Commercial Motor articles from November 2006

Commercial Motor archives from November 2006

CHIPS: THEHEALTHY OPTION?
November 2, 2006... What is it about engine remapping - commonly known as chipping - that gets everyone so hot under the collar? For owner-drivers and small fleets that have had a truck chipped, it's a cost-effective way to boost performance through adjusting the...

THOMPSON LOCAL.(Thomas Thompson Tipping Gear)(Company overview)
November 2, 2006... In our last look at tipper builders, we concentrated on several firms in the East Anglia region. One of the biggest players, though, is based nearly within sight of the Commercial Motor office.We're in Sutton, Surrey, and it's not too far to...

BOOM & BUST.(Freight transportation industry)
November 2, 2006... The ability to multi-task is assumed in just about every contemporary contract of employment. The days of demarcation disputes are a dim and distant memory - today's employers demand flexibility above just about everything else.The same...

Log book issued for stolen truck.
November 2, 2006... A truck dealer in Staffordshire has expressed disbelief that the DVLA issued a new log book for a truck stolen from its site which was then offered for sale on the internet. Stuart Wolstenholme, manager of West Pennine Trucks, says the Scania...

PJ Butler Storage in administration.(Brief article)
November 2, 2006... The financial stability of a group of haulage companies is in doubt after the closure of one operation with substantial losses. PJ Butler Storage ran up debts of about ?120,000 in just three months of business. Administrators from SF Plant are...

Scottish MPs discuss the industry's future.
November 2, 2006... The Road HaulageAssociation has praised a debate held in the Scottish parliament on the future of the Scottish road haulage industry, despite MSPs being outnumbered by the operators in the visitors' gallery. There were just 21 MSPs present out...

Stiller Group increases profits.(Brief article)
November 2, 2006... Stockton haulage and warehousing firm Stiller Group, formerly known as G Stiller Transport, has boosted its pre-tax profits by 10.5% last year, from ?570,000 to ?630,000. This is despite a ?5m fall in turnover to just over ?60m for the...

Why operators should welcome the Driver CPCSafety means different things to different people, as three separate articles in a recent issue show (CM 5 October). ......(Column)
November 2, 2006... Why operators should welcome the Driver CPCSafety means different things to different people, as three separate articles in a recent issue show (CM 5 October). To a politician safety means legislation, usually legislation that attempts to...

Time for a free health check.
November 2, 2006... Don't forget to claim your free Commercial Motor/Renault Health DVD. The free DVD, produced as part of the CM Health Challenge, offers advice for employers and drivers.CM editor Andy Salter says: "Apart from the obvious issues of quality of...

THERE IS A CASE TO ANSWER.(Brief article)
November 2, 2006... The real story behind BBC's Real Stories programme is that it was a fair piece of mainstream journalism which highlighted the human cost of accidents involving trucks and tackled the government about its lack of will to address this issue.A...

Superior shades of success.(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... When it comes to disposal, colour could be as important a factor as mileage and condition in determining how much a vehicle fetches at auction. Metallic-coloured, low-mileage, smaller vans are worth more than equivalent white vans, says...

MV sets up a one-stop shop.(MV Commercial)
November 9, 2006... Tom O'Rourke, MD of MV Commercial, readily admits that he should have set up his own body, parts and vehicle preparation site years ago. The advantages of taking control of this aspect of the rental and leasing company's Scottish arm became...

Livestock hauliers can apply now for their authorisation.
November 9, 2006... Regulations GOVerning the transport of animals for commercial purposes are being introduced in January, but hauliers can apply for transport authorisation now.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says the European...

TCs crack down on drivers using mobile phones.
November 9, 2006... Police forces and Traffic Commissioners throughout the country are cracking down on truck drivers using hand-held mobile phones while driving, according to Scottish Traffic Commissioner Joan Aitken.During the course of a Dumfries public...

Rental firm says van limiters will have 'significant impact'.
November 9, 2006... Speed limiters are on the way for lighter vehicles, but it seems many operators are still unaware of the rule change. Sally Nash reports. Many FLEET operators are unaware that vans of 3.5-7.5 tonnes must be limited to 56mph from January 2007,...

