Motor Transport

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

15.4.19

QUALITY. COMFORT. PERFORMANCE. Aspray Group founder severs ties as new parent pursues CVA

Aspray owner applies for CVA

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NEWS INSIDE Foodservice sale

Bidcorp to sell two of its foodservice subsidiaries p3

Yodel at a loss

Parcel carrier reports its largest loss to date

p4

Tachograph crime

Three men convicted of tacho manipulation p7

OPERATORS IN THIS ISSUE Abbey Logistics Group ...........................p6 Aspray Group ........................................p1 Bedfords Group .....................................p8 Bidcorp .................................................p3 Boleyn Recovery & Fleet Services ........p10 CEVA Logistics ......................................p8 DVS ......................................................p8 ELB Partners .......................................p10 Malcolm Group ...................................p11 Panalpina..............................................p8 R Jameson Events Transport ................p10 RPL Transport .......................................p8 S Bamford International.........................p7 Suttons Tankers ....................................p7 Yodel.....................................................p4

EXCLUSIVE

By Chris Druce

Aspray Group founder Pat Laight has severed ties with the business after its new owner, Bushell Investment Group, applied for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), MT can reveal.

Ownership of the group, which consists of Aspray24, Aspray Logistics and Aspray International, was transferred to Bushell Investment Group on 5 March via holding company Bullamasay XL (MT 23 March).

Speaking at the time, Bushell Investment Group CEO Lee Bushell promised the takeover would “ensure this business reaches its full potential”.

Laight established Aspray in December 1982 with two trucks. Today it employs more than 600 people and operates from a 16-acre freehold site in Willenhall, West Midlands and 12 other locations.

However, following the departure of his son Stuart from the business last year, Laight had been looking to secure the loss-making group’s future with a sale and cash injection. He told MT that the new owners had promised around £2m to keep the business going. “It is a big employer… and that was one of the main reasons for selling it to him [Bushell] as he guaranteed to me that he would

keep the people employed and invest,” Laight said.

“Then last week [1 April] they said they were putting the business into a CVA. And I said ‘pardon?’”

Laight told MT that while a CVA had been discussed as one of the options available for Aspray Group to take ahead of the sale of the business, he was genuinely shocked that it had in the end become the preferred course of action.

Laight said that he had as of 6 March received the first instalment on the purchase of the business as set out in the sale agreement.

He said however that he was not a salaried member of the business and had lent his name to ensure continuity while Bushell looked to appoint a manager to run it day to day.

Laight has decided not to act as chairman of Aspray Group

as reported at the time of the acquisition last month.

A spokeswoman for the transport business told MT: “As you are aware, Bushell Investment Group recently acquired the Aspray Group.

“Since the acquisition, we have focused our efforts on initiatives to stabilise the business, which include restructuring, as well as investing funds and expertise. There are a number of legacy issues which we still need to address, and we propose to address these via a CVA. “It is important to note that it remains business as usual at Aspray, and that customers and trade suppliers will be unaffected by this process.

“We are confident that these steps will ensure that we put the company in a strong financial position going forward.”

A meeting on 23 April will seek approval for the CVA.

MT Awards shortlisted firms revealed The shortlist for the 33rd Motor Transport Awards has been revealed – and once again DPD UK leads the field with five entries, including Customer Care, which it has won in four of the past five years.

DPD is hot on the heels of TNT, which won a record 33 trophies, with 27 titles to date and must be confident of adding to its tally when the winners are announced at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 3 July.

Wren Kitchens is shortlisted for four awards, including Safety in Operation; Restore Datashred has been shortlisted in three categories, including the new Urban Delivery Operator of the Year.

Also on the shortlist is Ocado, ArrowXL and City Plumbing.

■ See page 18 for the full shortlist and go online at mtawards.co.uk to book your table at the biggest night in the road transport industry.

FIND OUT MORE. mantruckvanandbus.co.uk

Focus: warehousing p12 Apprenticeships p14 Viewpoint p16 Trailers p20 Alternative fuels p22 Tail-lift security p28 MT Awards shortlists p30-34

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11/04/2019 16:21:19

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11/04/2019 11:23:30

News

motortransport.co.uk

Annual accounts reveal foodservice giant’s strategy of exiting ‘low-margin’ logistics

Bidcorp to sell Best Food Logistics and PCL Transport

By Carol Millett

Bidcorp is looking for a buyer for Best Food Logistics and its subsidiary PCL Transport as part of a wider strategy to exit “low-margin logistics activities”.

The news came as KFC confirmed that Best Food Logistics (formerly Bidvest) had won back the entirety of its KFC distribution contract after losing it to DHL Supply Chain in 2017 (see story below).

However, this latest win has

not changed the South African foodservice giant Bidcorp’s stated strategy to sell both Best Food Logistics and PCL Transport, according to its newly published annual accounts.

In the accounts, the BSF Group, which is a subsidiary of Bidcorp containing Best Food Logistics and Bidfood, said: “Bidcorp has over a period of a few years been exiting low-margin logistics activities globally where they do not fit into its model for its

foodservice business and are so considered to be non-core.

“Best Food Logistics was considered to fall into this category and accordingly this operation has now been classified as a discontinued operation, with a purchaser for this business actively sought.”

In Bidcorp’s recent annual report for 2018, chief financial officer David Cleasby added that a potential buyer had pulled out of buying the business “in the final stages” due to “internal reasons”.

In a separate results release covering the half year ended 31 December 2018, Bidcorp stated that PCL Transport’s profit had been “significantly impacted by low revenue increases, higher distribution costs and a dispute on transport rates”.

It added that the firm’s business relationship with customer Arla “has largely broken down and negotiations for the sale of the major portion of these activities is currently under way”.

Driver job loss fears as KFC terminates DHL Supply Chain contract Driver redundancies could be on the cards at DHL Supply Chain after fast-food retailer KFC’s decision to terminate its partnership with the logistics firm.

The move is understood to affect up to 100 staff at DHL Supply Chain’s Rugby DC. DHL Supply Chain ousted Best Food Logistics from the major contract in October 2017. However in February last year delivery problems forced KFC to close hundreds of food outlets across the country for

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several days. It led to Best Food Logistics being brought back on board by KFC to run the northern half of DHL’s distribution deal.

In a statement a KFC spokesman said: “After last year, we’ve been working hard to make sure we can continue to deliver fresh chicken every day to our restaurants.

“We’ve decided to switch distribution partners back to Best Food Logistics, which has done a great job in supporting us while we’ve been getting

back on track this year.”

A DHL spokeswoman said: “DHL Supply Chain has advised that it is ending its current relationship with KFC, with the business transitioning to the new provider over a defined period.

“Affected staff have been informed of the situation and will shortly enter into consul-

tation to discuss their options, including transferring t o the new provider under TUPE regulations or redeploying to other DHL operations.

“However, DHL remains committed to Rugby as a strategic location and will make every effort in the coming months to secure a new customer for the warehouse.”

Smiths News and Marketforce sign long-term deal Connect Group’s Smiths News has struck a long-term deal with magazine distributor Marketforce, worth £130m a year.

The agreement secures all Smiths News’ distribution territories with Marketforce from 2020 to 2025.

Marketforce is part of TI Media and its portfolio accounts for approximately 38% of the UK magazine market.

As well as representing TI Media, Marketforce distributes on behalf of publishers such as Hello!, DC Thomson and Future Publishing.

In addition, Marketforce is the largest distributor of collectables to the UK news trade.

Connect Group chief executive officer Jos Opdeweegh said: “We are delighted to confirm this new agreement with Marketforce, which represents a milestone in our strategy to accelerate the renewal of our key contracts.

“We have now absolute clarity on the magazine footprint and I am confident that our constructive discussions with the remaining publishers will soon ensure the same for the remaining newspaper contracts,” he added.

MotorTransport 3

11/04/2019 16:41:35

News

motortransport.co.uk

Parcel carrier makes changes to reverse trend but warns that immediate future will remain challenging

Largest ever loss for Yodel

By Chris Druce

Yodel made its largest loss to date in the year to 30 June 2018, its most recent published accounts reveal.

Formed from the merger of the Home Delivery Network (HDNL) and DHL’s Express Delivery business in 2010, profitability has eluded Yodel ever since. Its best result to date was an annual loss of £45.4m in 2014.

However, for 2018 Yodel revealed its pre-tax loss had ballooned by more than a third year-on-year to £111.8m (2017: £82.5m loss). Previous to this, the parcel carrier’s largest annual loss was £98.4m in 2013, the first year it reported its results at Companies House as Yodel. Turnover in

2018 was 1.6% lower at £403.4m (2017: £409.8m).

In the strategic report to the accounts, director Philip Peters labelled the performance as “disappointing”. He said a volume shortfall caused by client losses that was only partially offset by new business had led to the deterioration.

He added that “this trend has now been reversed”.

The company recorded

£45.5m in exceptional costs in the period (2017: £39.2m). This included £14.5m for restructuring, as well as goodwill and intangible asset impairments attributed to the company’s creation, subsequent merger and purchases since.

Peters added that there had been tangible improvements in service at Yodel during the past year as measured by Trustpilot – boosting both

retention and its ability to win new clients. He said the company remained focused on expanding within the clickand-collect sector, aided by Collect+, which it now wholly owns; and that a major upgrade to its IT systems and infrastructure was progressing.

John Hughes, former senior partner at KPMG, came on board as group executive chairman in October 2018 too.

REVOLUTION: Felix Kybart, vice-president of alternative drives at MAN Truck & Bus, will speak about how alternative fuels can change the rules of the logistics game at next month’s Microlise Transport Conference. Kybart’s address, ‘The clean revolution – how emobility changes urban logistics,’ will provide an outlook on the electrification of commercial vehicles. The presentation will examine issues such as charging and fleet management, and set out Kybart’s vision for the future. He will also discuss MAN’s experience of etrucks (pictured).

■ Register now for your free place at The Microlise Transport Conference, which takes place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 15 May, at microliseconference.com.

