Category: Road

Bracing for continued fuel surcharge increases – if it moves it needs an engine

Fuel prices were already on the way up before Russia decided to invade its neighbour and the additional volatility and uncertainty created by the conflict in Ukraine are significant enough to drive oil and fuel prices to levels not seen before. Or at least since the 1970’s relatively. ... Read more

P&O inadvertently slash European Channel capacity

Freight services between the UK and Europe continue to face suspension after P&O Ferries’ Dubai-based owner, DP World laid off 800 workers last week, amid a controversial restructuring exercise. There are consequences in overland supply chains that had not been considered by most. A... Read more

Good news; HGV driver numbers increasing

A recent surge in HGV tests by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has massively increased the number of HGV drivers in the marketplace, with possible signs that the driver shortage crisis might finally be starting to subside. While there were 49,000 fewer HGV drivers in the workfor... Read more

UK government funds 11,000 new HGV drivers

HGV driver numbers have shrunk by a quarter since 2019, creating a supply chain crisis that has accelerated post-Brexit, with an estimated shortage of between 40,000 and 100,000 lorry drivers, leaving gaps on shelves and triggering October’s petrol crisis. Transport within the UK, Europe and... Read more

2021; a year of supply chain challenges

All around the world, companies have been impacted by supply chain challenges in 2021. With the pandemic’s disruption exacerbated by ‘Black Swan events', from Brexit, to the Suez Canal blockage, we have been working tirelessly to help our customers overcome these challenges and share critical... Read more

Road freight costs up over a third

Market data suggests that road transport pricing may be stabilising after record increases, but is likely to remain at elevated levels for some time, due to continuing shortages of freight transport HGV drivers and limited capacity. UK road freight prices appear to be stabilising after rising ... Read more

Liner haulage is effectively broken

Multiple issues are negatively impacting container haulage operations from ports across the UK, with inevitable financial and service impacts, which are likely to impact every importer of full containers. In the worst cases, if no action is taken, importers may face very significant additional ch... Read more

HGV crisis hidden for years

The HGV driver crisis, which has been gathering pace over the last two decades, has been largely hidden due, in no small part, to effective transport management by the freight forwarding community. But the situation has been exacerbated by Brexit and tax changes which encouraged 20 thousand Europ... Read more

UK Road freight turbulence to continue impacting global trade and freight movements

The HGV driver shortage is hitting crisis level in the UK (and around the world) as demand for haulage services continues to increase and, while a potential strike within the industry has been averted, the threat of driver strike action continues at Tesco and Hanson, raising the possibility of fu... Read more

COVID-19: The critical worker crisis

In an effort to protect supply chains and essential services the government released a list of sectors where fully vaccinated workers may be exempt from isolation if they are told to quarantine after coming into close contact with a positive COVID-19 case. Many of these are within the supply chai... Read more

Post-Brexit update: Haulier and multimodal transport market latest

UK hauliers are under massive pressure, struggling to counter the border delays, increased administration and crippling driver shortages that have plagued the industry since Brexit and now, as they fear the full UK border checks due in January, drivers are planning a strike in August. Surges i... Read more

Extended hours and secret visa talks to end driver crisis – or will they?

Driver hours have been temporarily legally extended and the government launches secret visa talks for foreign lorry drivers, amid a staff shortage that threatens to undermine supply chains. Over 45,000 HGV driver tests are outstanding at DVSA as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns, while 79... Read more