Boulogne will be home to faster freighters.(Boulogne Chamber of Commerce and Industry new cargo service )(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... The Boulogne Chamber of Commerce and Industry hopes to attract hauliers involved in the international transport of fish and fresh products following the launch of a futuristic cargo service.Boulogne is set to become the European hub for the new...

Payment holiday for Daily launch.(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... Iveco has launched an aggressive introductory offer for the new 3,500kg Daily van. The scheme, which applies to remaining stock of the old Euro-3 model as well as the Euro-4 newcomer, features a finance deal with a six-month payment holiday and...

Jay Davidson makes million in year one.(MegaDrive)(Jay Davidson Haulage)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... A Pembrokshire haulier is celebrating its first year in business by breaking through the million-pound barrier on its turnover.Jay Davidson Haulage, trading as MegaDrive, is based in Pembroke Dock. It has attracted high-profile customers such...

Business soars at Prestwick.
November 9, 2006... Glasgow Prestwick International Airport has reported its highest volume of freight for two years, boosting work for local hauliers.A total of 2,896 tonnes of freight went through the airport in October the highest monthly figure since December...

Toyota adds Isuzu shares.
November 9, 2006... Toyota has acquired a 5.9% share in Isuzu Motors Japan to become Isuzu's third largest shareholder. The move seems designed to bolster Toyota's diesel engine supply and R&D capacity, leaving it free to concentrate on petrol and hybrid...

Bowring buys Whitkirk.
November 9, 2006... Bowring Transport, of Warsop, Notts, has acquired North Yorkshire waste firm Whitkirk Waste Solutions.Whitkirk specialises in removing food and drink industry waste for recycling onto the land. It was part of the Whitkirk Produce group of...

Dutch extend trials of longer trucks.(European Modular System)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... The Dutch have moved closer to permanently allowing longer, heavy trucks on their roads but legislation is still a long way off. Trials of the European Modular System (EMS), in which two 25.25m drawbar rigs do the same work as three regular...

Croydon to receive retail freight centre.(PF Whitehead)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... A Croydon-based transport and warehousing firm has expressed an ambition to run the first retail consolidation centre in London.PF Whitehead already runs home-delivery operations for retailers Ikea and B&Q from a site in Beddington, Surrey. It...

FTA condemns Cardiff congestion charge.
November 9, 2006... The Freight Transport Association's Welsh Freight Council has warned that a congestion charge in Cardiff could have "disastrous consequences".Concern is mounting that Cardiff City Council is considering imposing a charge similar to London's in...

CFS goes into the red.(Cranleigh Freight Services Ltd.'s earnings)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... THE DIRECTORS OF Surrey-based Cranleigh Freight Services (CFS) are satisfied with the firm's performance in 2005, despite moving from profit to loss during the financial year. The company moved from a pre-tax profit of just over ?650,000 in...

Tribunal decides disqualified director 'could not be trustede_SSRq.(Crown Cold Stores and Distribution)(Mark Hinchliffe)(Karen Thorburn-Jones)
November 9, 2006... A Liverpool haulage firm and its director have had their revocations and disqualification orders upheld by the Transport Tribunal.Crown Cold Stores & Distribution (CCS&D) had previously had its O-licence revoked by North-Western Deputy...

Great expectations rejected again.(Expect Distribution)(Brief article)
November 9, 2006... West Yorks-based Expect Distribution is to appeal against council planning chiefs' decision to reject its expansion plans for a second time.After the initial proposals were rejected by planners at Calderdale Council (CM 19 October), Expect made...

Transport blueprint to back road tolling.
November 9, 2006... Former British Airways chief executive Sir Rod Eddington is expected to back road-user charging as well as increased spending on roads in his wide-ranging blueprint for the UK's transport infrastructure. Chancellor Gordon Brown has commissioned...