Yodel CEO Andrew Peeler said: “John has extensive sector experience and under his direction we have intensified the review of the business, resulting in a rejuvenated leadership team. The team is aligned and focused on delivering the strategy, and the business is experiencing success with improving service reputation, volume growth and signs of improved cost performance.”

Peters conceded however that “the directors expect that the Yodel financial result for the year ending June 2019 will again be challenging”.

Yodel’s sister two-man delivery company ArrowXL made a £862,000 (2017: £2.9m) profit on a £78.1m turnover (2017: £82.6m).

Cargo thefts West Yorkshire experienced the most cargo thefts in 2018 with London emerging as a “high-risk” area, according to a report by the BSI. The report analysed cargo theft rates across the country, and named West Yorkshire, Northants, Kent, Leicestershire, and Notts as the top five regions for such theft in the period.

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11/04/2019 09:50:07 11/03/2019 08:59

News

motortransport.co.uk

Business refocuses on core tanker market as it looks to achieve five-year target of £100m turnover

Abbey Logistics takes short-term hit

By Hayley Pink

Abbey Logistics Group made a pre-tax loss of £3.6m for the year ended June 2018, after taking short-term pain for long-term gain as part of its ambition to achieve an annual turnover of £100m by 2022.

Turnover from continuing activities – stripping out its discontinued general haulage and Pallet-Track work – was up 28% to £61.7m (2017: £48.4m) in the period. The company attributed this to several new contract wins and the acquisition of Armet Logistics in 2017.

Abbey Logistics told MT that the loss was “largely expected due to a number of strategic changes made during the period as the group builds the platform for sustainable growth over the coming years”.

Indeed, the Bootle-based firm’s 2018 financial period saw a major restructuring exercise take place. Abbey

Logistics’ general haulage and palletised operations were closed, as the business focused on strengthening its core tanker market, resulting in a loss of £1.7m due to discontinued activities.

The haulier also revealed an exceptional charge of £1.3m due to the incorporation of the Armet Logistics operation, a restructure of the management team, and additional

costs associated with the closure of its general haulage arm, bringing the total pre-tax loss for the period to £3.6m.

At the start of this year former Palletways MD Julian Maturi was appointed company chairman and Matthew Male, previously at Eddie Stobart Logistics, joined as finance director.

Following Abbey Logistics’ management buyout (MBO)

in 2016, supported by NorthEdge Capital, the operator set itself the target of achieving an annual turnover of £100m by 2022. CEO Steve Granite told MT he remains confident Abbey Logistics will achieve this target and do so profitably.

“The past couple of years have been focused on executing the strategic review – to focus on our core tanker service and invest in infrastructure including safety and compliance, IT, management, people and depots,” said Granite.

He added: “We achieved a great deal in a very short space of time and we needed to restructure key departments and invest in critical areas to build a business that can reach £100m.”

Granite said that while the pre-MBO family firm was a “solid business”, it required major investment if it was to double in size, adding:

“Thankfully we have investors in NorthEdge who want to invest ahead of growth and have supported the short-term losses in order to realise the longer-term growth strategy.”

Abbey Logistics has started 2019 in a “much-improved place”, said Granite, with figures improving, alongside strong customer satisfaction and retention.

Benefits from the new management structure are also now coming to fruition, he added. “I am delighted to have Julian and Matthew on board as they are like-minded individuals who understand the logistics sector like myself and the rest of the remaining board members.

“We will spend the next six months continuing to drive the performance in the right direction and will look to consolidate following contract wins with Hovis and Tarmac recently,” he said.

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15.4.19

11/04/2019 17:10:53

News

motortransport.co.uk

Three convicted after investigation by DVSA and Lancashire police

Industrial-scale tacho crime leads to prison

By Chris Tindall

Three men convicted of “industrial-scale” tachograph manipulation have been jailed for a total of nine years at Preston Crown Court.

Darren Millington of Hinstock, Shropshire and S t e p h e n Yo u n g o f Wolverhampton were convicted of conspiracy to falsify drivers’ records and money laundering after a fiveweek trial. A third defendant, Benjamin Hayton of Leyland, Lancashire, was convicted on two counts of conspiracy to falsify drivers’ records.

The convictions were secured following an investigation by the DVSA and Lancashire Police.

The enforcement agency said the men produced, supplied and fitted tachograph interrupter devices to HGVs,

enabling drivers to avoid taking breaks and drive for longer than was legal.

The fraud was first uncovered when traffic examiners stopped a lorry near the M6 in Lancashire and found its tacho had been tampered with.

Following an investigation and execution of search warrants, evidence was found linking Millington, Young and Hayton to the crime.

The court heard Millington procured the devices, Young designed them and Hayton helped design and fit them for up to £1,500 each.

The DVSA said Hayton fitted at least one device to a vehicle belonging to S Bamford International and during the investigation the DVSA discovered that two S Bamford drivers had falsely recorded rest periods more

than 630 times in three months.

In August 2018, the two Bamford drivers pleaded guilty to knowingly recording false data on recording equipment and were given suspended prison terms and community orders.

At separate public inquiries, S Bamford lost its O-licence and the drivers lost their vocational driving licences.

Hayton failed to appear for the trial and was tried and convicted in absentia.

Marian Kitson, DVSA enforcement director, said: “Drivers’ hours rules exist to protect everyone from tired drivers. These criminals sought to deliberately undermine those rules for their own gain.

They put profit above safety and had no qualms about putting the public in danger.”

Suttons buys bulk commodity chemical business from DHL Widnes-based Suttons Tankers has bought DHL Supply Chain’s domestic bulk commodity chemical business.

The deal sees Suttons Tankers operating chemical transportation from sites in Billingham, County Durham and Runcorn, Cheshire.

DHL’s dedicated services in packed chemicals, bitumen, lubricants and fuels remain with DHL. Just over a year ago Suttons

Tankers, which operates a 500-strong fleet, bought the trade of Bullard, which specialised in the chemical waste and fuels sector.

A spokesman for Suttons confirmed to MT that all Billingham staff and assets have been transferred to Suttons’ Stockton site, while Runcorn staff have moved to Suttons’ Widnes depot.

The remaining drivers are based at the Willenhall depot.

Hall 5, Stand D10 NEC Birmingham, 30 April – 2 May 2019 15.4.19

MTR_150419_006-007.indd 7

MotorTransport 7

11/04/2019 17:05:51

News

motortransport.co.uk

Palletforce founder member in administration after unsuccessful restructuring and collapse of sale of subsidiary

End of the road for Bedfords

By Chris Druce

Bedfords Group has been placed into administration and has ceased trading.

Howard Smith and David Costley-Wood of KPMG were appointed to handle the insolvency of Bedfords Ltd, which trades as Bedfords Group, on 27 March.

The haulier is owned by SP & PL Holdings, which also controls LinQ Alliance and Milton Keynes-based RPL Transport. The latter was

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added to the group in 2014.

While group-owned LinQ Alliance was part of the initial administration, sister business RPL Transport was not.

However, it followed its stablemates into a separate administration process –also being handled by KPMG – on 1 April.

Birstall, West Yorkshirebased Bedfords Group employed 84 people, while RPL Transport in Milton Keynes employed 30 people.

In 2016, Bedfords Group, which was a Palletforce founding member, promoted Lee Nichols to MD as part of a restructuring plan.

However, group losses deepened, with a pre-tax loss of £653,837 in the year to 1 October 2017 (2016: loss of £221,415), its latest published accounts. Turnover in the

period was £18m compared with £19.4m a year earlier.

Smith said: “The company had recently experienced cashflow issues and had embarked on a process to seek new sources of investment.

Unfortunately, after a sale of one of its subsidiaries fell through, the directors were left with no alternative but to apply for the appointment of joint administrators.

“RPL Transport faced similar challenges to the wider Bedfords business, including cashflow pressure, which increased significantly since the administrations of Bedfords and LinQ. “Without any further investment, the decision was made by the directors to appoint administrators and, regrettably, cease operations.”

DSV snaps up Panalpina Global logistics provider DSV is to acquire Swiss rival Panalpina in a £3.5bn deal that will create the world’s fourthlargest logistics company after Deutsche Post DHL, Kuehne+ Nagel and DB Schenker.

Panalpina’s board has agreed to a revised offer, described by chairman Peter Uber as “very attractive”. The Panalpina board has recommended the deal to shareholders. The acquisition will create a company with a revenue of approximately £13.6bn and a workforce of 60,000 employees in 90 countries.

DSV is also proposing to change its name to DSV Panalpina when the deal is completed.

The purchase of Panalpina follows an attempt by DSV to buy CEVA Logistics six months ago, which it abandoned after receiving what DSV described as a “lukewarm response” to its offer.

DSV chairman Kurt Larsen said: “A combination of DSV and Panalpina further strengthens our position

as a leading global freight forwarding company.

Together, we can present a strong global network and enhanced service offering to our clients, further solidifying our competitive edge in the industry.”

Whereas Panalpina is mainly focused on air and sea freight, DSV’s business is broader, operating air freight, sea freight, road freight and contract logistics divisions.

The company’s road freight and contract logistics arms generate 26% and 14% of revenue respectively.

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News

motortransport.co.uk

Operators left to shoulder costs after early launch

ULEZ roll-out proves costly

By Chris Tindall

Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) went live last week (8 April), with operators delivering into the capital questioning mayor Sadiq Khanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rationale in forcing them to spend thousands of pounds to comply.

Covering the same area in central London as the Congestion Charge, the Euro-6 standard ULEZ was introduced almost 18 months earlier than first planned. Those running non-compliant HGVs will be required to pay daily charges of ÂŁ100.

Peter Eason, MD at London-based Pallet-Track member ELB Partners, said heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d just taken delivery of his final two Euro-6 trucks at a cost of ÂŁ63,000 as a result of the ULEZ. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s introduction of the ULEZ is 17 months ahead of its original planned time, which has had a major impact on businesses like ours that depend upon easy access to the centre of the capital,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve offset the cost by selling all of my non-Euro-5 vehicles to other freight providers not currently affected by such

zones, but their time will no doubt come,â&#x20AC;? Eason said.

