News

By Jack SempleFuel is the decisive element in the RHA's annual price movement survey - along with the chance of timing.The RHA survey reviews costs between October 1 2005 and September 30 2006.

TNT reports "strong interest" from prospective buyers of TNT Freight Management, which it has put up for sale.The unit derives from TNT's acquisition of Wilson Logistics in 2004. At the time, the takeover was hailed as a major step forward for the TNT group.

SJ Bargh has grown pre-tax profit by 26% but sees challenges ahead. The directors state in the company's latest abbreviated results that "the business environment in which we operate continues to be challenging". Managing director Stewart Cornthwaite tells Motor Transport that "fuel and labour" are the company's biggest costs and challenges. But pre-tax profit for the haulage contracting and warehousing company has risen to £2.06m in the year to April 30, 2006 from £1.63m in 2005.

Ramage Group has recruited two senior executives from Scottish rival Currie European. Allan Jamieson joins the board at Ramage as traffic operations director. He was at Currie for 14 years. Stephen Turner joins as group finance director to "oversee the financial control and rapid expansion" at Ramage. He was FD at Currie. Clipper Group has appointed David Hunt as operations director for DTS Clipper. Hunt joins the fashion and high value logistics arm of Clipper Group with more than 10 years' experience at director level in the third party logistics sector.

A detailed change to drivers' hours regulations could hit much of the industry harder than the worst fears over working time, industry representatives said this week.An amendment to the drivers' hours regulations that comes into effect from April 11, 2007 will include driving at delivery points such as quarries, ports, large distribution centres and steel mills.The change is in the section stating that "journeys by road" will be treated as driving the words "or part journey" have been added.RHA 

Pay-by-the-day for foreign trucks is back on the political agenda - official!After frequent dismissal of the idea by ministers as not worth the effort and five years after the inception of the doomed Lorry Road User Charging project, adoption of a "euro-vignette" - or something related - is being discussed in the highly secretive road haulage task group, a government spokesman confirms.Intriguingly, he says it is too early to say what the daily rate would be. Under the euro-vignette, a modest maximum charge is clearly stated.

The UK's most successful performers in the road haulage industry have been named by a research report into measures of company valuation.The top five performers, in random order, include bulk freight firm Fred Sherwood & Sons, Leeds-based GW Sissons & Sons and RDL Distribution, recently bought by Wincanton. G Sweeney and Maxi Group complete the list.Plimsoll Publishing's research showed these five achieved "outstanding financial performance", says analyst Clair Sherwood.

At the freight sector debate in the Scottish Parliament, Conservative MSP David McLetchie called delays in starting work on a new bridge or tunnel "unforgiveable". Other MSPs said businesses in Fife are already preparing their exit strategies.Green MSP Mark Ballard saw the trouble at the bridge as an ideal opportunity to develop rail freight.

JDS Trucks has opened what it says is the UK's first 24-hour Renault van servicing centre. Situated in Morley, just off the M62 between junctions 27 and 28, the site includes two new van servicing bays that are manned 24-7 by technicians who are trained on Clio, Kangoo, Trafic and Master.

A haulier asked police to investigate the theft of six pallets carrying books - and has been offered a "Victim Support Service" instead.Cheshire police told Royers, part of the GJ Cooper group, that "we will not be undertaking further investigation", just hours after taking a report of the crime.Notification to the company came in the form of an unsigned standard letter from Cheshire Constabulary's un-named "Demand Management Unit Manager".Graham Westcott, chairman of the GJ Cooper gro