Workers urged to apply for Settled Status


20


The low take-up of the UK’s new Settled Status that will allow nationals of EU countries


to


continue living and working in the UK aſter Brexit is a cause for concern for the industry, Freight Transport Association head of skills Sally Gibson. She told the FTA Scottish


Logistics Conference in Falkirk on 30 May that workers in the industry needed to be more


aware of the need to apply, especially those from Poland who make up a large proportion of the EU contingent. Applying for Settled Status is generally straightforward, but there is a time limit and people who fail to apply by the deadline will presumably not be allowed to continue working in the UK. FTA’s concerns take place against a background of


shortages of both drivers and mechanics in Scottish logistics. Scottish unemployment is at a record low of 3.4% - below the 3.9% figure for


a whole – and UK national government proposals to reduce net migration into the country could put a further squeeze on the industry, Gibson pointed out. She told the conference; “We have a driver shortage already in


the UK as


Issue 5 2019 - Freight Business Journal


Scotland, of about 12,000 people but we also lack mechanics as colleges are offering fewer courses.” The shortfall has to date been


covered by EU workers but the industry would not necessarily be able to do this in future, she warned. Another sector that has seen


a big rise in numbers employed are international forwarding and customs agency. Government funding for Brexit-related training in Customs has now expired, although Gibson hoped that it would consider releasing another tranche.


Ignore weather warnings at your peril, say police


Police Scotland chief inspector Darren Faulds told the Scottish Logistics Conference that the force would take a tough line with operators that sent truck drivers out onto Scotland’s roads aſter severe weather warnings had been issued.


Inspector Faulds - who


described his remit as trying to keep the country moving in the face of events such as the ‘Beast from the East’ - said that during recent snowstorms many stranded drivers he had spoken to said that they had been told by their bosses


Storage business boost for Bullet


Central Scotland-based logistics operator Bullet Express has bought over 180,000sq ſt of land behind its Baillieston storage centre to build a £5m multi-temperature warehouse, expected to be completed in autumn 2020. . It follows what it describes as


“a phenomenal response” to its entry into the storage market in summer 2016. A 21,000 pallet site at Baillieston is now “at client capacity” and a further 5000 pallet site on the outskirts of Glasgow is also nearly full.


Turnover increased 20% in


three years to over £12 million. Managing director David


McCutcheon commented: “We are all delighted with the growth of storage in such a short time in the market. The service has enhanced our other divisions and generated great revenue for overnight freight, sameday/special services delivery and our worldwide freight departments, having the ability to short term store , de cant containers and pick-pack has brought real interest from many current clients.”


that they had to try to get through. However, he warned that the


judicial system would push for more Fatal Accident Enquiries and Company Homicide prosecutions in the event of lives being lost under such circumstances. However, he acknowledged that


the current lack of safe and secure parking in Scotland was an issue. It would also be necessary to draw up guidelines to determine what was an essential delivery entitled to be on the roads during bad weather and what was deemed non-essential traffic.


///SCOTLAND Malcolm Group gets heavy Scottish operator Malcolm


Logistics has launched a ‘48 for 48’ campaign to persuade the Government to revive the idea of higher weight and length limits for trucks engaged in intermodal transport to and from rail terminals. Chief executive Andrew told


Malcolm FTA’s Logistics


Scotland Conference on 30 May that most companies in Scotland were within 48 miles of a railhead and that such traffic could be allowed to operate up to a maximum weight of 48 tonnes, as opposed to the current 44 tonne maximum for all trucks. This would allow for the extra weight of intermodal equipment and allow rail to complete on a level playing field with road-only operations. It echoes the 44 tonne weight limit allowed for intermodal operators on the roads a couple of decades ago when trucks generally were limited to a maximum of 40 tonnes.


Higher-weight trucks could


operate under the Special Transport General Orders (STGO) rules that currently apply to outsize road movements and would run on agreed routes only, Andrew Malcolm suggested. “It would mean that we could


grow our business without adding trucks,” he told the conference, adding: “We’re working with the Department for Transport to make this happen.” Although Malcolm Group


started life as a road haulier, it has run trains since 2001 and is a major operator of intermodal rail terminals in Scotland and also the DIRFT site at Daventry in the English Midlands. It moves over 800 domestic containers by rail every week and rail is now a vital and integral part of the company’s operations, said Andrew Malcolm. It was also vital to maximise


throughput of capital-intensive rail terminals, he added.