Stephen Smith, director at Barkingbased Boleyn Recovery & Fleet Services, said 25% of its fleet remained noncompliant due to the tight timescales imposed on the industry.

Smith said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Boleyn does understand the need for cleaner vehicles but the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belligerence and inability to gauge the negative impact of his timeline is irresponsible. Heavy recovery vehicles take 18 months to build and are in use for 10 to 15 years.â&#x20AC;?

R Jameson Events Transport in Marlow said it had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds to ensure it complies with the ULEZ. It added that it had been forced to retire serviceable vehicles. Director Richard Jameson said he would struggle to pass on the costs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I explain to my customers but there are people out there that will do it at a loss to get the work, which is a road to nowhere,â&#x20AC;? he said. ď Ž See our Ryder-sponsored motortransport.co.uk/clean-air-zones page for the latest on the subject.

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WALKIES: Pets at Home has taken delivery of 11 Cartwright step-frame double-deck trailers. The curtainsiders, which went into service last month, feature Cheetah aerodynamic profiles and a Moffett trailer-mounted forklift.

Pets at Home general manager for transport Steve Travis said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have developed a very good working relationship with the Cartwright team.

Cartwrightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s willingness to tailor the deal was a testament to how receptive it is to meeting our specification.â&#x20AC;? Cartwright regional sales director Andy Jarvis said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pets at Home has been a valued customer of Cartwright for more than six years. Whether it needs a particular specification or our rental products as backup cover, we have the flexibility to offer a complete package.â&#x20AC;?

15.4.19

11/04/2019 14:44:14

News

motortransport.co.uk

Debate for planned platooning trials versus longer heavier vehicles hots up at the RHA spring conference

Platooning dilemmas continue

By Steve Hobson

The DfT should forget its planned platooning trial and focus instead on longer heavier vehicles (LHVs) if it wants to make serious cuts in carbon emissions from road freight transport, the RHA spring conference heard last week.

Road testing of three-truck platoons on UK motorways are due to start this summer – the three DAFs will run approximately 11m apart and Jolyon Carroll, vehicle safety and technology consultant at TRL, which is running the trials on behalf of the DfT and Highways England, said the expected average fuel saving for all three vehicles was about 5%.

But a subsequent panel debate heard that Dick Denby’s proposed Ecolink – a 60-tonne 25.25m 8-axle B-Double combination – had shown fuel savings of between 8.4% and 15.5% per tonne-km depend-

ing on the weight carried.

Head of freight, operator licensing and roadworthiness at the DfT Duncan Price acknowledged that the longer semi-trailer trial had “proven that larger vehicles could operate for the public good” but warned that, despite longer trailers being 70% safer than standard trailers, politicians remained reluctant to approve heavier trucks on UK roads.

“There are genuine technical issues with larger lorries,” he said. “There are also worries that they will see freight shift from rail to road.”

RHA technical director Paul Allera said longer trailers had given operators “nothing” as the extra length did not come with any extra payload. He agreed with Denby, chairman of Denby Transport, that the way forward to really improving efficiency was to try LHVs on major trunk routes. “The extra

From left: Paul Allera, Duncan Price, Jolyon Carroll and Dick Denby

length with no extra weight is no good,” he said. “They gave us nothing we didn’t already have with a drawbar.”

Denby has been developing his Ecolink since 2002 and said that with an actively steered middle coupling it could achieve the same turning circle as a standard artic. “I will keep banging the drum,” he said. “I am proposing a trial of 2,000 – there are a lot of operators successfully using longer semitrailers and I want to see them being able to exchange their

licences for B-Doubles that give 57.5% more cube.”

Road and rail relations

Speaking from the audience, Malcolm Group chief executive Andrew Malcolm called on the DfT to end the longer trailer trial and allow free use of the 15.65m trailers as the first generation were now coming to end of their lives and operators needed confidence to replace them. He added that his firm was taking part in another DfT trial allowing lorries up to

48-tonne GVW to deliver containers within a 48-mile radius of container hubs, something that would help shift more freight to rail.

Malcolm Group runs 24 trains a week between three terminals, and with SDC designed an extended 15.6m skeletal trailer capable of carrying 50ft multimodal containers. He told the conference his firm had a seen a 20% drop in productivity from its trucks as a result of increasing road congestion. “Road and rail need to complement each other,” he said.

Price agreed the ‘48T for 48M’ scheme would help level the playing field between rail and road freight. “This is technically a strong proposal,” he said. “But the 44-tonne limit started as an intermodal-only weight so politicians will worry that we will see 48-tonners going everywhere.”

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MotorTransport 11

11/04/2019 10:45:39

Focus: warehousing

motortransport.co.uk

Strong but cau ti North-west

Strong demand for logistics property in the north-west in 2018 has carried over into the first part of this year. But there are signs of it cooling off, according to agents. Research from shows that take-up of buildings above 100,000sq ft reached 4.58 million sq ft last year, 63% up on 2017 and 26% above the long-term average.

But Savills director Stuart Murray said occupiers are becoming cautious, given the uncertain political environment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have seen a reasonably good first quarter following the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third best year last year. There are some very good and very large requirements in the market but things are moving much slower than we are used to,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Those taking space so far in 2019 include logistics firm Dachser, which has signed up for a 55,700sq ft facility at the Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale (left, top) to replace

an existing facility in the town.

This follows a number of significant deals in the second part of 2018. Clothing retailer Go Outdoors took 350,000sq ft at Middlewich in Cheshire (right) and healthcare logistics firm Movianto took a buildto-suit unit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a 373,000sq ft warehouse at Haydock Green in St Helens (bottom left) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as well as a 300,000sq ft secondhand building in Knowsley.

Developers are trying to meet this demand. Bericote is constructing a 525,000sq ft speculative unit, 525 Haydock, in St Helens, due for completion in June.

Other activity includes Stoford Developmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Liberty Property Trustâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 107,000sq ft warehouse in Widnes, due for completion in July. Stoford is also involved at the Icon Industrial site at Manchester Airport, where it plans to build two build-to-suit units of 102,500sq ft and 138,400sq ft in conjunction

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Focus: warehousing

motortransport.co.uk

u tious start to the year with TPG Real Estate. Murray said: “There is steady supply into the market; it’s not huge but meets demand. However, ultimately, there is a lack of new development sites in the north-west.”

Speculative stats

Cushman & Wakefield partner Simon Lloyd said: “While there will continue to be demand from occupiers for built-to-suit solutions, the availability of speculative buildings is important in this dynamic market sector. The immediacy of a building solution for an occupier means they can focus on the operational aspects of their requirements.”

Developers

A number of leading developers in the UK have become involved in the upsurge in speculative development.

by Q4 this year.

Gazeley is another developer building speculatively and will complete a 278,000sq ft warehouse in Doncaster close to J4 of the M18 this spring. Also in Doncaster, db symmetry has completed a 150,000sq ft warehouse that could be extended to 250,000sq ft. Andrew Dickman, a db symmetry director, said: “Our decision to speculatively build at Symmetry Park Doncaster comes at a time when there is strong demand but limited availability of high-quality logistics space in the north.”

Other buildings under way include a 135,000sq ft urban warehouse being developed

by McKay Securities in Theale, Reading, with completion expected in December.

9578

Demand from the e-commerce sector is helping to fuel a speculative development boom that could see vacant new-built space reach 14 million sq ft by the end of the year, according to property agents Cushman & Wakefield.

The company’s ‘Stocks are rising: the resurgence in UK logistics speculative development’ report found that the construction of 8 million sq ft of space was under way at the end of 2018, across 44 buildings of 50,000sq ft or more.

This was down on the 9.7 million sq ft under way in Q3 2018 – which was a record level since before the global financial crisis in 2008 – but will

add to a expanding level of building stock; there is 11.5 million sq ft of completed speculative warehouses.

The bulk of construction is taking place in traditional hotspots such as the Midlands (35%), London and the southeast (31%) and the north-east (13%). However, there are clusters of development in emerging locations, such as the M6 north of Birmingham, Nottingham, Banbury, Aylesbury and Bedford, the report said.

The surge in speculative activity is likely to meet pentup demand, particularly from the e-commerce sector, and will not lead to an oversupply such as that following 2008 when 20 million sq ft was available, the report said. On average, speculative space was taken within nine months on average last year, the shortest time since Cushman & Wakefield started tracking this data in 2009.

St Modwen is building a 318,000sq ft warehouse next to the M42 in Tamworth, due for completion by December.

This will be its largest speculative unit and follows the decision to build three smaller warehouses from 12,000sq ft to 42,000sq ft at the site. The company has a committed pipeline of 1.5 million sq ft around the UK. Gregg Titley, St Modwen’s development director, said: “St Modwen Park Tamworth is a key site in the delivery of our strategy and demonstrates our confidence in the site’s location.”

Other companies involved in speculative development include Panattoni, which is constructing two buildings of 345,0000sq ft and 69,000sq ft in Luton, due for completion

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MotorTransport 13

11/04/2019 11:47:27

Viewpoint

motortransport.co.uk

We need to plug the Brexit skills gap with homegrown talent says Skills for Logistics MD David Coombes

We need apprenticeships At the time of writing, the uncertainty about Brexit remains and it seems it is all to play for in all markets.

In the logistics sector it is difficult to predict where, how and what is going to happen in a vocational sense. However, there are some things we can start to quantify regardless of whether you are a remainer or a hard or soft Brexiteer. One of the things we can start to unpick is opportunity cost.

Opportunity cost

There is an opportunity cost in the indecision and chaos of how Brexit has been handled, and how this disruption will effect the supply chain and logistics.