Creditor spots application's link to failed companies.(Springfield Distribution)
November 9, 2006... An Ipswich operator's bid for a licence was refused because of its links with a director of several failed companies. Suspicions were raised by a former customer when the application was published in a local newspaper. The operator, Springfield...

Death watch.
November 9, 2006... From next year individuals who own an offending company will no longer be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter and face the prospect of a long prison sentence and/or large fine. Instead, the focus switches to prosecuting the "senior managers"...

TESTING,TESTING...
November 16, 2006... It's widely acknowledged among vehicle manufacturers that if a truck can handle Australian conditions it will last anywhere. That's why for decades Volvo, among others, have pitted new vehicles and drivelines against the unique speed, weight,...

Devereux questions penalty fee.(Devereux Developments' driver fined for parking at motorway service area for more than two hours)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... Devereux Developments is protesting about wheel-clamping firms being able to issue penalty notices as well as vehicle release fees following an incident at Leicester Forest East services.One of Devereux's drivers, who claimed he had parked for...

Hargreaves boss wins NE regional award.(Hargreaves Services' Gordon Banham wins North-East Business Executive of the Year award)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... Hargreaves Services' chief executive Gordon Banham has been named North-East Business Executive of the Year. Haulier and coal importer Hargreaves has expanded greatly since Banham led a management buyout at the company five years ago. Under his...

Transport liquidation figure holds steady.(bankruptcies)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... Latest figures from the Insolvency Service show there were 150 company liquidations within the transport and communications sector in the second quarter of 2006.This was the same number as in the first quarter of the year and about 10% fewer...

Wind farm boost for haulier.
November 16, 2006... A Northern Irish heavy haulage firm has just completed a massive project to transport sections of wind turbines to a site in the Scottish Borders.Mar-Train Heavy Haulage has been transporting the towers - each weighing 100 tonnes and measuring...

Prestons of Potto is back in profit and 'very optimistic'.(Richard Preston and Son)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... Richard Preston & Son of Potto, North Yorkshire, is celebrating almost 50 years in road haulage, and its latest balance sheet reveals a return to the black with profits at almost ?50,000.Director Anne Preston admits to feeling "much better"...

Severn rise angers operators.(toll prices)
November 16, 2006... Hauliers IN the Cardiff area are outraged about new toll prices on the Severn Bridge and Second Severn Crossing which come into force from January next year.The cost for cars will rise from ?4.90 to ?5.10 but the truck toll goes up more - from...

No bull in buffalo tale.(Water buffalo)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... A Northumbrian tipper driver received one of the shocks of his driving life when a water buffalo jumped out in front of him as he headed towards a quarry to pick up his load.Owner-driver Ronnie Storey initially thought the beast was a bull, but...

Kent firm faces probe.(Whitefriar International)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... The high court has hammered the final nail in the coffin for Whitefriar International, the Kent-based haulage firm that failed to pay its subcontractors almost ?200,000, by ordering the firm into compulsory liquidation.An investigation into the...

Bibby flies in to snap up Archfield.(Bibby Distribution acquires Archfield Shipping )(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... Bibby Distribution has bought freight forwarder Archfield Shipping as part of its expansion into the air-freight sector.This follows Bibby's acquisition of PD Freight Management - also in the freight-forwarding business - and Hammond Logistics...

DHL drops its casualisation plans to avoid strike ballot.
November 16, 2006... A ballot for strike action has been suspended at DHL Express after the company came forward with a new pay offer and made an eleventh-hour U-turn over its plans to casualise most of the workforce. The move follows a series of talks between the...

TIP wins major Norfolkline trailer deal.
November 16, 2006... Leasing company TIP has won a deal with international shipping and distribution firm Norfolkline to supply 290 trailers across its Western European operations.The trailers are standardised curtainsiders and reefers which are designed to be...

Storage boost for Boughey.(Boughey Distribution)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... Cheshire firm Boughey Distribution, part of the NWF Group, says that filling its warehousing to capacity helped boost its turnover by 21% during the financial year ending 31 May 2006.Turnover was ?28m pre-tax profit rose from ?238,000 to...

