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Issue 2 2020 - Freight Business Journal


David Wells Interview Freight industry still has plenty of reasons to be cheerful


The Freight Transport Association has a new name – Logistics UK – but its core values remain the same, chief executive David Wells tells FBJ.


There is more to the renaming of the Freight Transport Association - to Logistics UK - than a rebranding exercise, says chief executive, David Wells. The change is a manifestation of a wider shiſt in the business and political landscape; politicians have, with Brexit, realised the importance of logistics to the national economy, even if they don’t always fully understand how it works. “It wasn’t a spur of the moment


decision; it’s not something we did lightly,” he explains. The change only took place aſt er widespread consultation with the membership and David Wells has written back to the Association’s 38,000 member contacts to explain the change. “Only one person wrote back saying they disagreed.” That, in his view, is a result. Financially, the Association is


doing well. Membership has grown 23% in fi ve years to 18,000, with a retention rate of over 95%. Revenue is up £32 million, and the Transport Manager seminars have attracted record numbers. “We also recorded 72 policy wins last year.” Training


activity of all kinds has increased including acquisition of a specialist air cargo training company. In policy terms, the Association’s


profi le “has leapt up”; it is rarely out of the spotlight these days. “Brexit has made politicians and the media realise the importance of logistics.” Politicians have been taken on coach tours to see the port of Dover where some of them, at least, realised for the fi rst time its importance in the UK’s supply chain. It’s a rare news bulletin these days that doesn’t contain at least one item about transport or trade. The new name better


encapsulates the many diff erent issues facing the industry – not just Brexit, but also cleaner air, digitisation of the supply chain, artifi cial intelligence, autonomous vehicles


and many others.


“We’ve asked our members: ‘Do you think your company, your business model will be the same in future, will your operation be the same as it is today in years to come?’ and of course they say: ‘No, it defi nitely won’t.’ We need to be in there, shaping opinion,


formulating policy. The old days of modal competition are becoming blurred; we’re also getting involved in warehousing – we added a new supply chain consultancy this year with three experts from the industry - and the supply chain and the impact that has on transport. We have to be ready for that debate, and our name has got to refl ect that.” The government has also


recognised that the industry is on the cusp of some of the most profound changes it has ever seen and has even appointed a Minister for the Future of Transport (a separate post from the Minister of Transport). The new modal realities are also


refl ected in the Association’s own structure. Alongside the existing regional councils there are also councils for rail, road, water and air freight with, alongside those a new strategic council with a remit to consider overall policy issues. “So


the new name is a


manifestation of a much bigger change in strategy, of what we are trying to do. But will our services,


our people, change? No, of course they won’t.” However, the issues that the


freight and logistics industry is grappling with are becoming very complex, and in many cases there are no easy answers. “For example, there’s a debate going on in Government about urban logistics centres, which it is very keen on, but the solutions aren’t that simple. This is an industry that operates on margins of 2%, so don’t you think, if there was an effi ciency gain to be made from consolidation centres, it wouldn’t have already done it?” Electric vehicles, seen by


many as the panacea for all things environmental, are even more fraught. “Companies aren’t just going to say one day: ‘Let’s electrify.’ They’ve invested in vehicles and they want to sweat those assets for eight years.” That’s even before they begin to consider issues like upgrading the electricity supply to cope with the demands of charging dozens of vehicles, which, as Wells recently told Grant Shapps, is really


only something government can provide. If there are ever to be LNG-


powered trucks, again that will mean the government having to put its hand in its pocket and at least kickstart the provision of a suitable refuelling infrastructure. In the meantime, there is no point in “demonising diesel” considering how clean the latest generation of Euro 6 trucks are. And then there’s Brexit. It’s


impossible to underestimate the signifi cance of this to the Association’s members, not just in the UK, but those of its sister organisation, Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI). Wells plays tribute to the work of FTAI general manager Aiden Flynn and Seamus Leheny in Northern Ireland in keeping the logistics industry at the top of the political agenda during these tumultuous times. The Ireland/Northern Ireland


border is “the elephant in the room” in the ongoing Brexit debate and Wells seriously questions whether the Irish Protocol thrashed as part of the negotiations will actually be workable in practice, a point he


BEGIN YOUR


JOURNEY TOWARDS MULTIMODALITY


///NEWS


made to Minister for the Cabinet Offi ce Michael Gove when they met a few days beforehand. Meanwhile, the UK may offi cially


have leſt the EU on 31 January but the exact terms of the departure have yet to be decided and we have no more information on what they will be than on the night of the referendum in June 2016. What is a business owner to make of the statement by the government, published only the day before on 27 February, that it was prepared, if negotiations did not go to its liking, to leave the EU and on WTO terms at the end of the year? “Do they try and recruit customs clearance agents? But are they going to commit resources when there is still so much uncertainty?” Licensing, permits and the


immigration status of drivers all need to be considered – or might have to be depending on the nature of the Brexit that is fi nally agreed. “Again, it’s an example of the detail that needs to be sorted out. These are anxious times for hauliers.” What is really needed, Wells


ventures: “Is for the two sides to agree heads of terms as quickly as possible, just like business people would” and for practical people in the freight industry to then work out the details of how to make it work in practice. He has off ered the Association’s


services as an ‘honest broker’ to help the process, pointing out that its stance on Brexit has always been neutral: “We’ve never taken a political position on the issue – we just want to make it work”.


EV Cargo’s


News Roundup Forwarding & Logistics


Palletforce network has


launched new international services to Greece, Turkey, Latvia, Lithuania and Croatia. They bring the number of direct international services operated by Palletforce to 30, with the prospect of a further 10 countries being added in the next few months.


Chief executive of Agility’s global integrated logistics business, Essa Al- Saleh, is stepping down aſt er 13 years in the role and will be succeeded by current head of the forwarder’s Asia Pacifi c business, Chris Price on 1 May. Al-Saleh leaves the company to pursue personal interests, but will continue to off er advisory support. Soren Poulsen, currently head of Agility North Asia, will succeed Price as regional chief executive for Asia-Pacifi c.


Optimise your transports through Europe thanks to the rail motorways


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DHL Global Forwarding has formed an Arabian Cluster comprising Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq with head of industrial projects and business development in the Middle East and Africa, Moustafa Elbanhawi as chief executive. Sue Donoghue is country manager in Saudi Arabia and will also oversee operations in Bahrain, while Firas Sukkar will be the country manager in Kuwait and also manage operations in Iraq, both of them reporting to Elbanhawi.


Pall-Ex has appointed Mark Steel to the newly created role of European managing director for its International operation. He joined the pallet network in 2016 as sales and marketing director, having previously held roles within logistics and the Royal Air Force.


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