According to an FTA report on skills shortages in the logistics industry there is a continued struggle to plug the skills

gap. EU workers represent more than 12% of the UK’s logistics workforce and 52,000 qualified HGV drivers are needed to fulfil the demands from businesses and consumers.

As a result of the over reliance on foreign labour, be it EU or otherwise, to prop up the sector due to endemic issues such as an ageing workforce and low attraction and retention of young people, Brexit has acted as a cliff edge for the sector.

This is because there is a huge opportunity cost in not solving those issues before Brexit, and if we are going to be losing that foreign workforce there are skills shortages across our sector.

Even in the best scenario, with a flood of quality talent, it would still take a few years.

ship training programmes giving more choice than ever to develop positive behaviours and gain new skills, yet the take up is still very slow.

Vocational training

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IATE) has approved more than 400 new standards, with another 200-plus in development, a significant achievement from a standing start in just over two years.

As a route panel member for transport and logistics at

the IATE, I believe it is through investing in home-grown talent and the upskilling of individuals via apprenticeships that will be vital in plugging the skills gap that existed but is being fuelled by the uncertainty of Brexit.

We now have leading-edge and world-class apprentice-

I’ve spent my career in the transport and logistics industry and there has never been a more important time to embrace the value of vocational training.

Education secretary Damian Hinds said recently that apprenticeships, alongside new T-levels and world-class A-levels, will be the “gold standard choice” for young people after their GCSEs. The IATE has made great progress to improve the quality of apprenticeships and it is vital that apprentices, parents and employers continue to have confidence in them.

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11/04/2019 10:21:23

Viewpoint

motortransport.co.uk

Let’s talk about longer heavier vehicles T Steve Hobson Editor Motor Transport

he RHA spring conference, held at the mightily impressive JCB complex in Uttoxeter, reopened the debate about the role of longer heavier vehicles (LHVs) in cutting carbon emissions. Despite massive scepticism about the fuel efficiency gain – never mind the safety implications – of platooning, the DfT is pressing ahead with its trials.

The men from the ministry proudly proclaim that when the three-truck platoons start running on real roads later this year it will be a world first – and there may be good reasons for that. Daimler has already cancelled its platooning development after finding that running trucks close enough – approximately 3m apart – to get any significant fuel savings meant the following vehicles suffered a lack of cooling air and soon overheated.

The pitfalls of platooning often seem to outweigh any possible benefits. The trucks in the UK trial will be 11m apart, meaning the expected fuel savings will be as low as 5% – and that is an

average. The lead truck will actually be using more fuel, so unless all three trucks are run by the same operator, how will the fuel gains and losses be allocated? And 11m is a plenty big enough gap for cars to push into and ruin the platoon.

The following trucks will not be driverless, as we are still years away from autonomous vehicles, so there are no wage savings from platooning. As a number of operators – including the indefatigable Dick Denby – pointed out at the conference, far bigger fuel savings can be obtained by allowing LHVs such as the Denby B-Double to run around rail freight hubs and ports or on major trunk routes. It wasn’t that long ago that 38 tonnes was considered the maximum safe weight for UK roads – the world did not end with the move to 44 tonnes.

Apart from politicians’ squeamishness about allowing scary bigger trucks on the roads, there is another question – what on earth would VECTO make of the B-Double?

Get your sums right with algorithm T David Jennison UK MD OnTruck

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

The changes to the HGV Road User Levy introduced in February saw lorries using UK roads that don’t meet Euro-6 emissions standards paying 20% more tax, while London’s Clean Air Zone charges older lorries £100 a day to work in the area. So improving fuel and operational efficiency will be increasingly more important to hauliers who simply cannot afford to upgrade their fleets.

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

This is where machine learning plays a role.

The algorithm used by OnTruck matches supply with demand, groups loads together and optimises delivery routes. This enables hauliers to reduce their empty miles by up 25% and so reduce their emissions output and, in turn, fuel cost. This is a result of drivers no longer

16 MotorTransport MTR_150419_016.indd 16

needlessly going out of their way to pick up a load, and being able to complete more jobs on a single route.

Furthermore, by using platforms such as OnTruck, the efficiency gains mean hauliers earn 25% more per loaded mile. For example, a rigid vehicle operator can earn £1.80 per mile with OnTruck, compared with the average of £1.40, instantly helping to offset the imminent tax increases. Our calculations show that even a 25% improvement in efficiency could save the UK road freight industry £6.5bn annually.

With so much talk around the negative impact of road haulage, whether through congestion or wasted fuel producing excess carbon emissions, it is time that we, as an industry, took advantage of the free efficiency tools available.

This will not only see a wider improvement, particularly among inner city traffic and emissions, but will also make the lives of hauliers easier, more productive and more profitable, able to earn more in a day while improving the service to customers.

The newspaper for transport operators

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

Apply online at mtssubs.com Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper Published by DVV Media International Ltd © 2019 DVV Media International Ltd ISSN 0027-206 X

Got something to say?

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

15.4.19

11/04/2019 10:36:42

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2019 SHORTLIST Apprenticeship of the Year

Haulier of the Year

Safety in Operation Award

Close Brothers Asset Finance Fowler Welch Imperial Commercials Nagel-Langdons Tesco

ADD Express Culina Group DFDS Logistics UK Fagan & Whalley

BOC Greenergy Flexigrid Palletline Pall-Ex Rase Distribution Wren Kitchens

Best Use of Technology Award

Home Delivery Operator of the Year

Air Products DPD UK Ocado UPS

DPD UK Hermes Ocado Wren Kitchens

VLS

Team of the Year Collett & Sons DPD UK Fowler Welch Stagefreight

Innovation Award Business Excellence Award McCulla (Ireland) Palletforce Whirlpool UK Appliances

Brigade Electronics Grid Smarter Cities Microlise Wheely-Safe

Customer Care Award

Livery of the Year

ArrowXL DPD UK Pickfords

CEMEX UK Restore Datashred Travis Perkins WH Bowker

Fleet Truck of the Year DAF CF DAF XF Volvo FH Volvo FM Scania R-series

Low Carbon Award Guernsey Post Hermes UK McCulla (Ireland) TRAILAR UPS

Fleet Van of the Year

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Operational Excellence Award

Ford Transit Custom MAN TGE Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Peugeot Partner VW Transporter

City Plumbing Supplies Holdings Restore Datashred Speedy Asset Services Wren Kitchens

Fleet Van Operator of the Year

Partnership Award

City Plumbing Supplies Holdings Ocado Scottish Water

Clipper Logistics Pall-Ex (UK) The Haulage Holdings Organisation The Swain Group Wincanton

Technical Excellence Award Balfour Beatty Cartwright Group SDC Trailers Wren Kitchens

Training Award ArrowXL Genesee & Wyoming UK Gerrard’s of Swinton Knights of Old Group O’Donovan Waste Disposal

Urban Delivery Operator of the Year

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11/04/2019 12:11:19

Trailers

motortransport.co.uk

The light fantastic Early results from the trial of a prototype trailer are showing significant fuel savings. Could this vehicle be a game changer? Carol Millett investigates

F SAVING STEEL: Using Tata Steel’s composite Coretinium has reduced the weight of the chassis and upper deck

inding a double-deck trailer that is lightweight, aerodynamic and affordable is something of a holy grail for many operators. So could a prototype being trialled by Tesco, and which is delivering some impressive test results, end that search?

The Lightweight Aerodynamic Double-Deck Trailer Trial is being run by a consortium of partners that includes Tesco, Lawrence David, SDC Trailers and Cambridge University, with Tata Steel working in close partnership. Funding is provided by Innovate UK and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles. The nine-month trial, which started in March, will test the performance of six demonstrator double-deck trailers running deliveries for Tesco on designated routes against two of Tesco’s traditional trailers.

The six vehicles consist of two trailers fitted with aerodynamic modifications, two fitted with lightweighting modifications and two trailers fitted with both the aerodynamic and lightweighting elements.

“The aim is to demonstrate a target 15% reduction in CO2 emissions and fuel for the double-deck trailers by a combination of lightweighting and aerodynamic measures,” says professor Michael Sutcliffe of Cambridge University’s engineering department, who leads the university team on the project.

20 MotorTransport MTR_150419_020-021.indd 20

A tall order, which has required the team over the past 18 months to develop some radical innovations, particularly when it came to reducing the trailer’s weight. A key weapon in the teams’ lightweighting armoury was Coretinium, a lightweight steel composite panel, with a rigid polypropolene honeycomb core. Developed by Tata Steel for use in commercial vehicles and architectural products, the panel was used in the construction of the trailers’ side walls, bulkhead, rear doors and flooring.

SDC Trailers engineering manager Jimmy Dorrian, who led the team building the stepframe double-deck chassis, recalls: “This was a new direction for us. We’d come across honeycomb steel panels before for use in sidewalls but had not used it in the floors. So we asked Tata Steel for a comparable thickness of panel that we could use as a floor member to replace the traditional timber floor on the lower deck.”

Not only did the floor weigh less than a traditional floor, but its strength allowed the team to reduce the amount of steel in the chassis.

“By using a honeycomb steel panel for the floor as a structural element of the chassis we removed some of the steel out of the chassis and used the floor to give the chassis stiffness back again by bonding the floor to the chassis,” he explains.

Cutting weight

SDC then turned its attention to reducing the weight of the axles, wheels and suspension.

Dorrian explains: “Tesco’s traditional tri-axle double-decks have wide twin wheels and tyres and narrow axle beam centres that means that, for stability, a heavy spring and axle is always specified. We switched to the 445/45 super single tyre, which reduced the number of wheels and tyres from 12 to six and reduced rolling resistance. It also allowed us to increase the trailer’s axle beam centres, which meant we no longer needed the heavy spring and axle and could go to a standard 9-tonne axle. That simple suspension change brought the added benefit of greater stability.”

The sum total of these changes saw SDC slice even more weight off the chassis than first planned. “Our goal was to save 1 tonne but we actually took out 1,250kg,” Dorrian says.

