What Are You Doing About Brexit?
Brexit and COVID19 were always going to be hard to handle individually. Together they may have become the biggest challenge to businesses since WWII. Fortunately, COVID19 now seems to be on its way out. This leaves exporters free to work out what they are doing about...
Driver Rest Rules Relaxed
Spain is currently preparing to trial a shortened working week. Here in the UK, by contrast, the government has extended maximum driving hours and minimum rest periods. The new rules went into force on 22nd January and are scheduled to be in force until 31st March....
The March 2021 Budget And Transport
The March 2021 budget was, unsurprisingly, focused on the financial aftermath of COVID19. There was, however, still plenty of interesting news for the transport sector. Here’s a quick round-up of the main points. Fuel duty was frozen (again) Given that fuel duty has...
Don’t Get Blindsided By Direct Vision
Technically, if you are operating HGVs (over 12 tonnes) in the Greater London area, you should already be compliant with the Direct Vision scheme. In practice, there is currently no enforcement of this scheme and hence no penalty for non-compliance. This, however,...
How Much Will Brexit Disrupt The Haulage Industry?
Back in December 2020, Richard Burnett, CEO of the Road Haulage Association, predicted that Brexit would cause “significant disruption” for six to 12 months. That prediction was, however, made before the Brexit deal was signed. What difference, if any, could the trade...
How to Avoid Sleeping on the Job
In the UK, late autumn to early spring is a period of short days and cold temperatures. These are challenging conditions for drivers, especially HGV drivers. It’s vital that drivers stay alert when they are on the road. Here are some tips to help. Actively monitor...
How To Keep Your Drivers CALM
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to help raise awareness of mental health issues amongst commercial vehicle drivers. It is backed by Highways England. Here’s a quick guide to what you need to know about it and how you can help. The basics of CALM...
Endurance
Here at Trade Freight we love it when we get the opportunity to ship goods that have a story to them. Our latest being this Ocean Rowboat for our valued customer New Ocean Wave Ltd. https://youtu.be/e12xOOfYXp4 When this came into the yard I was intrigued as I...
The End of an Up and Down Year for Hauliers
It’s probably safe to assume that hauliers, like just about everyone else, are now counting the days to the end of 2020. Admittedly, 2021 looks set to have an interesting start, namely Brexit (and probably COVID19 as well). Hopefully, however, the worst is now...
The Cabotage Roadblock
European hauliers currently move 85% of the volume of goods that come into the UK. You might therefore think that the EU would be very happy with the UK’s suggestion that cabotage arrangements be kept in place. You would, however, be wrong. Here is a quick guide to...
Is going global right for you?
When the internet first came along, many business experts became very excited about the fact that it opened the door to smaller businesses to compete on a global basis in the same way as bigger companies had been doing for years. Some companies grabbed this new...
The Freight Industry Counts Down to Brexit
At present, the UK government’s position is that Brexit will go ahead as planned regardless of the outcome of negotiations. This means that the freight industry has to assume that it needs to be prepared to exit the EU on 31st December. Here are some of the concerns...
What does the future hold for the haulage industry?
With COVID19 now fading away, hopefully never to return, (although that is definitely not guaranteed), the UK can now start finding its way to a new normal. Of course, it has Brexit to negotiate first. This seems a good moment to think about what the future might...
Freight trends for 2020 – What’s left of it!
For many businesses, the effective new year is in April, when taxes close and people really start to emerge from winter hibernation. However, this year April was more lockdown than business growth, but as we emerge more and more, now seems like an appropriate time to...
Preparing for post-Brexit border checks
With Brexit less than six months away, the haulage industry now faces a race to prepare for what it brings. What’s more, it has to make its preparations while still dealing with COVID19 and facing the possibility of a second wave of the virus. Here are some thoughts...
Do all roads lead to recession?
The global lockdowns may have saved lives, but there can be little doubt that this has come at the expense of livelihoods. There is nothing can be done to change the past, so it makes sense to focus on finding a path into the future. This needs to balance keeping...
The Camel Trophy
When they said everyday was a school day they were not kidding. Since joining the team at the International Logistics Centre I have had so many opportunities to learn about historical events from around the globe. This latest shipment was by no means any different....
Quarantine rules for travellers explained
At a very high level, the new quarantine rules state that anyone arriving in the UK from an international destination must now self-isolate for 14 days. There are exceptions – read more
