BIFA add Metro to critical Brexit list

Driving road freight excellence

Mar 11, 2024 | , , ,

Into his second year Metro’s European Director, Richard Gibbs, updates us on his mission to develop the infrastructure, systems and services that will provide the best European transport solutions, for effectiveness and cost efficiency. 

“Metro has expanded its European road freight platform considerably in 2023, growing the dedicated commercial and operational team by 12 and we are forecasting the continuation of this trajectory in 2024, with a 100% further increase in shipment numbers.

European road freight, cross-trade movements and associated customs operations are managed by teams located at our Global HQ in Birmingham, Manchester and Desford.

These dedicated road freight teams leverage their extensive knowledge, market expertise and unrivalled customer service to deliver efficient, road transport solutions, with full visibility and dashboard control available via the MVT supply chain management platform.

It is the teams’ attention to detail and focus on the little things that achieves the ideal balance of lead-time, capacity, frequency and cost, to transform standard road freight services into something very special, that meet every supply chain need.

Departing daily from around the UK and Europe; our secure full load services embrace general cargo, temperature-controlled, garment logistics and out-of-gauge shipments.

Larger part-load movements, over 1,500 kilos, are collected, transported and delivered on the same vehicle which ensure maximum reliability, security and speed.

For urgent shipments we provide an all-in price, transit time and booking for European Express van shipments, including guaranteed next day delivery.

With defined departure and delivery dates, our groupage services are the perfect economical solution for smaller cargo loads. Reliable door-to-door solutions, with easy booking, seamless customs processing and online tracking.

Cargo is received continuously at our midlands hub and continental freight centres for daily groupage departures to and from destinations across Europe, with Q2 expansion of groupage services to/from France/Germany/Benelux/Turkey and Iberia.

Continued growth in customer demand and team members means the team in Manchester has recently increased its office footprint (see pics below) and their road freight colleagues in Desford are in the process of relocating to a new location, which is 500% larger in Earl Shilton, Leicestershire.”

To learn more about our European capability, including FTL/LTL, groupage, express, customs brokerage (CuDoS) and distribution (DDP) solutions EMAIL Richard Gibbs.

wing merro dusk

Supply chain; a year in review

Dec 19, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2023 was supposed to be the year that global supply chains bounced back from pandemic lockdowns and factory shutdowns, trade wars, tariffs and war in Europe, but now container shipping is disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea and restrictions on the Panama Canal.

The COVID pandemic and its aftermath, with supply-side fluctuations, shipping delays and port congestion created a logistics storm so brutal that many wondered if supply chains would ever recover.

The dramatic increase in consumer spending during the pandemic that left shippers scrambling for air, road and sea space, quickly fell away at the beginning of the year as consumers faced potential recession and a cost of living crisis.

That fall in demand provided the breathing space for carriers and ports to resolve their capacity and performance issues, clear backlogs and reposition equipment effectively, with markets reverting to pre-pandemic levels in terms of capacity and pricing.

The uncertainties surrounding tariffs, trade wars and geopolitical tensions remain, but there has been no significant move away from China, though we are seeing some diversification of sourcing, with Vietnam and Bangladesh - among other origins - increasingly popular.

While container shipping demand fell away the global shortage of RoRo capacity for finished vehicle shipments led to some car manufacturers to acquire their own vessel assets, while others looked to our containerised shipping solutions, for cheaper sea freight movement and certainty of service.

On the air freight front, having joined the Air France, KLM, Martinair Cargo Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) programme in 2022, we were extremely pleased to support their second sustainable flight challenge in the summer, which was followed a few months later by the first transatlantic SAF-powered crossing, accelerating the transition to a more sustainable airline industry.

Metro’s road freight division has grown significantly in 2023, with more team members joining our UK Birmingham HQ and new support operations located close by manufacturing hubs in Desford and Wythenshawe.

Under new leadership the road freight team have increased European FTL/LTL capability, adding more lanes and expanded our groupage offering, alongside the increasingly popular European Distribution (EU/DDP) solutions. 

As the UK deferred post-Brexit food checks for the 5th time, to avoid adding to food inflation, the EU expanded its Emissions Trading System to the container shipping sector, in a move that will cost carriers, and by extension shippers, $Billions from the start of 2024.

In a move that took the market by surprise (but shouldn’t have) the European Commission announced that it would not renew the container shipping sector’s Consortia Block Exemption to operating alliances in 2024.

Despite the initial panic, it is likely that the EC’s decision will have little real impact, particularly as the Maersk and MSC 2M alliance was already ending, with the others likely to reorganise into new structures.

With 2024 just weeks away, scheduled Trans-Pacific and Asia to North Europe container shipping capacity was up 30% and 10%, raising fears of a massive blank sailing program to try and support rates, but now, with the Suez Canal transit suspended and Panama Canal disruption, we may see increased rates and delays, with air freight’s popularity rising.