While SDC was busy cutting weight on the chassis, Lawrence David’s team was undertaking a similar journey with the design of the trailer body. Andy Richardson, technical director of Lawrence David, says: “We introduced the Coretinium panels into the sidewalls in place of the heavier timber GRP fibre glass

conventional panels, which also resulted in reducing the wall thickness from 20mm to 10mm. We also replaced the traditional wood and fibre-glass panel rear doors with doors made from 10mm Coretinium.”

The team also used Coretinium to reduce the weight of the upper deck. “This is traditionally made from a plywood floor supported by a steel structure underneath. By replacing that with a Coretinium panel with a zip plywood core on top of that and a rubberised, non-slip coating, we again saved a considerable amount of weight,” Richardson says.

With Lawrence David removing approximately 1.4 tonnes from the body, the combined weight savings are impressive, with the lightweight aerodynamic trailer tipping the scales at just 8.6 tonnes – 22% lighter than Tesco’s conventional 11.3-tonne double-deck trailer.

Making the trailer more aerodynamic was also a team venture with SDC, Lawrence David, the team at Cambridge University and thirdparty contributor Aerodyne coming up with ideas that were extensively tested in the wind tunnel at the university labs. The final result saw the trailer fitted with a tapered boat tail at the rear with a splitter fin and an Aerodynedesigned deflector on the front of the trailer, both of which had shown savings, particularly in cross winds during the wind tunnel tests.

With the trial up and running, the performance of the demonstrators is being closely monitored by the Cambridge team, which is leading on data collection and analysis. Early results are promising. Sutcliffe says: “We have done some live load trials, with two side-by-side store deliveries undertaken by a baseline and aerodynamic lightweight trailer. Trial results show that, while cruising at 80kph on a motorway, compared with a fully-loaded baseline vehicle, a fully-loaded lightweight aerodynamic vehicle would consume 11.2% less diesel per tonne-km payload transport work.”

Tesco’s reaction

Cliff Smith, the supermarket’s fleet engineering manager, cautions that it is early days, but says: “Certainly the aerodynamic and lightweight features of these trailers are of interest to us for future specification. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and both the aerodynamic and lightweight elements have achieved improvements in that area.

“And what we do know is that however we choose to fill the trailer, be that full or part load, we are still pulling 2 tonnes less mass down the road, which is significant in terms of fuel 15.4.19

09/04/2019 16:47:53

motortransport.co.uk

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

savings and environmental benefits.”

Smith is also impressed with the way the trailer handles. “I drove one of the vehicles and it performed very well – with the changes to the chassis axle layout I think there has been some improvement to how the trailer would handle on the road.”

But will these savings be enough to offset the additional cost of this trailer? Lawrence David is still working on the costings but Richardson estimates an additional cost of approximately £4,000 per vehicle – around 8% more than the cost of a traditional doubledeck trailer.

Dorrian comes in higher with an estimate of 12%, but points out that the modular design allows operators to cherry-pick elements of the

design to keep costs down while still making significant weight savings. He adds that keeping costs down was a key target throughout.

“We have tried to be sensible with our material selection so there’s a cost-effective product at the end of it that is commercially viable. I see this trailer becoming Tesco’s benchmark.”

Follow the leader

Richardson notes that a number of operators are following the trial with interest and believes supermarkets will take the bait. “It is certainly worthwhile for Tesco and other supermarkets – it’s not just about saving fuel,” he says. “These weight savings mean they can carry another 10 cages of groceries on each vehicle – which is more than 10% of their current payload – so

While Innovate UK, in partnership with the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, provides funding for trials like this, it does not cover the participants’ entire costs and there is the risk of a project failing to deliver a product that can be put into production. So why take the chance?

SDC engineering manager Jimmy Dorrian says the learning curve the trial provides is worth more than the costs incurred. “You cannot innovate without risk and the trial allows that. It gave us the freedom to practically apply what we had known, even though it is not the accepted norm,” he says. “It has given us an exposure to using a floor as a structural element on a trailer and there are particular product lines now where we can apply that.”

Lawrence David technical director Andy Richardson agrees: “It has been well worth the investment because of how much we are learning. If you don’t continue to develop you are going to be overtaken by competitors – this is a way of moving forward and developing new processes.”

Cliff Smith, Tesco fleet engineering manager, values the input from the Cambridge University team. “It is good to be part of a consortium and particularly one that includes academia,” he says. “The university team has brought a mix of academic knowledge along with their ability to test the designs and assess the data and it’s good to combine that with testing these in a practical logistics setting.”

the operational benefits are huge.” Smith agrees: “If you max out on weight before filling your vehicles these lightweight products definitely help – but even if you don’t, you still have the benefit of pulling significantly less weight along the road. I think these improvements would suit all fleet operators. 

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MotorTransport 21

11/04/2019 11:24:08

Alternative fuels

motortransport.co.uk

Targeting emissions Emissions have dropped dramatically since the introduction of Euro-1 in 1992. But what does the future hold? In the first of a series of articles, Martin Flach takes a look

S

ince the introduction of Euro-1 standards in 1992, there has been much talk within the road transport industry about emissions. Now, almost 30 years later, it seems an appropriate time to take an overview of the progress made so far and what the future might look like. Over a series of articles I will attempt to use my four decades of industry experience, gained with both Iveco and Ford, to bring some clarity to the subject.

Emissions is a general term for anything emitted by the vehicle. It can be split into two main categories: Local air quality: any emission that has an adverse effect on air quality in the area where the vehicle operates and particularly on the health of people living there.

The key emissions that fall into this category are oxides of nitrogen – NO and NOx – and particulates. Both have been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular problems, while particulates can also lead to an increased risk of cancer, albeit nowhere near the level of risk posed by smoking.

Particulates used to be predominantly produced by engine combustion and appeared as visible smoke. With the improvements brought about by the Euro emissions regulations, however, such low levels of engine particulates have been achieved that attention is now moving to tyre, brake and clutch dusts. Sub-2.5 micron particles are a particular area of focus as smaller particles pose a greater risk to health.

Global warming: any emission that contributes to greenhouse effects in the atmosphere.

The key emissions in this category are methane, carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and refrigerant gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

Methane emissions from heavy commercial vehicles with natural gas engines have been regulated for many years, as their global warming potential (GWP) is over 30 times that of CO2. OEMs are also keen to keep methane emissions low to ensure that fuel is not wasted. The retrofit dual-fuel conversions seen during the times of Euro-4 and Euro-5 regulation did generally suffer from high levels of methane slip, which led to CO2-equivalent emissions often being higher than those of the base diesel vehicle.

EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS RELATIVE TO EURO STANDARDS PM (g/kWh) 0.50

Euro-0

1989

Euro-1

1994

Euro-2

1997

Euro-3

2001

Euro-4

2006

Euro-5

2009

Euro-6

2013

0.40

0.30 0.20

0.10

0 0

2

22 MotorTransport MTR_150419_022-026.indd 22

4

6

8

10

12

14

NOx (g/kWh)

Nitrous oxide, N2O, better known as laughing gas, is not currently regulated as a vehicle emission. However, recent testing by the DfT and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership has shown that levels can be significant on vehicles with SCR exhaust after-treatment. With a GWP around 300 times greater than that of CO2, regulation in the future seems likely.

CFCs, which have a GWP of more than 5,000, have already been successfully phased out of refrigerant systems and HCFCs, with a GWP of around 1,500, are following suit.

Light versus heavy duty

When we talk about emissions regulations, some operators are unaware that the requirements for heavy-duty vehicles are different to those for light commercial vehicles.

Heavy duty: emissions are measured with an engine on a test bench and the unit of measurement is g/kWh or, in other words, grams per unit of energy. The emissions covered by the regulations are NOx, particulate matter (PMs), carbon monoxide (CO), total hydrocarbons (HC) and smoke. Important to note is that CO2 is not regulated. For positive ignition engines like natural gas with spark ignition, methane is also covered. Ammonia was added to the list after the use of SCR became commonplace with Euro-4.

The evolution of heavy-duty emissions requirements over the last 30 years will be well known to most readers. From a starting point in the late 1980s until the introduction of Euro-6 in 2013, emissions progressively reduced as illustrated in the graph. PMs levels reduced from 0.48g/kWh to 0.01g/kWh, while NOx dropped from 14.0g/kWh to 0.4g/kWh. At these low levels it becomes increasingly difficult to measure emissions accurately. Further reductions will be more reliant on improvements in measurement technology than the OEMs’ ability to deliver the required levels.

Light duty: the vehicle is tested on a rolling road and emissions are measured in g/km. NOx, PMs, CO and non-methane hydrocarbons are regulated. The difference between the heavy- and light-duty regulations is that light commercial vehicles are also tested for fuel consumption and CO2.

Until 2018 the test used was the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) but this has now been replaced with the Worldwide Light Duty Test Protocol (WLTP), which larger vans will adopt from September. This change has been brought about following many years of campaigning ➜ 24 15.4.19

10/04/2019 15:11:15

FOCUS

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11/04/2019 10:29:28

Alternative fuels

by those who point out that the published NEDC fuel consumption figures cannot be achieved in normal conditions.

Regulation will be further tightened with the addition of Real Driving Emissions (RDE), which will require manufacturers to demonstrate that the emissions produced on the road conform to those measured on the rolling road. An allowance is given for the lack of consistency between controlled testing in a laboratory and real-life road conditions.

Light or heavy?

The split between light and heavy duty is determined by the reference mass of the vehicle which, broadly speaking, is the unladen weight. If this is above 2,840kg the vehicle must be certified to the heavy-duty requirements. Below 2,380kgs, the vehicle qualifies as light duty. In between, the manufacturer can use either standard.

All vans at 3.5-tonne GVW and below will be light duty and all trucks at 7.5 tonnes and above will be heavy duty. In between, a confusing mix of vehicles can be found, where the addition of a few options can force the requirement for heavy-duty emissions. With the introduction of WLTP and RDE the physical difference between light and heavy duty will be minimal, but for some time it has meant the difference between EGR or SCR exhaust after treatment.

