The RHA has welcomed the announcement that longer lorries will be allowed on Britain’s roads. Lorry trailers up to 15.65m long will be permitted to be used from 31 May under legislation being laid in Parliament today (Wednesday 10 May). This follows an 11-year trial of longer semi-trailers (LSTs). The RHA said: “We welcome these new laws to permit longer semi-trailers. We’ve supported these trials and this change will increase productivity, reduce HGV journeys by carrying the same volume of freight in fewer lorries – and reduce mileage, congestion and carbon emissions. We look forward...

ELB Partners in Croydon is on the hunt for its next HGV recruit after launching its 2023 driver training scheme. It is currently accepting applications for its HGV scheme, which will see the successful applicant train to become a fully qualified professional driver over the course of the year, starting with van driving and working their way up to their Class 1 licence. The haulier said it was committed to training and fully funding the next generation of lorry drivers to overcome local driver shortages and had teamed up with EP Training Services to achieve this. It has already trained...

Haulage prices have risen by 3.6% in the past month, resulting in an all-time high price-per-mile in April. Despite double-digit inflation, interest rates are expected to increase for the 12th consecutive month. In April, the combined price-per-mile for haulage and courier vehicles soared 2.7% to reach its highest-ever level for the month. The significant increase was driven by a robust growth in haulage rates, signaling the start of the typical spring price upswing. Haulage prices are down by 2% compared to last year’s level, while courier prices increased by 3.6%. Despite this...

Aztek Logistics has praised its staff and the loyalty of its customers as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. Founded in 2003 by white goods and TV installer Stuart Charter in Letchworth Garden City, the haulier has grown over the years into a £12m turnover business with six warehouses and 40 HGVs. Its first success came from the support of the Prince’s Trust, which helped Charter get his first vehicle on the road – a 7.5-tonne lorry – after he produced a long-term business plan for the charity. He said: “I started as one man with van and a dream. That one van became two vans...

Prompt Transport is switching its entire artic fleet over to Volvo and has already taken delivery of four new FH Globetrotter 6×2 tractor units with I-Save. Lee Parker, Prompt director, said: “We had previously run with one manufacturer for more than two decades. “However, we were having one or two issues so at the start of 2022 we decided to trial demonstrators from three other marques and Volvo came out as the clear winner. “With these four latest arrivals, we are up to nine FHs and are planning to replace the remaining 12 tractor units we operate over the course of the next...

Pallet-Track gave its Wolverhampton office team a taste of what it’s like being an HGV driver with an interactive training session that gave them a trucker’s view of the road. The network teamed up with the RHA to host the internal road safety training programme and educate them on visibility using a double deck trailer. Government figures show that visibility is one of the leading causes of accidents involving an HGV; in 2021, 207 people were killed in road collisions involving an HGV that were reported to the police. Participants took it in turns to sit in a cab and gain first-hand...

Kent based transport and logistics provider S&S Distribution has created up to 2,000 pallet spaces to provide a solution for the ongoing high demand for warehousing space, brought on by the massive stockpiling and the continuing desire to secure competitive pricing.   Located in Tonbridge, just over an hour from Folkstone and Dover, S&S Distribution, which is part of Palletline Logistics, operates a 50,000 sq ft fully racked warehousing space, split between two separate warehouses with CCTV and 24/7 security and remote monitoring.     As the ongoing demand continues...

A West Yorkshire haulier is driving into a new era after becoming a shareholder member of the nationwide Pallet-Track network. Wakefield-based A. Davies Transport Ltd has made the move to the palletised network as part of its ongoing growth strategy and will create three new jobs as a result of the new partnership. The logistics specialist works with a wide range of customers across West Yorkshire, including those in the food and drink, retail, construction and printing sectors. The family-run company was established by managing director, Andy Davies, with one truck in 2007 and now...

A Liverpool logistics specialist, SSO Logistics Ltd, has wrapped up a 12-month distribution deal with a packaging supply company after significantly reducing its damage rates. The business has secured a new contract with fellow St Helens company, Venturepak, which supplies injection moulded plastic containers and other packaging products to the food industry. Venturepak turned to SSO Logistics for support having previously struggled to find a reliable logistics partner who would work on reducing its high damage rates. Reducing damages was a major priority for the packaging supplier...