We are hopeful that the US and coalition navies can restore maritime security quickly, because the prolonged re-routing of vessels away from the Suez Canal, via the Cape of Good Hope will increase transit times and costs, with a massive reduction in available capacity and a return to equipment imbalances.

Whatever challenges 2024 may bring, you can rest assured that we will keep you informed and protected, because we always have your back covered.

P and O

HMRC export deadline and rogue hauliers

Dec 6, 2023 | , , ,

With the deadline fast approaching for export declarations moving to the Customs Declaration Service HMRC are highlighting a worrying trend at the border, with misuse of valid documents leaving innocent exporters potentially non-compliant and exposed to penalties. 

In their latest Customs Declaration Service (CDS) update HMRC remind traders that all export declarations must move from their legacy Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system to CDS by Saturday 30th March 2024. 

We are continuing to work with our customers, setting them up on CDS for all export routes and the different types of export declaration submitted at the UK border, including Transit (TAD) and the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS).

It is these latter two that HMRC focused on, in highlighting Goods Movement Reference (GMR) errors by hauliers that are leading to issues at the UK and EU border.

Consistent misuse of valid export CDS documents where the transit document is being used for the convenience of the haulier means that shipments are not arrived in the correct manner.

Exporters have a legal obligation to pre-lodge declarations if they are moving their goods through a location using GVMS and pass evidence of this for a haulier to complete a GMR.

Hauliers have a legal obligation to carry evidence that pre-lodged customs declarations or reference numbers for Simplified Customs Procedure authorised traders are in place for all the goods they are moving.

This is met by hauliers completing a GMR which must include a declaration reference for each consignment as proof that a pre-lodged declaration has been made.

Carriers require a valid GMR to be presented at the port of departure before allowing the vehicle or trailer to board.

HMRC’s issue is that hauliers are inappropriately using TAD MRN (transit document) as suitable evidence for the export MRN reference, irrespective of what else is loaded to the trailer, which is not the case when a DUCR has been issued..

The correct use of DUCR or MUCR being advised to customs allows the authorities to “arrive” the customs entry, which means that there is a permanent record of the despatch of the goods so the VAT liability for the shipment is discharged and the zero rated document raised by the shipper becomes validated.

Incorrect GVMS entries by hauliers leads to missing data on exporters MSS reports, missing critical data in terms of managed Customs facilities such as stock records for CFSP locations, which leads to extra admin and inventory shortages, both serious matters.

These export process are incredibly complex and should be of no concern to exporters, but unfortunately many (non-Metro customers) are being caught out by the carriers’ non-compliance.

We work closely with our road transport partners to ensure they have the correct documentation and submit the correct information to GVMS through CDS.

Our CuDoS customs platform automatically monitors the status of export declarations and will flag potential non-compliance issues.

If you have any concerns or questions, regarding CDS or export compliance please EMAIL Andy Fitchett, Brokerage Manager.

Trailer

EU road toll increases start in Germany

Dec 6, 2023 | ,

Increases in HGV road toll charges in Germany, which includes an additional CO2 emissions tax of €200 per tonne began on the 1st December 2023 and for vehicle combinations with a gross vehicle weight of up to 40 tons, prices will increase by almost 86% – giving 35.4 cents per kilometre.

The German MAUT, officially known as the Infrastructure Usage Charge or Levy, was introduced to finance and maintain Germany's highway infrastructure.

Funding is therefore paid not only by German carriers, but all those delivering, collecting or transiting the country, with the increase in freight prices passed on by the hauliers to their customers.

Depending on the vehicle weight capacity, number of axles and the emission class there will be an increase in German MAUT ( Toll ) of circa €0.158 per km.  Therefore, if transiting through Germany from the Netherlands border to Poland, a distance of circa 700 kms using the Toll roads, this is an increase of circa €110.00 per trip. 

The 1st December was the start date for trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 7.5 tons, while from 1st July 2024 the German Maut system will be expanded to include vehicles with a technically permissible total weight of 3.5 tons or more.

The toll is a fixed government tax and will be charged as a cent amount per kilometre driven. In particular, the CO2 emission class, the weight, the number of axles and the pollutant class of a vehicle have an influence on the amount of the surcharge.  

On the 1st October 2023, there was a 17.6% increase in the cost of the Hungarian toll system, while Austria and the Czech Republic are raising tolls in January and March 2024, following Germany's Maut increase. 

Austria's tolls will increase by 20-30%, and the Czech Republic's tolls will increase by 10-15%

The toll increases are a result of an EU directive to introduce road tolls based on CO2 emissions and ALL member states are tasked with implementing such a system by the 24th March 2024 at the latest.

Metro’s road freight teams are located close by major manufacturing and transport hubs in Birmingham, Desford and Wythenshawe.

To learn more about our expanded European capability, including our Customs Brokerage (CuDoS), European Distribution (EU/DDP), short-sea services and intermodal solutions, EMAIL Richard Gibbs. 

Category: Road

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