24 MotorTransport MTR_150419_022-026.indd 24

15.4.19

11/04/2019 11:06:07

motortransport.co.uk

THE VECTO PROCESS Engine data

Measurement data

Measurement data

Evaluation tool

Transmit data

Measurement data

Evaluation tool

Axle gear data

Measurement data

Evaluation tool

Retarder data

Airdrag data

Measurement data

Measurement data

Evaluation tool

Truck CO2 emissions

Tyre data

Legislation has required CO2 emissions and fuel consumption for vans to be published for many years. Manufacturers are checked on the average of all the vehicles they each produce; the 2020 target for vans is 147g/km. Factors are applied that take into account the weight of the vehicle and lowvolume manufacturers, but the penalty for non-compliance is €95 per g/km over the target level. If a van manufacturer closes the year with an average of 152g/km and has produced 100,000 units, the fine will be: 5 (g over target) x 95 (€) x 100,000 (units) = €47.5m (£41m).

The regulators have had heavy commercial vehicles in their sights for some time but have struggled with the complexity of trucks. Most manufacturers offer several thousand variants, all of which can have differing fuel consumption and hence CO2 emissions.

Clearly, testing every variant would be an impossible task.

The answer has been found with the development of VECTO, a calculation tool that will be used by all, removing the need to test every variant and at the same time ensuring some consistency between makes. Each manufacturer must load the data for the entire drive line, the aerodynamics and rolling resistance of the truck.

VECTO will then use standardised bodies or trailers and standardised operations to calculate fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The idea is that this will give the operator the ability to choose between trucks.

I my experience, I have yet to find an operator who will believe any fuel consumption data supplied by the manufacturer. Most prefer to have demo units in their fleet to measure it for themselves.

Since 1 January 2019, VECTO data has been required for all 4x2 and 6x2 rigids and artics above 16 tonnes. From 1 July 2019, these vehicles cannot be sold if the data is not available.

Other vehicle categories will come in to scope progressively until July 2020.

The key aim of this regulation is to gather data to inform target setting. The EU has recently confirmed that manufacturers will have to reduce 2019 levels by 15% by 2025 and by 30% by 2030.

These targets will be argued by all over the next year or so, no doubt with the manufacturers trying to contain the environmentalists’ ambition to something feasible and the politicians looking to see where the votes are. So what are the options for operators?

The ‘one size fits all’ diesel engine, with its longevity, impressive fuel consumption and simple refuelling, has been the only real choice for commercial vehicle operators since the 1950s. A diesel vehicle can be used for a local job one day, a regional job the next and then a long-distance or even international run on the following day, without having to consider whether the vehicle is suitable for all these different operations.

Choosing a vehicle powered by alternative fuel is much less straightforward. ➜ 26 15.4.19

MTR_150419_022-026.indd 25

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MotorTransport 25

11/04/2019 11:06:28

Alternative fuels Electric vehicles

Electric vehicles are not a new concept. Some of the earliest vehicles were electric, with the technology typically found in small, low-range vehicles such as milk floats, golf buggies and forklift trucks. Development has always been limited by the batteries; traditional lead acid batteries are heavy, have poor energy density and take a long time to recharge.

The game changer has been the introduction of new battery technologies such as lithium ion, which have improved the energy density by a factor of five and are capable of being recharged relatively quickly.

However, while battery-powered cars are becoming more commonplace it is still very early days for commercial vehicles.

There are a few car-derived light van products on the market, while in the large van segment vehicles are already available from LDV, IVECO and Renault.

More are in the pipeline from Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen/ MAN and Ford, which is working with DHL Deutsche Post subsidiary Street Scooter. Conversions are available from companies such as BD Automotive, which modifies the Fiat Ducato.

Startups such as London Electric Vehicle Company and Arrival also have products coming to market soon, while the Fuso eCanter is anticipated in the 7.5-tonne sector. The limitation for all these products is still the batteries. To achieve a decent range, more batteries are needed which has an adverse effect on payload and, more importantly, cost. The limited range available will almost certainly mean that any of these vehicles will be restricted to operating in urban environments.

motortransport.co.uk

the OEMs. This approach can be useful in bringing models to market more quickly and extending the life of Euro-5 vehicles that would have to pay to enter London’s ULEZ. For artics, in particular the 6x2s so loved in the UK, the space required for batteries renders pure electrics suitable only for very low-range niche applications.

The alternative option of charging while on the move, which has been proposed by some, is feasible but involves huge infrastructure costs. Charging methods suggested so far include via an overhead wire as used on the railways, or in the road via a slot or inductive charging pads. In the UK, unlike in most of the EU, there is no maximum height regulation for trucks, so the height of any overhead wire would have to be chosen very carefully. In-road technology would have to be tough enough to withstand heavy traffic. Either technology seems unlikely in the short term.

Electric vehicles are certainly zero emission from the tailpipe and so ideal for addressing urban air quality issues. However, they are not zero-emission vehicles. The emissions produced in the manufacturing of the vehicle – from lithium mining, material shipping and manufacturing processes – need to be considered and can be significant. In operation, the emissions from the electrical generation need to be taken in to account for a true picture.

The average grid mix in the UK has a CO2 emission of around 350g/kWh. A typical 3.5-tonne electric vehicle in an urban operation will use about 0.33kWh/km, so the CO2 from the vehicle would be 116g/km. This is better than a diesel vehicle, with a CO2 emission of around 175g/km, but is hardly zero. If the electrical supply is produced by renewables the CO2 emission will be lower, but as this resource is finite a large swing towards electric vehicles will mean burning more hydrocarbons to keep the grid alive.

Parallel hybrids

ONLY THE LONELY: The Fuso Canter Hybrid is the only mediumrange parallel hybrid truck still on the market

The payload issue for 3.5-tonne vehicles has been addressed by the derogation for B (car) licence holders to drive up to 4.25 tonnes if the vehicle is alternatively fuelled. O-licence exemption is also in place.

Although there is financial assistance available to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles, with the plug-in van grant offering up to £8,000 for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and up to £20,000 for vehicles above 3.5 tonnes, the purchase costs remain typically between three and five times that of the equivalent diesel vehicle. The only real way to get to a payback in five to seven years is to operate the vehicle within the London Congestion Charge zone. Outside London, payback periods can be longer than the life of the vehicle.

Heavy vehicles

Moving up to the next weight category, the available range and payload rules out most artic work, so OEMs are focusing on the rigid market.

There are several companies such as EMOS, Electra, and E-Force retrofitting either used vehicles or new ‘gliders’ from 26 MotorTransport MTR_150419_022-026.indd 26

Parallel hybrids are those where either the internal combustion engine or the electric motor drives the axle directly.

In the years of Euro-5, Mercedes, DAF, IVECO, Volvo and MAN all offered hybrid products, mainly on the medium-range vehicles at 7.5 to 12 tonnes GVW. Reports from all showed good fuel consumption savings of about 25% in urban operations.

Nevertheless, come Euro-6 most had been dropped, with only the Fuso Canter Hybrid remaining on the market.

The challenge was that, in urban operation, the vehicles were using about £10,000 of fuel each year, so the annual saving was only £2,500. At the time, the additional cost of the vehicle was up to £40,000, which resulted in a 16-year payback.

The Canter technology is less expensive, hence the product remains available.

Hybrids will come into their own when we have zero emission zones in several cities. Vehicles will be able to drive from one city to another using an internal combustion engine and then switch automatically to pure electric by GPS geomapping at the zone’s entry point.

The economics would be the additional cost of the vehicle against the cost of transhipping to a full electric vehicle somewhere outside the zero-emission zone.

Plug-in/range-extended electric hybrids

The key difference with range-extended hybrids, also known as series hybrids, is that the internal combustion engine is not connected to the wheels by any mechanical means. Instead, it drives a generator to produce electrical energy for motors that provide the drive to the wheels.

The key benefit of this technology is its flexibility, offering a compromise between the various factors such as battery capacity, engine size, payload, cost, performance, pure electric range and overall range. If the vehicle is intended for an urban operation, the batteries, engine and fuel tank can be relatively small.

For a vehicle more able to go anywhere, batteries can be larger, and engines more powerful.

Series hybrids are already used extensively in bus applications, but not yet in OEM commercial vehicles. Tevva has successfully converted several vehicles, mainly Euro-5 Mercedes Vario models, to range-extended electrics for UPS.  See MT 29 April for part 2.

15.4.19

10/04/2019 15:10:45

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11/04/2019 10:31:48

Safety

Someone else’s problem The obfuscation and procrastination around tail-lift delivery guidance seems to have been going on for years and still shows no signs of a resolution. Louise Cole reports

Image: Shutterstock

I

t’s dragged on for years, mired in technicalities, with little agreement, and even less hope of a happy resolution. Brexit?

No. Tail-lift delivery guidance. Witnessing the shambolic meal the industry has made of these negotiations –which deal with a single detail of a single sector – is perhaps enough to make us all a little more forgiving towards Westminster.

Mere weeks before the RHA was expected to launch the guidance at the CV Show, it is still locked in talks with the HSE, trying to pin it down on specifics, and having its law firm Backhouse Jones assess the guidance from the perspective of an operator.

Moreover, as MT has dug away at the foundations of this question, the conclusions of the much-vaunted HSE experiments into tail-lift safety have changed. The initial reports of HSE’s testing and conclusions said weight was not a factor in tail-lift deliveries because if operators followed the law and carried out appropriate risk assessments, weight was not an issue. A limit was not ‘sensible or proportionate’.

This, it turns out, isn’t exactly true. The HSE tests of 18 months ago, says RHA MD Richard Smith, found that weight over 500kg was a significant contributor to risk in less than ideal circumstances. The list of ‘non-ideal circumstances’ includes, but is not limited, to:  an uneven surface for the pump truck – grass, broken paving, gravel;  weather – wind, ice, rain;  a gradient;  an inadequate space for the truck and tail-lift to park and operate;  other hazards from a live environment – people, children, animals.

