AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

28th July 2005
28th July 2005
Page 1
Page 1, 28th July 2005
Close

Page 6

Union anger erupts into strikes

Following the Working Time Directive, are we facing a summer of discontent? Guy Sheppard reports. MORE THAN 250 Asda...

NEARLY 130 drivers are due to begin a series of

one-day strikes at Kentbased SCA Transport after management imposed a 5% pay increase. SCA says the increase, which is...

A spokesman for the Transport and General Workers Union believes

the current climate of industrial unrest is down to several factors, not least the WTD: "If there are themes here then we are...

Page 7

ILRUC loss will benefit foreigners' RICHARD TURNER, the chief executive

of the Freight Transport Association, has warned that the industry is going to face stiff competition from cut-price foreign...

A303 delays Deiays will remain commonplace on the A303 past

Stonehenge after the government abandoned plans to improve the road due to spiralling costs.

Fine cut

Hull operator Mightyhire has had a £3,000 overloading fine cut to £2,300 after promising to invest £30,000 in weighing equipment.

Fewer spills

Total UK has cut spillages by 60% after launching a campaign with the Environment Agency to improve fuel delivery and storage...

French boost

HGV traffic through the Port of Calais soared to 1,626,422 vehicles in 2004; up 12.6% from 2003.

Driver killed

A driver was killed, while unloading his truck at Allied Bakeries' Glasgow Bakery on 19 July Graham Meldrum was operating the...

Geordie tunnel

Operators have welcomed plans for a second Tyne Tunnel between Jarrow and East Howdon in a £185m scheme.

Irish pallets

PalletFORCE has launched a next-day service to the Republic of Ireland via its member Redhead International.

Page 8

ArvinIV eritor shuts trailer axle plant

ARVINMERITOR CVS is to close its trailer axle and suspension plant near Wrexham. Nearly 200 jobs are threatened; a 90-day...

Page 9

E74m bill for thefts TRUCK CRIME costs the UK economy

more than £74m a year, according to latest statistics from the West Midlands truck crime unit Operation Indicate. DCI Carl...

P&O expeds blessing on plans P&O's PLANS to build the

UK's biggest container port at Thurrock's Shellhaven site received a major boost last week when the government gave the...

E SPEED UMIT DEBATE

FAST ROAD TO NOWHERE Not all speed cameras promote safety, says Brian Lee of Allan Morris Transport. So why is an issue so...

Page 10

What are the tractor rules?

A IC wants VOSA to clarify the rules governing the use of farm tractors. Mike Jewell - eports. A TRAFFIC Commissioner has...

Was kidnapping genuine?

A truck driver faked his own kidnapping as part of a scam to steal his truck and its load of electrical goods, Stafford Crown...

Free M6 parking offer

PROPERTY DEVELOPER Swayfields is offering free overnight parking for more than 100 HGVs at its proposed motorway service area...

Page 12

Tem drivers face cab ban

A row has broken out over a new health and safety policy at Tesco's RDCs. Jennifer Ball reports. DRIVERS ARE furious about a...

Ferry prices to topple

FREIGHT FARES on ferries from Aberdeen to the Northern Isles may fall by up to 25% next spring. The fare cuts on routes...

Waste offenders fined

A CONTROVERSIAL Belfastbased waste management company has been lined £27,500 for breaking waste regulations. Euroskips, was...

Page 13

That was the year...

CM was launched in 1905; for our centenary year we're bringing you stories from years gone by. This week we're back in 1933 and...

Page 14

MAN close to a van decision

MAN should announce a van manufacturing partner by the end of this year. Colin Bameft reports. MAN's long-running quest to...

GERMANS PUSH MAN TO ADBLUE

In the latest twist to the EGR vs SCR battle to meet the Euro-4 and 5 emissions levels, customer demand in Germany has led MAN...

Page 16

Media watch

IN THE NEWS Stuart Thomas gives us his regular round-up of the way the newspapers have covered the wild and whacky world of...

Page 17

French fear huge job losses

THE LEADING French transport association has demanded drastic measures from the French government to stop the country's haulage...

Commons boost for rail freight

HIGH-PROFILE Labour MP Robin Cook last week tabled an early day motion (EDM) in Parliament calling on the government to do all...

URTU recruits at Orwell park

THE UNITED Road Transport Union is to take its mobile office to the new Unveil Crossing Lorry Park near Felixstowe for the...

Page 18

Colgate gang gets clean away

THIEVES MADE a clean getaway after stealing £250,000 worth of toothpaste from a haulage yard in Greater Manchester. The raid...

Data wanted on IT kit

POLICE IN Huntingdon are appealing for information after computer equipment was stolen from a truck which was parked in a layby...

Scruffs steal designer wear

THIEVES HAVE taken designer clothes worth around £1,500 from a van parked in Northampton. The load of clothing, which included...

Theft foiled by tough gate

NO police are appealing for witnesses following an attempted theft at a haulage yard on the Brackmills Industrial Estate. The...

Truck crime roundup

• A blue MG skeletal trailer containing a red container (ID TEXU4867386) was stolen from Kingswinford, West Midlands on 17 July...

Page 20

The piemen corneth

As we reported last month, men in road transport are particularly prone to obesity, and thus an increased risk of heart...

VOLUNTEER ONE

Start weight: 249Ibs (list 11Ibs) BMI: 33.8 Current weight: 229Ibs (16st Bibs) Target: 224Ibs (16st) Weighing in at 249Ib and...