FTA chief exec refutes claims of xenophobia.(Freight Transport Association - Richard Turner )(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... Freight Transport Association (FTA) chief executive Richard Turner went head to head with his European counterparts last week to answer accusations of xenophobia about the 'Tell us who you are' campaign.The FTA and the Road Haulage Association...

Vosa swoops in suspected cabotage case.(Mendlesham Group Haulage )(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... A Suffolk haulier at the centre of a Vosa investigation into cabotage rules claims officers set up a five-car road block in a dramatic swoop on his company. John Barrow, speaking for Mendlesham Group Haulage (MGH), based near Stowmarket,...

Cherrystone firms go into administration.(PJ Butler & Sons)
November 16, 2006... Management AT a failing haulage firm were debating how they could continue to be paid at the same time as laying off employees, CM has learned.Now the firm in question, PJ Butler & Sons, has gone into administration and ceased trading. Fransen...

More cash to beat jams.
November 16, 2006... Nine areas across England will share ?7.5m to develop local congestion-busting schemes. The money comes from the second round of an ?18m fund set up in advance of the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) - a pot of cash that will be used from 2008...

Peer questions e_SSLqdeath by careless driving' law.(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... A Tory peer has warned that the new offence of causing death by careless driving could backfire by allowing more guilty drivers to walk free.Earl Attlee has told CM that under the new law, which is expected to come into force in autumn 2007,...

JMF buys up Boalloy.
November 16, 2006... Boalloy Holdings, the Cheshire-based bodybuilder and trailer manufacturer, has been bought by Northern Irish steel fabrication specialist JMF for an undisclosed sum. Boalloy, which also owns M&G Trailers, will continue to operate from its...

Eurotunnel threatens to sue UK over cancelled subsidy.
November 16, 2006... Eurotunnel is rattling its sabre and threatening court action against the UK government over "a question of good faith". Dominic Perry reports.Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel is threatening to sue the UK government over the cancellation of a...

Healthy figures for QTR despite bad debt.
November 16, 2006... QTR TRANSPORT managed to increase its turnover and profit last year, despite writing off a bad debt of more than ?50,000. The Reading-based company boosted its post-tax profit from ?165,000 in 2004 to ?191,000 in the financial year ending 31...

Council pays ?3.75m to binman disabled in crash.
November 16, 2006... A former binman has received ?3.75m in compensation after the refuse truck he was travelling in crashed, leaving him tetraplegic and in need of round-the-clock care.Richard Taylor, 21, from Cannock, Staffordshire, broke his neck after the...

Everalls had no employers liability cover.
November 16, 2006... Staffordshire-based CT Everall Transport has been fined almost ?2,000 for failing to have the correct insurance cover. The offence came to light after the death of one of its employees.The case was brought against Paul and Charles Everall by...

Where theree_SSRqs smoke...(Fiat S.p.A.'s planning of sale of its Iveco truck division )
November 16, 2006... The current rumours that Fiat is planning to sell its Iveco truck division are far from surprising. The debacle that is the VW-MAN-Scania hostile/friendly takeover/merger - and the subsequent exit of VW Chief Executive Officer Bernd...

Sales are slowingCurtainsiders - but only down one side.(truck trailers)
November 16, 2006... Used trailer buyers are still biased against disc brakes, says Steve Clough, director of equipment sales at TTL Equipment Management. "If you have two identical trailers of the same age - one on discs, one on drums - then the latter is likely...

Meeting customers' needs.(TruckEast - Paul Prewett)(buying and selling of old tractors)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... If you get the chance to acquire large numbers of late-registered, low-mileage, Euro-3 analogue-tacho tractor units, go for it. That's the case even though it may mean more than doubling the usual size of your stock, and despite the risk of...

Wincanton turns over almost ?1bn in six months.(Wincanton Logistics Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 16, 2006... Wincanton's half-yearly turnover is now close to the ?1bn mark after a jump of more than ?50m in six months to 30 September compared with the same period last year.In its interim results, announced last week, the logistics giant reported a...