It is highly likely, therefore, that drivers will be encountering less than ideal circumstances with regularity – meaning weight will be a safety issue.

In our initial interview, Smith and RHA CEO Richard Burnett insisted to MT that a weight limit should not be included in the guidance, on the basis that a 300kg pallet could do damage if handled incorrectly. Smith said a regulatory limit would ‘kill the sector’.

However, the lack of a weight limit initially disappointed many people. Paul Johnson, MD of Transervice Express Transport, who sat on the RHA-HSE committee, says a mandatory weight limit would have been operationally sensible and commercially powerful. “As an

28 MotorTransport MTR_150419_028-029.indd 28

industry we were all hoping that HSE would come back and say 750kg is now the legal limit and we could have told all our customers, ‘that’s it, by law we can’t take anything heavier’,” he says. “No one was more flabbergasted than us when they said they couldn’t recommend a weight limit based on their testing.”

A weight restriction would still have been the outer limit of best practice and not the whole of it, just as a 30mph speed limit isn’t the entirety of a motorist’s responsibility. And not all safety legislation uses empirical evidence, as opposed to common sense, to set limits. For instance, drivers’ hours legislation sets an outer limit at 9.5 hours, despite the difficulty of correlating specific collision risk to shift length.

Hauliers that prioritise legal compliance are nonetheless now left with a problem. Customers require tail-lift deliveries up to 1 tonne, and hauliers fear that to deny them unilaterally will simply lose them custom.

Underwhelmed?

Smith thinks the upcoming guidance will have a profound effect on industry, not just in the pallet network sector but in the frozen and chilled foods arena, where tail-lifts are used to load as well as unload pallets. However, on the basis of what we know so far, most operators are prepared to be underwhelmed. Despite pragmatic statements from operators about accepting the guidance and seeking their own solutions, they are left with questions and fear a lack of credibility when they approach customers unilaterally to insist that certain types of delivery are not safe.

Guidance produced by HSE for the working

WHAT OPERATORS CAN DO  Carry out own risk assessments and share with the RHA  Train customers, drivers and all staff who handle the pallets  Identify any pallets that come from hubs overweight. Break them down or redeliver with a two-man crew  Make customers fill out a detailed questionnaire about the pallet and the delivery  Charge for 7.5-tonne vehicle deliveries and for tail-lift deliveries. Pricing shapes customer choice.

group has three main tenets: follow existing, sector-appropriate legislation; have drivers do dynamic risk assessments before and during deliveries; and demand greater responsibility and information upfront from freight owners.

At best the guidance is being seen as the start of an important journey of customer education, and re-engineering expectations and responsibilities throughout the supply chain.

Poorly defined

However, there are questions arising from this which no one can currently answer. Part of the problem arises from the issue being poorly defined. The HSE and RHA are looking at the whole process of delivery, including the use of pump trucks. Some commentators insist that the issue is purely one of working at height with weight – and that anything which happens after the pallet is safely on the ground is a purely commercial issue.

The web of commercial and safety factors isn’t easily untangled. Typically networks pay between £10 and £20 per delivery. It’s certainly not a level of payment that would incentivise anyone towards risk-taking, as Transervice’s Johnson points out. The question is whether it is sufficient to inspire an investment in stronger, railed cantilever tail-lifts throughout the industry and power-assisted pump trucks.

It certainly won’t cover the time a driver may spend handballing the contents of a risky pallet to the ground.

Geoff Hill, MD of hazardous goods specialist and Palletways member Rase Distribution, believes that the cost of home deliveries in particular is putting an unsustainable financial strain on pallet network members.

It could be argued that some of the unilateral moves made so far have also blurred the lines between commerce and safety. For instance, Palletline’s announcement of a 750kg tail-lift limit, pushed as a safety initiative, was rapidly followed by its announcement of Lift Assist – a service which takes heavier pallets but ensures the driver has training and an assisted pump truck – for an extra charge. Given that one could expect all drivers to be trained, and pump trucks do not address the dangers of working at height with weight, it is arguable whether this really is a safety breakthrough.

How far drivers go to please customers is certainly a commercial decision – but in reality, ‘kerbside deliveries’ rarely means kerbside, 15.4.19

10/04/2019 15:16:57

motortransport.co.uk

because no one wants to risk the liability claim from a pallet left on the pavement.

The proposed guidance puts the final and heaviest responsibility on the driver to do a dynamic risk assessment, and emphasises appropriate driver training.

A dynamic risk assessment isn’t an unreasonable ask – except that the judgements someone makes when under pressure, or when inspired to be helpful, are not necessarily those they would make in the classroom. Trevor Edden, MD of The Pallet Network (TPN) member TWE Transport, says: “We empower our drivers to refuse a delivery. But often he’s then got to get that pallet out of the way by bringing it back to base and that can lose him two hours of his driving time. It doesn’t matter how much we say, ‘don’t take a risk, bring it back,’ he’s likely to attempt the delivery anyway.”

Market tensions

HW Coates has stopped inputting pallets over 750kg to TPN, and its subsidiary Rase Distribution has made waves by refusing to deliver pallets over 750kg to home addresses for Palletways.

Tom Coates, MD of HW Coates, says: “The fact that the HSE hasn’t set a limit doesn’t mean that anything goes. The HSE says, ‘do your own risk assessment’. We’ve that found pallets over 750kg going to home addresses pose unacceptable risks. It’s we who are tasked with making this judgement under the legislation, and we’ve discharged our obligation properly – and we’ve found weight to be an issue.”

Some believe the risk is mitigated substantially by using cantilever tail-lifts. However, apart from being more expensive, these are less versatile because they cannot be backed up against loading bay doors. Therefore the 15.4.19

MTR_150419_028-029.indd 29

most popular choice among operators is still the tuck-under, which one commentator described as “a woefully inadequate bit of kit”.

Rase assessed the deliveries using cantilever tail-lifts but with manual pump trucks, which, it says, are still the industry norm, and still believed deliveries could not be made reasonably safe.

Hill and Coates both deny the suggestion that they have hijacked the issue to end Rase’s current Palletways’ contract or to avoid home deliveries, saying its contract ends in 2020 anyway. Coates says the move has cost the company money, but unlike some operators that need to appease their networks and have less financial stability, Rase has the luxury of taking the loss.

However, many operators feel that unilateral action like this not only leaves other companies in the lurch but fails to address the issue. They note, for instance, that home addresses are not the sole problem – many high street shops or cottage industries require B2B deliveries that will pose all the same challenges as a residential address.

The RHA, however, has included Rase in its recent discussions, and Smith urges all operators to come forward with their views. “The guidance will be a living document. The industry will change and so we will revisit it,” he says.

Despite a plethora of video guides and customer education, freight owners still often give very little information about the delivery site. And while in theory it is incumbent on inputting depots, sales teams, warehouse staff, planners and hub staff to check the weight and suitability of freight they process, in practice many potentially problematic pallets are put through, mentally labelled as ‘someone else’s problem’. Ultimately that buck stops – albeit

unfairly – with the hapless driver at the kerbside.

So if HSE-endorsed guidance will emphasise that freight owners must provide accurate and pertinent information, will they also be legally liable should a delivery for which a driver was unprepared go wrong?

Accidental death

According to RHA, HSE will prosecute anyone breaching the guidance. However, three years after the death of Petru Pop – a driver working for Reason Transport crushed by a 1.4-tonne pallet making a delivery for Palletways using a brakeless pump truck on a slope – no prosecutions have been brought. HSE took over the investigation in January 2017 and hasn’t concluded it. The coroner ruled Petru Pop’s death accidental and chose not to issue a Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths.

In short, HSE’s diminished staff numbers and slow investigation could lead the industry to question its enforcement powers.

This debate is still riddled with misnomers and clouded with ambiguity. Operators still lack a clear third-party directive they can take to customers to defend their decision not to take pallets over 750kg on a tail-lift. And if they cannot communicate that effectively, their chances of eliciting sufficient information about every delivery across millions of pallets annually seem minimal. It is possible the industry will have to implement an ad-hoc series of commercial solutions that will be both limited in scope and ineffective in ensuring safety.

One possible solution is for the RHA to incorporate its own guidelines, including weight limits on any pallet destined for an unmanaged delivery site, into its terms and conditions of carriage, but it has not yet indicated if this is something it plans to do. ■ MotorTransport 29

10/04/2019 15:17:20

Close Brothers Guidelines

Close Brothers Guidelines

16 Section 4.0 The logo

16

Close Brothers Guidelines 16 40

2.2

2.2 Logo hierarchy 2.2 Logo hierarchy Logo hierarchy logo onlytobe used when to be used when referring to The core logoreferring should only The core logo4.7 should onlyThe be core used whenshould referring Logo hierarchy Close Brothers Group.

The diagram below explains theused Close Brothers Group. the Close Brothers Group.the The diagram below explains The core logo should only be when referring to The diagram below explain how we by describe our businesses bycorporate using core how we describe our how we describe our businesses using core the Close Brothers Group plc or for levelbusinesses by using core underneath. descriptors underneath. descriptors underneath. descriptors material produced for business divisions, including opportunities for business divisions to collaborate on a The business descriptor colour is the same asdescribe the colour is the same as the The business descriptor The business descriptor colour is the same as the project. The diagram below explains how we Close Brothers logotype (see core logo, Section 2.6). (see core logo, Section 2.6).

Close Brothers logotype Close Brothers logotype (see core logo, Section 2.6). our businesses by using core descriptors underneath.

MT Awards 2019 shortlists Fleet Van of the Year MT profiles the shortlists for this year’s awards

The business descriptor colour is the same as the Close Brothers’ logotype (see page 46).

Sponsored by

Used for Group only

Used for Group only

Used for Group only

Used for corporate level communications

Business descriptors

Ford Transit Custom

There are more versions of Ford’s big-selling Transit van than ever before and the Custom, which arrived in 2012, is its 1-tonne model.

