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Issue 4 2014 - Freight Business Journal


From Spain to Stoke-on-Trent, Europe is recovering, says FedEx chief


Many businesses in the UK are experiencing a recovery, says FedEx Express’s new president for the Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa (EMEA) region, David Binks. In fact, a recent study by


the Centre for Economics and Business Research suggests that the UK could be Europe’s largest economy by 2030, whilst the IMF has revised its growth figures for the UK to 2.9% in 2014, up from a January estimate of 2.4%. David Binks was reviewing his


first few months in his new role, mirroring the ‘100 days’ addresses that US presidents have given ever since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s. He said: “In 2014 we are fortunately far away from the kind of challenges faced by the FDR administration at the time. On the contrary: it is now not a question of whether we are in


recovery mode in Europe, but at what speed that recovery is taking place.”


In Spain, for example, one


of the European countries that felt the economic crisis most severely, “their exports are now more competitive on the global market. Regions such as Andalucía have demonstrated a new wave of optimism, thanks in part to its thriving aeronautics and automotive engineering sectors.” Spain has in fact recorded


its highest ever value of goods exported since 1971, with a 5.3% increase in real terms during the first two months of 2014 compared to the year before. FedEx’s own data shows a


significant increase in the number of packages transported each day by FedEx Express from Spain to the rest of Europe in the first quarter of 2014, compared to 2013.


In April, Binks visited the main


FedEx UK ground transportation depot in Stoke-on-Trent: “Through listening to customers at every level, I recognised that a key factor supporting the upturn in the UK economy is its strong position within our global networks....It was evident to me that UK businesses were reaping the rewards from the wider European recovery.” He concluded: “Overall, I have


seen a virtuous circle at play over the past 100 days. The present economic


stability encourages


businesses, small and large, to seek success overseas and expand into new markets. These exports, in turn, will I believe, speed up the European economic recovery. “The challenge for logistics


providers is to help drive forward this recovery and maximize opportunities for businesses across Europe.”


///NEWS


Biggest and best-ever Multimodal


Multimodal 2014 was the biggest in the show’s seven-year history, with over 290 exhibitors welcoming over 7,100 visitors in Birmingham on 28 April – 1 May, says director, Robert Jervis. Supply chain executives took part in over 25 workshop and masterclass sessions hosted by over 60 expert speakers, and there were visits from HRH The Princess Royal, and a guest appearance by football legend Kevin Keegan at the VIP dinner. Robert Jervis added: “This was a year of firsts for us, with the launch


of our awards, the new airfreight pavilion and dedicated air cargo seminars, and additional hosted meetings. We are looking forward to building on that success in 2015.” At the new Multimodal Awards,


ABP group head of marketing Frank Robotham (pictured, leſt) was named Personality of the Year and DSV was rewarded for Outstanding Contribution to Multimodal at the show’s VIP dinner on 29 April. Tesco won the Multimodal/Freight Transport Association (FTA) award for Outstanding Contribution to


Sustainability and Environmental Performance. FBJ also had a successful


show, meeting many readers and advertisers at its largest-ever stand. FBJ staff also had the chance to personally greet Kevin Keegan aſter the VIP dinner – although the publisher John Saunders did take issue for his less than flattering depiction of FBJ’s home town of Aigburth in his presentation. To find out more about


exhibiting, contact Robert.Jervis@ clarionevents.com


Baxter Freight aims for perfection


Baxter Freight aims to


address “some of the current imperfections of the freight industry” says founder and chairman Ian Baxter. “A lot of companies specialise in a niche or are big global concerns. But what they all tend to do is offer services in a way that suits them – not the customer. And what the customer really needs is someone who really understands their total supply chain requirements. That’s why we offer every customer a single point of contact for all their logistics needs.” Baxter Freight is a


Nottingham-based forwarder set up by former RH Freight MD and owner Ian Baxter. Ian, and his brother Andrew,


sold RH


Freight to Kuehne and Nagel in


2011. Andrew Baxter has


subsequently bought out pan- European operator Europa but Ian Baxter has set up Baxter Freight from scratch. While there has emphatically been no falling-out between the Baxter brothers, aſter years of working in a family firm, Ian Baxter relishes the challenge and opportunities of being out on his


Ian Baxter (front, centre) is putting a strong customer team in place


own. He is currently putting a


strong customer relationship management team in place and has so far recruited 42 people, although the target is to have 100 staff in place by the middle of next year. There’s a strong emphasis on sales and early signs have been very encouraging, says Ian Baxter: “We’ve done a massive number of initial contact calls in the space of three months and so far, customers seem to like what we offer, with around 150 new customers having come on board already and new clients


joining us every day.” Baxter Freight can offer


customers more cost-effective solutions to their freighting problems – domestic as well as international – by, for instance, seeking out lower priced back haul opportunities or putting multiple collections together. And while one might suppose that it would be small and medium sized companies that would most benefit


from this


sort of expertise, a surprising number of clients are larger firms which is perhaps a measure of just how complex the freight market is, says Ian Baxter.


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