Scotland misses out on training funds


Scottish-owned companies are currently unable to obtain funding for the new Freight Forwarding Apprenticeship, regional BIFA consultant Len Hobbs told FBJ. This is because it has not been approved by Skills Development Scotland, the body that oversees funding of apprentice training north of the border. However, Hobbs said that


the matter was being pursued and that SDS could eventually consider approving it. Scottish branches of English- headquartered forwarders


Forth Ports multiplies its intermodal options


Forth Ports probably accounts for more of its home country’s economic activity than almost any in Europe – and certainly the biggest proportion in the UK. Senior commercial manager Rob Mason, told the FTA Scottish Logistics Conference that Forth Ports handled around 50% of Scotland’s entire GDP at its seven locations north of the border. It handles cargoes such as


whisky, potatoes, seafood, craſt beer, gin, textiles, chemicals and manufactured goods, although as chief operating officer Stuart Wallace pointed out in a later interview with FBJ, the oil, gas and chemical sectors probably account for a heſty proportion of the total. “I don’t think there’s any


other port grouping that accounts for that level of the country’s activity, certainly not in the UK,” he said. Grangemouth alone accounted for 30% of GDP. At the conference, Mason


described Forth Ports as “ very much a multi-discipline, multi- commodity operation, and we’ve an eye to what else we can do on our quaysides,” he said. “We want to provide more ‘port centric’ solutions.” That meant creating an


integrated, streamlined supply chain and developing long-term customer relationships, bringing together the various players in one location. Forth Ports had been very successful in this regard, even attracting some business


from other ports in the north of England. Forth Ports operations were all


in or near to Scotland’s centres of populations. The challenge the company faced was to modernise sometimes ageing infrastructure and facilities. In Grangemouth, new handling equipment and IT systems had been introduced, along with an additional 250,000sq ſt of warehousing. Wallace continued that


the port-side warehousing at Grangemouth was currently full and the group was actively pursuing the next phase of development. The demise


of


long-time tenant Duncan Adams Haulage, while very unfortunate, had


however given the


would however be eligible for funding. Mr Hobbs added that he was


fully supportive of BIFA and the industry’s training efforts as it was an important factor in attracting people into the industry. BIFA meanwhile was continuing to hold a number of courses in Scotland including Introduction to Importing, Exporting and Customs as well as statutory training such as dangerous goods. The freight industry in


Scotland was, along with its counterparts south of the


opportunity to remodel the site and create 300,000sq ſt of new warehousing space, probably within the next 12 months. It would probably be a multiuser site and Forth Ports had already had a number of enquiries, mainly from the food, drink and chemical sectors, said Wallace. The new site would also


include a 700m long siding that would allow Grangemouth


to


break into the container rail market for the first time. The Grangemouth port branch currently handles bulk aviation fuel from the refinery for Scottish airports and has recently been electrified to the port boundary, so it could be an attractive proposition for rail operaters to and from the south. Indeed, Forth Ports


later announced a new border, continued to grapple


with issues such as delivery of the new Customs Declaration System (CDS) and Brexit, Hobbs continued. “There is no indication when


imports will migrate from CDS to Chief,” he pointed out. Industry talk suggests that it may not now happen until next year. However, BIFA members are happy with the strengthened Chief system which, despite its vintage, was proving to be robust and effective. There was also some relief in


the industry that the cutover to CDS would probably not now


weekly train service from its rail- linked southern base at Tilbury via Daventry in the English Midlands, turning Grangemouth into a truly tri-modal operation. Meanwhile, Grangemouth’s


seaborne container traffic is growing rapidly. The 7% increase seen in the first quarter has been maintained and appears not to be a Brexit-inspired flash-in-the- pan, he says. Regular container services operate to Rotterdam, Antwerp, Le Havre and Felixstowe and the addition of a third container crane has been very beneficial. An order for five new straddle carriers is expected to be fulfilled in early 2020, part of an 11-strong order that has already seen six similar machines delivered to Forth Ports’ London Container Terminal in Tilbury.


happen at the same time as Brexit. The industry in Scotland was


taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to the latter, said Hobbs. Some of the larger forwarders had stepped up training of staff in customs, but most firms would not be able to recruit extra personnel until they were sure of the future shape and direction of Brexit. Some operators such as hauliers could also find it very challenging if they had to deal with customs clearance in future. Now, recent political had


developments added a


further twist. Pressure is growing for


another referendum on


Scottish independence and if the country was to break away from the UK and re-enter the EU, that might one day lead to a hard border between England and Scotland. It also raised the spectre of Scotland having to create its own customs service and introduce its own version of CDS.


One welcome development,


Hobbs said, was HMRC’s decision to greatly increase the number of International Trade Development Liaison Officers (ITDLOs) from two covering the entire UK to 13, including a dedicated one for Scotland. ITDLOs are tasked with


explaining to companies how trade and the working of the various customs regimes – forwarders as well as traders.


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