With tough competition in the market, the ubiquitous Ford holds its own as a great all-rounder and the judges noted it remains very popular among drivers. “It’s got the best payload option for that area on our fleet,” remarked one, while another pointed out that Ford’s investment in the Custom’s layout has paid off with an intuitive design.

Less favourable comments were made about its maintenance package. “We have no end of problems with Ford dealers,” was one. “How it handles warranty is a shocker,” said another.

And while it probably hasn’t got the edge on innovation, there was no denying the Transit Custom remains strong on fuel economy and driver acceptance.

Peugeot Partner

Last year’s winner in this category, the Partner, continues to be at the forefront of Peugeot’s growth and drew favourable comments from the judges on the range of options available.

Named International Van of the Year 2019 after judges commended the new Partner for its space, technologies and increased comforts, our panel was no less impressed by these features. “For its sector, there are four different engines; a high roof and you can get a Euro pallet in the back. There’s autonomous braking as standard. There are no drawbacks,” said one. “It’s a really strong contender.”

Fuel economy was also praised, as was its high-tech connectivity to its dealer network, but it didn’t get such glowing comments when the judges turned their attention to maintenance. “We do have issues there,” said one. “It is alright for the first three years but we start to see problems after that.”

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter A giant in the LCV category, the judges were not short on compliments for the Mercedes-Benz large van. Reliable, strong residuals, welldesigned and that sought-after Mercedes technology. “More people are asking for

30 MotorTransport MTR_150419_030.indd 30

Business descriptors

Business descriptors

Business descriptions one for them than anything else,” noted one judge. “It’s the most popular drivers.”

If the Sprinter has an achilles heel than it might be payload, with the judges mentioning that it is lower than its competition.

External Internaluse useonly only External and andinternal internaluse Internal use only External and internal use As far as maintenance is concerned, reference wasusealso madeExternal to itsand internal useInternal workshops being very busy, but with high driver acceptance, a strong network, an envious reliability record, as well as the innovations in its telematics, the Sprinter is up there as one of the best in the category.

Business descriptors

Volkswagen Transporter

See appendix 1

Business descriptors Business descriptors appendix SeeSee appendix 1 1

Volkswagen’s most popular commercial vehicle model and with a strong following in the LCV market, the Transporter has a range of variants and an electric version in the offing.

The model also drew praise from the judges for its usability and driver acceptance and popularity in the marketplace.

Like the Custom, it’s a great all-rounder. It holds its value well, it’s reliable and with a strong core network, fleet owners have been largely positive in their feedback of the model.

That said, maintenance was picked up by the judges as a potential problem.

As one said: “They don’t go wrong often, but when they do…”

MAN TGE

Referred to by MAN as “the truck among vans”, the manufacturer introduced the UK public to its range-extending TGE at the CV Show in 2017.

Available as a panel or combi van, a crew cab or chassis cab and even a campervan option, the MAN van is versatile enough to get to grips with most tasks.

The TGE drew praise for its maintenance and back-up, as well as its popularity among fleet drivers, although judges noted that as far as innovations were concerned, it was not quite in the same category as the Peugeot Partner and its market presence has yet to bother the Sprinter.

But with MAN shifting close to 8,000 TGE vans in 2018 and the manufacturer’s 24/7 servicing network, the new kid on the block has a strong argument for this year’s award title.

15.4.19

11/04/2019 16:52:24

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11/04/2019 10:33:57

MT Awards 2019 shortlists

Fleet Truck of the Year

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DAF CF

The CF has won the Fleet Truck award more times than any other model and, along with the XF, is consistently among the UK’s best-selling trucks.

“It’s a fleet truck that ticks quite a few boxes,” said one judge, while the CF’s payload was also praised in comparison with the other frontrunners.

It’s also a previous International Truck of the Year winner and widely viewed as a safe pair of hands: reliable, strong back-up support and highly competitive on total cost of ownership and price, it’s also a favourite among many drivers.

Built for intensive use, the truck performs strongly across a range of applications, from bulk and tank transport to construction and from general haulage to waste collections.

DAF has two trucks in the running, so could 2019 be its year?

DAF XF

DAF last picked up the coveted Fleet Truck of the Year award for the XF in 2016 and with this year’s panel of judges praising its price, cab space and a “brilliant” support network, the smart money might be on it adding to the trophy cabinet once again.

That said, it’s seen as a little on the heavy side when compared with some of the other models in the shortlist, notably the CF and the Volvo FM, and the judges remarked that while it ticks the box on safety, it can’t be compared to the pioneering standards set by Volvo.

But driver acceptance is high and with excellent value for money and decent residual values also keeping their employers happy, DAF is certainly at the top of its game with the XF.

Scania R-series

A strong contender for the title, the R-series scored highly among the judging panel for residual values and life expectancy, fuel and, of course, driver acceptance.

But while one described the “brilliant service” it had received from Scania, not everyone was impressed when it came to reliability and support.

“We couldn’t put trucks back on the road last year because we couldn’t get the parts,” complained one judge.

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The “ridiculous” purchase price was also an issue for the panel.

However, a happy driver makes a happy operator and Scania makes large numbers of drivers very happy.

Add to that the judges’ positive feedback on its payload and safety record, and the R-series could be rolling out of Grosvenor House with the trophy.

Volvo FH

Safety, safety, safety; is there another truck manufacturer that goes to the lengths Volvo does to ensure drivers are kept safe in their cabs? As far as our judging panel is concerned, there is not.

“Volvo has always been head and shoulders above the others on safety,” said one, while another pointed out: “We have never had a driver lose a life in a Volvo.”

The FH also won praise for driver acceptance, as it did for parts, warranty, reliability, support and fuel efficiency.

The comments about its price were not so positive, although it did not come in for as much criticism as its fellow shortlist entrant the Scania R-series. The latest FH has come of age, but did the judges think it has done enough to take the top spot?

Volvo FM

With two Volvos on this year’s Fleet Truck shortlist you’d be forgiven for thinking the Swedish manufacturer is a dead cert for the award.

The FM is a flexible solution for regional, long haul or distribution work and is versatile enough to suit most transport assignments.

Like the FH, the judges had nothing but praise for the FM’s safety record and the way it is seemingly a part of Volvo’s DNA. Its driveline also got the approval of the panel, with one asserting the I-Shift was “still the leader” and the benchmark by which others are compared.

Payload also scored marginally higher than its FH counterpart, although driver acceptance was slightly less positive as far as the judges were concerned.

But with such a strong pedigree in safety, payload and back-up, will the FM haul away the award?

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11/04/2019 10:35:23 04/04/2019 11:35

MT Awards 2019 shortlists

Fleet Van Operator of the Year

City Plumbing Supplies

Over three years, City Plumbing Supplies took its newly divisionalised company comprising 370 UK and Ireland operating centres to a position of – in its own words – “industry leading transport management and excellence”.

It operates 679 vehicles across its operating centres and to manage those remotely it devised its Acess operational excellence programme. The mandate was to ensure customers had access to the best delivery service possible, which the group achieved through overhauling its fleet replacement strategy; regular, regional-level O-licence compliance analysis; fleet efficiencies and a raft of support actions to reduce the risk of incidents.

The judges praised the company’s “robust, professional and clear processes” and its “excellent use of IT and telematics, not least in improving control of a scattered network”.

The steady reduction in tachograph and other compliance infringements – down 75% over three years – was also impressed the judges. “A very good submission that, for a smaller company, exemplified the professional approach it has adopted and the successful results it has achieved,” said one judge.

“This was a highly positive and welcomed submission by a company that has striven to be better at what it does and continues to push customer service and all-round professionalism in the process,” added another. “It’s a strong story and demonstrates that business’s commitment to making improvements in operational performance.”

Ocado

Ocado faces many fleet challenges as it delivers approximately £32m-worth of multi-temperature items to customers each week. As an online-only supermarket, drivers’ customer service levels are essential to its

34 MotorTransport MTR_150419_034.indd 34

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success, as are its productivity levels and the way it tackles health and safety. It monitors service levels with a Rate my Driver initiative, which resulted in a 95.4% customer service level in 2018. It has also introduced a Heroes awards event for drivers who have gone above and beyond to provide exceptional service levels. Drivers are trained to be professional and polite from the moment they leave their house in their Ocado uniforms, and its slot availability compared with other retailers helped it win the Which? Online Supermarket of the Year award for 2019. It is constantly looking to improve van productivity and van fill increased to 82% as of January 2019.

The judges were impressed with Ocado’s holistic approach to deliveries and recognising that taking account of all areas for drivers and customers pays dividends. “This is a concise entry showing exemplary focus on customer service, with sector-leading delivery availability and consistently high punctuality from customer service team members, increasing van fill and use and steady reductions in unladen weight,” one commented. “Ocado also recycles parts at the end of a vehicle’s life and is exploring three alternative fuels.”

Scottish Water

Scottish Water has identified driving as its highest risk activity among the majority of its employees and has introduced a number of improvement initiatives to focus on safety, efficiency and compliance. Working groups were set up with driver, team leader and manager representatives from across the business, to focus on and discuss improvements to reduce RTIs. Backing this up, the utilities company introduced incident investigation, vehicle audits, driver training, driver awards and enhanced telematics. It also made improvements to vehicle specifications, including fitting reversing cameras, all-season tyres and limiting vehicles to 70mph.

The judges noted the great achievements Scottish Water has made in reducing road accidents and the “excellent consideration and implementation of driver accident reduction initiatives”.

“The key point was its accident reduction, which was a very strong point in its presentation,” another added. “My understanding is that the driver training is not just for employees’ work vehicles, but also for them in their own vehicles, so it’s positive that Scottish Water is not just taking responsibility for those vehicles with its name on, but also for employees in their private vehicles. It’s a steady improvement in a major utility fleet business that’s diverse and operating in fairly extreme areas,” said a judge.

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11/04/2019 10:38:23