Hauliers call off port action
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• by Melanie Hammond
Hauliers blighted by long delays at Southampton docks have withdrawn threats of industrial action following an assurance by the management that things will improve in September.
Queues have become so bad, says Mike Mallon of Southampton-based MTS Transport, that last week the police were trying to move on vehicles as they backed up out of the docks on to adjoining roads.
Southampton Container Terminals is now planning to improve its operations, but denies this is the result of pressure from hauliers and the Road Haulage Association. It is undertaking to: • acquire 15 acres of land for operational use;
• create a six-high empty container handling park for empty containers, freeing up a further 23 acres;
• recruit 32 more staff; and • put eight new straddle carriers into operation.
Mallon welcomes the news. it's been getting ridiculous," he says. "Sometimes you're kept waiting for four or five hours and we end up getting flak from our customers for late delivery" But SCT maintains that a large part of the problem is that too many trucks are arriving at the docks during peak hours.
Development manager Derek Smith says: "The vehicles picking up in and around the Midlands in the morning arrive in the South between 2pm and 6pm. We are open 24 hours and would like to stagger the arrival of lorries. We are talking to the trade and to the RI-IA to see if we can come up with a workable solution."