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UK to invest £100 million in HGV roadside facilities Ian Matheson, from Impress Communications, reviews some recent news that might impact on Members’ business
geopolitical factors and rising inflationary pressures battering the larger economies. There are some 1,000 vessels already on order at various yards, while a few top carriers are close to signing fresh newbuilding contracts, according to market analyst Alphaliner. IN BUSINESS The International Transport Forum has published a study of actions to make deliveries in cities less disruptive and more sustainable. It focuses on the street space use of freight activities, as the way goods are distributed in urban environments profoundly affects metropolitan life. The study indicates that new partnerships, innovative methods, the use of data and intelligent space allocation are ways to ease the pressure on cities and their inhabitants. In early December, the European Parliament and EU states passed a law prohibiting the importation of certain commodities linked with global deforestation, meaning that companies will be obliged to provide documentation proving that their supply chains are not contributing to deforestation before goods will be allowed to travel into the EU.
OVERLAND The UK government has announced an investment of up to £100 million to improve roadside facilities for HGV drivers, with truck-stop and road service operators now able to bid for a share of the government’s £32.5 million match-funding pot. This is in addition to the £20 million match-funding launched earlier this year by National Highways to improve roadside facilities and security for lorry drivers. A new intermodal train service connecting DP World’s container terminals in the UK, at London Gateway and Southampton, is expected to boost the resilience of
the customers’ supply chains and enable them to switch volumes quickly and easily between the two UK locations. It will take up to 120 lorries a week off the roads and cut carbon emissions. A new IRU report shows that truck, bus and coach driver shortages in Europe are spiralling out of control,
a significant role to push average European road freight rates up again in Q3, according to the IRU, despite lower consumer spending. However, data from later in the quarter shows prices softening towards the end the period. IN THE AIR Freight forwarders are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach before making long-term air cargo capacity commitments, according to a market update issued in early December by CLIVE Data Services, part of Xeneta. Airlines saw demand drop 2% month-over- month in November 2022 as general airfreight volumes dipped for a ninth consecutive month, dashing hopes of a late peak season boost.
fuelled by increased transport demand and an ageing driver population. A growing chasm
between retiring and new drivers is set to triple the rate of unfilled truck driver positions to over 60% by 2026.
Diesel prices, driver shortages and drought in Europe have all played
ON THE OCEAN The US Federal Maritime Commission is preparing to
investigate more than 175 shipper complaints lodged against ocean carriers under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, signed into law in 2022. It also unveiled preliminary guidance on how it would handle potential charge violations of the act. Global container volumes declined in the last few months of 2022 as the historic growth cycle comes to an end, according to BIMCO. In September 2022, box volumes dropped below the numbers recorded in the same month in 2019 for the first time since mid- 2020, with statistics released in December by Container Trade Statistics confirming the trend. The global containership orderbook is swelling, despite weakening trade signs amid the dual headwinds of adverse
ON THE QUAYSIDE The UK’s first freeports –
Plymouth, Solent and Teesside – are now fully up and running after receiving final government approval on 7 December. Each of them will receive £25 million of seed funding and potentially hundreds of millions of pounds in locally retained business rates to upgrade local infrastructure and stimulate regeneration. Port of Felixstowe is one of the first ports in Europe to introduce autonomous terminal tractor units (ATs) into mixed-traffic container terminal operations, with the first two battery-powered units entering
service having been by manufactured Westwell.
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January 2023
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