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QUEEN’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE The Lord Lieutenant of Kent, The Viscount De L'Isle, hands the Queen’s


Award for Enterprise – International Trade category – to Matt Smith, managing director of TPS Global Logistics.


European haulage capacity issues


An ageing workforce, driver shortages and higher fuel prices are increasing problems across the transport sector


On occasion BIFA has commented on problems facing the road haulage industry, which regardless of geographical location seem to be the same. The sector faces issues with an ageing workforce, higher fuel prices and driver shortages. Added to this are ever-tightening environmental considerations that will force the industry to replace older trucks with more modern less-polluting but more expensive vehicles. All these factors are pushing up the sector’s operating costs and prices. Available transport capacity is fluctuating


around an historically low level, according to the latest quarterly Transport Market Monitor (TMM),


8


published by technology and consulting group Capgemini and cloud-based logistics software provider Transporeon, which tracks transport market dynamics.


Record costs


“In the second quarter (of 2018), transportation costs reached the record of Q4 2017. More importantly, the transportation costs could further rise to a new record high in the second half of this year. This is a direct result of continuously rising fuel and driver costs, while at the same time transport demand increases across all industries,” said Lars Vitters, supply


chain manager at Capgemini Consulting. Into this mix, as widely reported, consideration


has to be given to the ongoing EU debates regarding the Mobility Package, which could see further capacity stripped out of the marketplace with stricter enforcement of regulations regarding drivers and tightening of the cabotage regulations. The TMM price index was up 17.2% on the first quarter of the year and showed a rise of 6.6% compared with Q2 2017. On the cost side, the diesel index increased 9.3% on Q1 2018, while TMM also noted that trade volumes in Europe in Q2 2018 were expected to show a decrease of 11.6% compared with the first quarter of the year. Against these problems, there are opportunities to improve vehicle utilisation by reducing empty running. This will require using IT solutions and better co-operation between all parties involved in international haulage.


October 2018


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