From January, many food products will be transported in longer articulated lorries that promise to cut fuel consumption and improve efficiency by enabling more products to be transported on one journey.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has been consulting on whether to allow longer trucks onto the UK road network and earlier this month announced its decision to back their introduction via a 10-year trial.
The trial will see 1,800 lorries being monitored, of which 900 will use trailers that are 2.05m longer than the current maximum length and 900 will use trailers than are 1m longer.
Additional length
Wincanton, the largest UK-owned logistics company, has carried out research which found that 65% of its grocery and retail customers would find this additional length beneficial. The firm’s technical director, Dave Rowlands explained, it will interest only certain parts of the industry.
“It won’t suit everybody,” he told FoodManufacture.co.uk. “It will be products that cube out on volume before reaching the 44t weight limit that will benefit.
“For example, if transporting products like baked beans, the weight limit would probably be reached before the vehicle ran out of space, so there wouldn’t be a requirement for a longer vehicle. If transporting lighter foods, such as cereals, at the moment you run out of space before reaching the weight limit.”
Rowlands said that using longer-length trailers to transport these lighter products would increase unit load capacity by an average of 15%, which equates to an additional four pallets per vehicle.
He added that the other major benefit for the grocery industry would be savings on fuel. “We look to create the most cost efficient models for our customers, to anything that helps mitigate against rising fuel costs has got to be good for our customers.”
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents the UK food and drink manufacturing industry, has also welcomed the introduction of the trailers, but questions the need for such a long trial.
Disappointed
“We are disappointed that government has decided to embark on a lengthy 10-year trial as we would have liked to have seen an earlier implementation of this change,” David Bellamy, the FDF’s manager of environment policy, told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
The FDF would also have liked to see a larger-scale trial.
“The trial will involve fewer than 2% of the trailers currently on UK roads. We believe therefore that it is likely to become very quickly over-subscribed,” said Bellamy. “Already we know of at least one member company who will be asking for 100 licences. The main transport providers can be expected to ask for even higher amounts. We are still in discussions with members about the government’s position, but are sure it will restrict significantly the economic and environmental benefits longer trailers could have brought to the sector.”