 31/12/19 31/12/18 31/12/19 31/01/20 31/05/19 31/03/19 30/04/19 31/12/19 31/03/19 31/12/19 31/03/19 31/12/19 30/09/19 31/08/19 30/06/19 31/12/18 30/04/19 31/03/19 28/12/19 31/01/19
Latest year turnover (£000s) 58,868 58,605 58,117 57,505 55,334 53,790 53,543 50,311 50,107 49,377 48,595 48,464 48,451 48,056 42,697 42,673 40,848 39,800 39,620 39,493 38,122 36,315 36,242 36,152 33,896 33,722 33,348 32,395 32,208 31,761 31,406 31,043 31,040 30,640 30,624 30,451 30,274 29,575 29,269 29,097 28,851 28,682 28,064 27,840 27,775 27,007 26,278 25,918 25,485 25,216
Latest year pre-tax profit (£000s) 1,520 -1,204 4,871 1,459 -8,067 875 -17,073 1,684 -4,468 1,430 1,287 734 310 509 2,928 64 594 3,987 1,308 -431 658 347 2,016 3,046 644 1,038 -93 1,977 1,785 1,451 1,224 1,036 1,548 985 2,208 270 2,587 -282 613 1,559 26 441 1,892 256 5,108 -343 521 1,673 1,790 114
Latest year employees 319 495 474 699 358 272 778 988 301 596 236 87 582 296 360 423 481 379 477 287 280 333 277 368 42 413 232 216 293 250 278 222 286 386 158 272 145 371 65 298 233 328 390 240 120 212 324 323 216 298
Previous year turnover (£000s) 59,464 56,340 62,576 53,674 38,753 29,295 66,818 42,899 49,330 47,267 36,120 53,884 41,003 48,111 38,276 42,249 40,862 37,211 37,058 41,764 34,364 35,928 32,142 33,057 33,375 31,763 32,904 33,128 28,353 30,181 30,427 32,220 30,125 21,295 26,138 28,616 27,592
Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s) 2,068 -2,880 381 988 319 454 -7,138 2,535 -4,248 1,579 1,157 413 -754 38 1,745 381 606 35,854 647 -90 814 593 1,506 2,678 2,626 847 340 1,350 1,435 838 604 -1,656 1,601 -968 1,895 286 2,083
28,967 22,126 29,210 27,400 27,188 26,769 24,381 25,514 25,955 24,810 28,589 23,040
481 640 -595 658 2,286 58 4,103 144 1,258 1,678 2,210 247
KMAX GEN-2. Superb mileage and traction. 40 MotorTransport
14.12.20
motortransport.co.uk
GROWTH IN TURNOVER Turnover growth 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
Overall Company or rank trading name 56 28 84 55 21 61 90 41 32 26 63 38 13 58 85 16 9 95 79 73 12 65 43 71 10 87 100 74 19 20 54 31 68 69 34 86 76 25 96 14 15 4 80 5 3 35 92 6 17 44
Latest year turnover (£000s) WS Specialist Logistics 53,790 Kinaxia Ltd 169,976 White and Co 30,640 Rhys Davies and Sons 55,334 Gregory Distribution (Holdings) 238,894 GBA Services 48,595 Kammac 29,097 Owens (Road Services) 89,701 Movianto UK 155,355 Europa Worldwide Logistics 175,907 Boughey Distribution 48,451 FreshLinc Group 103,459 Culina Group 584,671 Advanced Supply Chain Group 50,311 Meachers Global Logistics 30,624 Clipper Logistics Group 460,171 Hermes Parcelnet 860,037 BP Mitchell Haulage Contractors 27,775 Expect Distribution 32,208 Knowles Transport 36,242 Whistl UK 634,893 Warrens W&D 42,697 John G Russell 68,077 Lomas Distribution 38,122 Eddie Stobart Logistics 857,526 Neill & Brown Global Logistics 30,274 Mansel Davies & Son 25,216 McPherson 36,152 Maritime Transport 328,736 DX Group 322,500 Jack Richards & Son 57,505 Langdon Group 160,863 Agro Merchants Whitchurch 39,800 S J Bargh 39,620 BCA Automotive 130,090 WM Armstrong (Longtown) 30,451 Freightroute 33,722 Fowler Welch 178,747 Acumen Logistics Group 27,007 Yodel 508,757 Gist 462,035 DPD 1,389,107 ET Holdings 31,761 Wincanton 1,201,200 XPO Logistics 1,627,253 ECVL Downton 117,458 Elddis Transport (Consett) 28,682 UPS 1,134,875 Turners (Soham) Holdings 414,553 Woodside Logistics Group 67,337
Previous year turnover (£000s) 29,295 114,907 21,295 38,753 173,971 36,120 22,126 70,496 124,253 144,353 41,003 87,770 497,791 42,899 26,138 400,115 749,457 24,381 28,353 32,142 563,663 38,276 61,075 34,364 781,462 27,592 23,040 33,057 304,877 299,500 53,674 150,235 37,211 37,058 121,933 28,616 31,763 168,560 25,514 481,505 437,331 1,315,305 30,181 1,141,500 1,551,765 112,123 27,400 1,084,441 396,283 64,407
Growth in turnover (%) 83.62 47.92 43.89 42.79 37.32 34.54 31.51 27.24 25.03 21.86 18.16 17.87 17.45 17.28 17.16 15.01 14.75 13.92 13.60 12.76 12.64 11.55 11.46 10.94 9.73 9.72 9.45 9.36 7.83 7.68 7.14 7.07 6.96 6.91 6.69 6.41 6.17 6.04 5.85 5.66 5.65 5.61 5.24 5.23 4.86 4.76 4.68 4.65 4.61 4.55
Turnover Overall Company or growth rank trading name rank
Latest year turnover (£000s)
