Super highway is the road to take
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• Operators will need to understand the Internet to make the most of 21st century haulage, according to Road Haulage Association chairman Pat Lee.
He told the RHA's annual conference in Madeira that "both manufacturers and E-mail companies will need carriers who understand their specific needs and can serve them competitively".
Intermodal transport will also increase, he predicted: "A meaningful proportion of freight will be forced off the roads on to rail or ship through some form of
cost persuasion...far sighted hauliers and distribution companies will form partnerships with rail operating companies now."
Lee warned that environmental pressure on hauliers is likely to become so acute that trucks will be unable to run empty: "The drive for sustainable development and sustainable transport that is supported not only by environmentalists but at least in principle by all of us, will make any movement by an empty, or even part loaded vehicle, unacceptably expensive."