VOLUNTEER TWO

Start weight: 219Ibs (15st gibs) BMI: 30.7 Current weight: 209Ibs (14st 13Ibs) Target: 189Ibs (13st 7lbs) lam falling a bit...

VOLUNTEER THREE

Start weight: 239Ibs (list 11Ibs) BMI: 35 Current weight: 225Ibs (16st 11Ib) Target: 217Ibs (15st 7lbs) This week, the 10th of...

Page 24

Co-ordinating the Trafk

Renault's van sales have come a long way in a few years. Emma Penny asks national fleet sales manager Mark Lovett about its...

Page 28

Clarification on ' axle terminology

I WAS PLEASED to see that Robin Hannay's letter (C M30 June) regarding high and low axle ratios was challenged and corrected by...

The right ratio for the gear

ROBIN HANNAY is correct about cliff ratios But Peter Davies and Adam Moody (CM 7July) are talking about overall ratios' or...

Pouring more fuel on debate

1WAS INTRIGUED to read Alan Bunting's condemnation of my views with respect to EGR and low sulphur fuel (CM 21 July). In...

Heads should roll

OUR TRADE associations, that is the ETA and the RHA, have let down their members very badly and Richard Turner (right) and...

Page 30

Grasping the nettle

Many truck operators avoid new legislation until absolutely necessary. However, United Freight Distribution decided to meet the...

Page 33

Undertakings save licence

Two wheels lost on the motorway have led to a 16-week licence cut for a Scottish firm — and its transport manager must go on a...

Page 34

Operator assumed VOSA

0 would report conviction A WIDNES firm escaped disciplinary action after failing to report a conviction for a missing...

Grocer's plea of ignorance failed to get his truck back

A GROCER whose truck was impounded when he carried on operating after his 0-licence was revoked has failed to get it back....

Page 35

Former partnership wins full licence as a company

A COMPANY was given interim authority to continue operating after a partnership licence it had been wrongly working under was...

TC decides finance house knew operator had no licence

A FINANCE company which leased a vehicle to a scaffolding firm despite knowing it had no 0-licence has failed in its bid to...

Page 36

Etr.--s ABC of ha

Ai* !age To veteran operators A, B and C mean the goods licences introduced in the 1930s Patric Cunnane concludes our...

Page 38

Good vibrations

Tough new regulations on workplace vibration and noise levels were introduced this month. What do they mean for operators?...

Page 40

May the force be with you

Tragic events such as the recent bombings in London stop deliveries in their tracks. Should customer contracts cover these...

Page 42

WORTH ITS

WAI T IN GOLD Anticipation can be a two-edged sword ft the object of desire fails to live up to expectations. The...

Page 48

THE HALL OF FAME 6

We've talked about the trucks which made our hearts beat faster but as these letters shovv, there are plenty of other...

Page 52

RISKY BUSINESS

Are you sick of paying insurance premiums? No problem — tell your broker to go jump and insure yourself. But as Steve Banner...

Page 55

CHRISTIAN SALVESEN AND TNT

Christian Salvesen self-insures at damage to its vehicles caused by its own employees, and much of any damage they might do to...

Page 56

DRIVE NOW PAY LATER

The way you finance vehicles affects your profit line. Andy Moore reviews the various payment schemes on offer from...

Page 57

i MO [II V:11101;14;1

CharterWay, Mercedes-Benz CharterWay, the in-house finance arm of Mercedes-Benz, currently funds about 30,000 of its vehicles...

Page 58

Bagilagai

Avelease Formed in 1992, Avelease is an independent finance broker with 85% of its business devoted to hire purchase: the...

Page 59

Alliance and Leicester Commercial Finance

As a large independent provider, Alliance and Leicester Commercial Finance (ALCF) funds all makes of commercial vehicles and...

Page 60

COOL CHOICE ON AIRCON

Your drivers can't overheat like a truck, but you don't want them wasting precious diesel with air-con. Brian Weatherley finds...

Page 61

OPERATOR CASE STUDY

In addition to roof-top units DC Airco offers the 008500 split unit system where the exterior compressor/condenser is mounted...

FLEET DISCOUNT SCHEME Daventry-based cab and truck accessory company Roadpro

is planning to grow beyond its traditional driver and owneroperator market into the wider fleet sector. Harris says larger...

Page 64

Warehouse staff as well as drivers must be trained. Tim

Maughan reports. HARGREAVES TRAINING SERVICES I n the quest for profits -and survival— more and more hauliers are offering...

Page 65

MID-KENT COLLEGE

As well as CPC and C+E tuition, Mid-Kent College offers NVQ levels 2 and 3 in Storage and Warehousing. Operators with up to 250...

Page 66

Ilessings and curses

Ray Dickson reflects on a mixed week for transport, but asks who will take the next steps needed to ensure the industry's...

Page 69

Eastern boom hits prices

Will an increased demand from Asia for iron, steel and rub ber force up the prices of second-hand trucks in the UK? Our trade...

Page 70

Making a clean sweep

Re-marketing utility vehicles requires care and attention. However, as Manheim Auctions' Jeremy Martell reveals, it can be...

Page 72

This flagship is sti 11 a Dutch treat

Dafs 95XF is starting to look its age, but demand for post-2000 examples is still strong. CM tried one in its prime. W hen CM...

Page 73

A local truck for local people

This month CM has been trawling our classified ads for a fleet tractor to haul locally at 40 tonnes. Functionality was the key,...