Previous year Growth in turnover turnover (£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
49,377 25,918 58,605 779,616 27,840 103,902 28,064 31,406 72,218 31,040 206,147 66,086 96,080 62,804 219,940 50,107 33,896 33,348 26,278 36,315 29,269 42,673 197,522 132,879 65,765 40,848 48,056 7,720,000 100,184 62,679 58,868 28,851 32,395 161,916 888,725 114,387 31,043 4,812,228 63,370 39,493 164,450 58,117 48,464 357,053 937,300 25,485 170,175 61,953 53,543 29,575
47,267 4.46 24,810 4.46 56,340 4.02 749,525 4.01 26,769 4.00 100,536 3.35 27,188 3.22 30,427 3.22 70,042 3.11 30,125 3.04 200,149 3.00 64,594 2.31 94,193 2.00 61,641 1.89 215,946 1.85 49,330 1.57 33,375 1.56 32,904 1.35 25,955 1.24 35,928 1.08 28,967 1.04 42,249 1.00 196,283 0.63 132,046 0.63 65,392 0.57 40,862 -0.03 48,111 -0.11 7,732,000 -0.16 100,544 -0.36 63,144 -0.74 59,464 -1.00 29,210 -1.23 33,128 -2.21 165,875 -2.39 913,104 -2.67 118,426 -3.41 32,220 -3.65 5,010,560 -3.96 66,293 -4.41 41,764 -5.44 175,195 -6.13 62,576 -7.13 53,884 -10.06 399,589 -10.64 1,049,000 -10.65 28,589 -10.86 192,416 -11.56 74,694 -17.06 66,818 -19.87 No previous figures
60 98 52 11 94 37 93 81 42 83 23 45 40 48 22 59 75 77 97 72 89 66 24 33 46 67 64 1 39 49 51 91 78 30 8 36 82 2 47 70 29 53 62 18 7 99 27 50 57 88
Lenham Storage Group JBT Distribution KNP Logistics Group Kuehne + Nagel Pollock (Scotrans) McBurney Transport Group Master Removers Group JW Suckling Transport Suttons Tankers The Bartrum Group W H Malcolm Redhead Freight Howard Tenens Reed Boardall Group Yusen Logistics (UK) Geodis UK Fred Sherwood & Sons T J Transport Fagan & Whalley Countrywide Freight Group H Sivyer (Transport) RT Keedwell DSV Road Hoyer Petrolog UK R Swain & Sons Lloyd Fraser Holdings Currie International Royal Mail (UKPIL) ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) Abbey Logistics Group Pickfords Move Management Circle Express Brit European Gefco UK FedEx Corporation Pentalver Transport Buffaload Logistics DHL Maxi Haulage Montgomery Transport Tuffnells Parcels Express Panther Warehousing Solstor UK Ceva Logistics Menzies Distribution Associated Cold Stores Bibby Supply Chain Services Moran Logistics PCL Transport 24/7 Lineage UK Transport
FUELMAX GEN-2. Drive further on less fuel. 14.12.20
MotorTransport 41
GROWTH IN PROFIT Latest rank
Company or trading name
Latest 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
Royal Mail (UKPIL) DHL XPO Logistics DPD Wincanton UPS Menzies Distribution FedEx Corporation Hermes Parcelnet Eddie Stobart Logistics Kuehne + Nagel Whistl UK Culina Group Yodel Gist Clipper Logistics Group Turners (Soham) Holdings Ceva Logistics Maritime Transport DX Group Gregory Distribution (Holdings) Yusen Logistics (UK) W H Malcolm DSV Road Fowler Welch Europa Worldwide Logistics Bibby Supply Chain Services Kinaxia Ltd Tuffnells Parcels Express Gefco UK Langdon Group Movianto UK Hoyer Petrolog UK BCA Automotive ECVL Downton Pentalver Transport McBurney Transport Group FreshLinc Group ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) Howard Tenens Owens (Road Services) Suttons Tankers John G Russell Woodside Logistics Group Redhead Freight R Swain & Sons Maxi Haulage Reed Boardall Group Abbey Logistics Group Moran Logistics
0 107,048 55,030 158,346 43,800 102,218 -22,700 45,789 46,213 -238,937 48,811 -4,672 26,775 -66,996 6,190 16,930 33,041 9,954 9,437 -1,700 8,011 2,384 5,275 9,037 4,360 5,244 -930 -1,826 -29,262 4,442 7,985 -4,594 1,409 1,140 2,168 2,892 4,955 504 1,904 10,770 1,854 3,924 5,357 3,578 -332 172 74 970 -3,668 1,158
Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s)
Growth in profit (%)
Latest rank
Company or trading name
Latest year pre-tax profit (£000s)
160,000 -36,024 50,229 164,586 48,600 82,491 24,000 53,083 36,092 -22,255 35,170 4,795 28,091 -110,986 8,832 17,966 31,696 2,297 8,124 -19,900 5,703 823 7,550 10,357 4,252 3,224 -3,725 -756 -5,343 6,156 6,905 -4,300 2,162 2,023 1,136 8,392 3,929 1,280 1,824 30,766 1,628 1,463 4,661 3,000 -939 1,917 1,915 1,385 -4,417 334
-100.00 397.16 9.56 -3.79 -9.88 23.91 -194.58 -13.74 28.04 -973.63 38.79 -197.43 -4.68 39.64 -29.91 -5.77 4.24 333.35 16.16 91.46 40.47 189.67 -30.13 -12.75 2.54 62.67 75.03 -141.62 -447.67 -27.84 15.64 -6.84 -34.85 -43.65 90.76 -65.54 26.12 -60.64 4.36 -64.99 13.91 168.15 14.94 19.24 64.70 -91.04 -96.16 -29.95 16.95 246.26
