IRELAND\\\ >> 2


of your game.” He adds:


“Whether it’s window cleaning or freight forwarding, companies are constantly being contacted by service providers.” One of Quality Freight’s unique


assets is the small fleet of high cube containers that it invested in last year for its key Ireland/ Rotterdam axis. It comprises 15 45’ palletwide units and seven 45’ curtainsiders and these now maintain the regular link to and from the hub in Rotterdam. “They give us a degree of independence from relying on shipping lines’ own equipment,” Roger Barham explains. They operate only as far as Rotterdam, with cargo being consolidated or deconsolidated there into lines’ own boxes or road trailers, as the logistics of returning them from far-flung destinations would be difficult. Also, many of the deep-sea ships cannot handle palletwide containers. The results so far have been


encouraging. Quality Freight would certainly consider expanding the fleet, but it wants to get the existing units bedded in


first. Quality Freight is also an


enthusiastic participant in three of the worldwide forwarder networks – Tandem Global, WCA and GPLN. As an Irish operator, it can provide a niche service and provide a link to a country that not every forwarder would otherwise find easy to serve, but it also offers the wider catchment area from its UK and Rotterdam operations. “And it gives us an audience and a vetted family of forwarders,” says Roger Barham. He adds: “We’ve also just joined WCA’s e-commerce section, and they’re due to release their plans for the second stage of this at their forthcoming conference in Singapore.” He sees big possibilities for “We


e-commerce. have the


expertise and it’s something we’d want to be part of.” Like all forwarders in Ireland


(indeed like almost all business people) Roger Barham is concerned about the UK’s Brexit vote last summer – not so much by any likely effect of the UK leaving the EU but the uncertainty that it


Issue 2 2017 - FBJ


engenders. “Would there be tariffs or not; how are manufacturers going to supply to and from the Continent? How are movements going to be managed, would there be T-forms again, and what will happen at the Irish border? And I hope the uncertainty doesn’t motivate international firms to move from Northern Ireland.” The other major unknown in


Ulster, at the time of writing, was the make-up of the government following the collapse of the administration in the wake of the ‘Cash for Ash’ affair, not so long aſter the previous general election. “It does mean that the


government, which should be selling Northern Ireland around the world, isn’t doing that at the moment,” says Roger Barham. In late February, it was Eire’s


turn for a political crisis. Taoiseach (Prime


Minister) Enda Kenny


said he would announce his resignation within a month of St. Patrick’s Day on 17 March, triggering an early general election. He had faced criticism of his handling of a crisis involving whistleblowers in the police force.


Hauliers battle a perfect storm


Low rates are a common enough complaint among hauliers, but several circumstances conspire to make Ireland a particularly difficult market, says Stephen Marshall, group managing director at Ulster-based Montgomery Transport Group. He says: “I think it’s a


combination of a lack of industry, which means that much of what Ireland produces are relatively low-value products. Then there are the costs of shipping on the Irish Sea – if shipping costs rise, they are difficult to recover from customers. And at the same time, much of the rest of the market is


retail, and supermarkets


put extreme pressure on the haulage industry to keep rates down. But we battle on.” There are always a number


of hopeful new entrants to the Irish Market – some of them


firms that tried and failed in the past – which also increases the level of competition in the market and keeps a firm lid on rates. “Volumes are increasing, but rates are decreasing,” says Stephen Marshall. Over the past year or so,


Montgomery Transport Group – the near 50 years old founding member of what is now Ballyvesey Holdings. which also has interests in truck sales, trailer-building and construction equipment – has repositioned itself as an Irish Sea haulier. It did have some business in continental Europe, but without a large base there it was decided that it would be more profitable to focus on its core Ireland/UK/Ireland market. This approach certainly has


paid off, says Stephen Marshall. “Last year was very good for us


3


and we were certainly ahead of the market – but we think 2017 is going to be more difficult. There are many pressures – the price of fuel is creeping up, shipping costs are up too, but perhaps the biggest impact are driver wages.” Northern Ireland, like the rest


of the UK, has a chronic driver shortage and the average age of the driver pool is moving inexorably upwards. Older drivers are retiring and they are not being replaces by youngsters as


quickly as Montgomery’s


management would like. To help address the issue, the company recently started an apprenticeship scheme at its Preston deport – the recruitment problems on the UK mainland being even more pressing than in Northern Ireland. “This is a hard industry to


recruit into,” confirms Marshall. “If you can work from nine to five in an office, working in haulage and not knowing if you’ll finish at 7pm or even later is difficult And this is just not seen as a sexy industry.” At


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EUROPEAN AND UK GROUPAGE SERVICE


CONTINENT/IRELAND/CONTINENT TWICE WEEKLY


UK/IRELAND/UK DAILY


Belfast / Cork / Dublin / Knock Liverpool / Hull / Birmingham Rotterdam


Dublin: Peter Simpson – psimpson@qualityfreight.com +353 (0) 1 8366233


Birmingham: Alan Roe - aroe@qualityfreight.com +44 (0) 1785 878603


Rotterdam: Mark De Jong - mark@qualityfreight.com +31 10 8209706


www.qualityfreight.com


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