The European Competition Commission has launched a formal investigation into the issue of oil price fixing, despite the fact that in 2012 the Office of Fair Trading found that there was insufficient evidence to support such a claim. As fuel is a major component of the cost of...
April has seen the strongest month yet in 2013 for Supplychain21 as increased activity from many customers helped to push volume and turnover to new heights. The small amount of growth achieved by the UK economy in Q1 this year seems to be having a positive impact on...
The latest Logistics Survey shows that UK road exports to the EU both on accompanied and unaccompanied trailers were down in 2012 against the levels seen in 2011. This is solid evidence that the recession in the EUR area has been having an impact on...
A survey of the timeliness of container ship arrival conducted by the industry consultant Drewry has reported record reliability in the 4th quarter of 2012 with 79.9% of ships arriving on time (compared with less than 75% in the previous quarter). So now only 1 in...
For many of Supplychain21's customers, getting a sufficiently legible and accurate CMR to be able to use with HMRC to provide proof of export is an ongoing challenge. Supplychain21 has worked with its hauliers and also customer warehouses to try to ensure the quality of...
The HGV Road User Levy Act became law on 4th March. Prior to this legislation, many EU states already charge lorries for using their roads which means that British vehicles have to pay to drive in Europe, while foreign lorries can drive in the UK without paying...
The new London Gateway container port is nearing completion and is set to transform port options for businesses exporting from the South East who had previously shipped out of Felixstowe. The port will have the best tidal window access for deep-drafted vessels and a capacity...
There has been mixed news on costs for hauliers (and therefore their customers) in recent weeks. Whilst George Osbornes announcement tthat the planned 3p per litre rise in fuel tax would not proceed in January avoids this additional cost, the new levy proposed for HGV's...
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has predicted that there will be a ‘dramatic shift’ in the balance of economic power over the next half century, with the emerging economies of Asia gaining ground and accounting for a significant share of output. China is set...
There is 1.7 million teu of new Containership capacity planned for delivery in 2013, representing a 9.5 % increase on the total available in 2012. With only 2% of the fleet being scrapped it remains to be seen whether economic conditions improve sufficiently to warrant the...