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
Pickfords Move Management KNP Logistics Group Panther Warehousing Jack Richards & Son Rhys Davies and Sons WS Specialist Logistics PCL Transport 24/7 Advanced Supply Chain Group Geodis UK Lenham Storage Group GBA Services Solstor UK Boughey Distribution Currie International Warrens W&D RT Keedwell Lloyd Fraser Holdings Agro Merchants Whitchurch S J Bargh Montgomery Transport Lomas Distribution Countrywide Freight Group Knowles Transport McPherson Fred Sherwood & Sons Freightroute T J Transport Brit European Expect Distribution ET Holdings JW Suckling Transport Buffaload Logistics The Bartrum Group White and Co Meachers Global Logistics WM Armstrong (Longtown) Neill & Brown Global Logistics Lineage UK Transport H Sivyer (Transport) Kammac Circle Express Elddis Transport (Consett) Master Removers Group Pollock (Scotrans) BP Mitchell Haulage Contractors Acumen Logistics Group Fagan & Whalley JBT Distribution Associated Cold Stores Mansel Davies & Son
1,520 -1,204 4,871 1,459 -8,067 875 -17,073 1,684 -4,468 1,430 1,287 734 310 509 2,928 64 594 3,987 1,308 -431 658 347 2,016 3,046 644 1,038 -93 1,977 1,785 1,451 1,224 1,036 1,548 985 2,208 270 2,587 -282 613 1,559 26 441 1,892 256 5,108 -343 521 1,673 1,790 114
Previous year pre-tax profit (£000s)
Growth in profit (%)
2,068 -2,880 381 988 319 454 -7,138 2,535 -4,248 1,579 1,157 413 -754 38 1,745 381 606 35,854 647 -90 814 593 1,506 2,678 2,626 847 340 1,350 1,435 838 604 -1,656 1,601 -968 1,895 286 2,083 0 481 640 -595 658 2,286 58 4,103 144 1,258 1,678 2,210 247
-26.47 58.18 1,178.64 47.76 -2,631.59 92.78 -139.18 -33.56 -5.20 -9.46 11.22 77.64 -141.11 1,228.50 67.80 -83.28 -2.05 -88.88 102.10 381.29 -19.20 -41.49 33.87 13.73 -75.46 22.54 -127.37 46.49 24.40 73.28 102.64 162.56 -3.29 201.69 16.52 -5.72 24.17 0.00 27.56 143.63 104.37 -33.07 -17.25 344.91 24.48 -337.81 -58.56 -0.31 -19.02 -53.78
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The MT Top 100 explained The rankings were finalised on 25 November 2020. The data was compiled from audited accounts filed at Companies House during the 12 months since the last Top 100 was compiled in October 2019, unless otherwise stated. The table lists the company in regard to its official registered name at Companies House, which is not always the same at the company’s trading name. MT has compiled the tables using the turnover and pre-tax profit figures generated solely or primarily from UK road transport and warehousing activities of the businesses concerned unless otherwise stated below. Figures shown for employees are predominantly for those employed solely or primarily in the UK Abbey Logistics 2018 figures have been restated. Acumen Logistics did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. Advanced Supply Chain figures reflect the performance of Advanced Supply Chain Group, excluding the results of its Advanced Forwarding international freight forwarding business. Agro Merchants Whitchurch (formerly Grocontinental) pre-tax profit for 2018 includes £34.8m exceptional item for sale of a property. BCA Automotive comprises Walon, Paragon Automotive Logistics and Sensible Automotive, which are all subsidiaries of BCA Marketplace. Buffaload Logistics did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. CM Downton name has changed to ECVL Downton. Culina Group comprises Culina Logistics, Great Bear Distribution, Integrated Packing Services, Morgan McLernon, CML F&L (Telford) and Robsons of Spalding. Culina took a 75% stake in Warrens Warehousing & Distribution in March 2018 – this is included separately. None of these companies filed 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. Culina completed the takeover of Fowler Welch in June 2020 – this is included separately. Currie International Holdings has extended its accounting period to 30th June 2020. Its 2018 figures are the latest available. DHL comprises DHL Supply Chain, DHL Parcel UK, Tradeteam, DHL International UK, and Exel UK. The company is consolidating logistics contracts into DHL Supply Chain as they are renewed from Exel and Tradeteam. Employees in DHL Supply Chain, Tradeteam and Exel are employed through DHL Services. DHL’s freight forwarding business is excluded from our figures. DPD comprises DPDgroup UK and DPDLocal, formerly Interlink Express. The profit figure has been adjusted to reflect a £25m dividend paid by DPDlocal to DPDgroup. Europa Worldwide Group did not file 2019
accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. FedEx comprises FedEx UK and FedEx UK Transport Ltd – the new name for TNT UK. Freightroute did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. GBA Services did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. Geodis UK did not file 2019 or 2018 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2017 figures. Gist did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. Gregory Distribution has consolidated the results for AAR Craib into its accounts for 2019, consequently there is no separate listing for Craib. Hargreaves Services has been taken out of the listing as the company no longer gives separate figures for transport operations. It operates a fleet of some 100 trucks in the waste recycling and construction markets. Figures are now included in the figures for the Distribution & Services division whose activities also include mining operations, materials handling and contracting services. Harry Yearsley business has been split into four units that report separately and rebranded with the Lineage name. They are: Lineage UK Transport, Lineage UK Warehousing, Harry Yearsley Food, Lineage UK admin. Only the Lineage UK Transport business qualifies for the MT100. Its figures are for a 9-month period only and there are no comparative figures for it. Hoyer Petrolog UK did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. Kinaxia main entry is for Kinaxia Ltd and does not include figures for the companies that it has acquired to make up the group. Knights of Old group changed its name in February to KNP Logistics Group Ltd. Kuehne+Nagel did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. K+N’s turnover is derived from its contract logistics business (as reported by Kuehne + Nagel Ltd) and K+N Drinks Logistics. Turnover from its freight forwarding business is excluded to best reflect the
domestic road freight related contributions to the business. However, as K+N does not split the two divisions into legal entities, we were unable to break down pre-tax profit and employee numbers in the same way. Therefore profit and employee figures include the international freight forwarding business. Lenham Storage comprises Lenham Storage and Lenham Storage Southern. McBurney Holdings comprises McBurney Transport and Bondelivery Northern Ireland. Menzies Distribution did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. Moran Logistics 2018 figures are for the 15 months to 31 December 2018. NFT Distribution has been removed from the Top 100. Specific assets and operations of the business were acquired by EV Cargo Logistics in February 2020. PCL Transport 24/7 was acquired by Arla Foods in March 2020. Pentalver comprises Pentalver Transport and Pentalver Cannock. The firm did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. Redhead Freight did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. Rhys Davies & Sons figures cover extended accounting period – 18 months to Feb 2019. Tuffnells was sold by Connect Group to Tuffnells Holdings Ltd in April 2020. Turners (Soham) did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. UPS did not file 2019 accounts with Companies House in time for inclusion so we have used 2018 figures. WS Specialist Logistics extended its accounting period from 31 May 2019 to 30 November 2019. Consequently the latest figures are for 18 months. XPO Logistics comprises XPO Supply Chain, XPO Transport Solutions UK and XPO Bulk UK. We have excluded XPO Global Forwarding and XPO Maintenance UK to best reflect turnover and profit derived from domestic road freight. Yodel comprises Yodel Delivery Network and Arrow XL.
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