1100,000 is granted for haulage efficiency drive
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• by Mlles Brignall
The government is putting up 2100,000 to advise hauliers how to become more efficient. The money is expected to come out of the .£2m set aside for "modernisation and best practice" in the March Budget.
Trained staff, almost certainly from the Road Haulage and Freight Transport Associations, will visit hauliers' premises to examine their operations, vehicle utilisation and the type of work undertaken. These consultants will then suggest ways in which the haulier can become more profitable.
As CM went to press the scheme, which will be run jointly by the RA and FITIA, was due to be launched following the first meeting of the Road Haulage Forum since the election, The government has pledged an initial .2100,000 to pay for the consultants' training and for the time they spend working with hauliers.
A pilot project in the Midlands is designed to help around 100 hauliers—if successful it will be extended across the country and more money will be ploughed in. The service is expected to be free.
RI-IA chief executive Roger King says: "It will be a totally voluntary, confidential service that will be open to all, The sort of areas they will look at will be the use of training and the implementation of IT.
"We've told the government that if it really wants to help the industry the best thing it can do is knock 6p duty off a litre of diesel. However, that doesn't appear to be about to happen so we are looking at other ways to help the industry."
• See Comment, page 9.