RHA news update

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RHA news update

The RHA (Road Haulage Association) has welcomed the news that the proposed EES (Entry and Exit System) for the EU has been delayed.

Due to come into force this May, it has now been put back until the end of the year to give haulage companies time to prepare.

The system would have required non-EU citizens to be fingerprinted and photographed potentially causing significant delays at ports.

In other news the RHA has a benevolent fund to help those associated with the haulage industry who are experiencing hard times in the current economic crisis.

In the past it has helped with:

  • Buying food, clothing and white goods.
  • Help towards outstanding bills and priority debt such as mortgage or rental arrears.
  • Funding for training – redundant drivers can apply for a free Driver CPC or driver medical to help them return to work.
  • Much-needed aid equipment, such as wet rooms, wheelchairs, specialist beds, etc.
  • Essential home improvements.
  • Travel expenses for hospital visits.

There is more information on how to apply on the RHA website or call 01733 856615

A difficult start to the new year for haulier

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A difficult start to the new year for hauliers but things are settling down

January 1 marked the UK’s final separation from the EU, and for hauliers this proved to be a little problematic at the start.

For the first two weeks, we were unable to work while hauliers and ports got to grips with the massively increased paperwork needed to deal with consignments from overseas.

Some also found it difficult to drop empty trailers at ports.

However, thankfully, this situation has quickly eased and hauliers are able to get on with the task of collecting and delivering consignments to customers.

Another helpful development has been that many motorway services are able to offer rapid flow testing for Coronavirus to drivers, making it easier for them to pass through the ports.

The Road Haulage Association website has a useful section keeping people up to date on developments for international operators.

You can find it here

Uncertainty about the future and planning ahead

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Uncertainty about the future and planning ahead

Time is pressing for small businesses as the uncertainty about the terms of leaving the EU continues.

Uncertainty is the last thing any business needs, especially if they are part of a supply chain across Europe and they need to ensure there will be no interruption to their business activity.

Making sure they have a continuous supply of raw materials, components and products, depending on the nature of their business, is crucial.

Yet the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) estimates that the majority of its members have as yet made no preparations or plans to deal with possible disruption to their supplies.

While larger companies have lost patience and already commissioned warehouse space or actually building additional storage, this is not really an option for the small business.

However, there is a solution for those who need additional storage space and that is our self-store facility.

There are a few limitations on what you can store for obvious safety reasons.

You cannot store food and perishable goods that could attract rodents or bacteria, for example, unless they are very securely packaged.

Similarly, you cannot store anything that could be a fire or chemical pollution hazard, so no flammable liquids such as gas, paint, petrol, oil or cleaning solvents and compressed gases and no chemical or radioactive materials.

There is space available in our self-storage facility, which is accessible 24/7 and secure, so if you need to ensure that your small business has the supplies it needs to continue operating, why not give us a call.

Possible benefits to the Haulage industry after leaving the EU?

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Possible benefits to the Haulage industry after leaving the EU?

It is not always possible for a haulage company to plan its work schedule ahead, so we need to be able to respond day by day to our customers’ needs.

Much of Ticks’ work is in collecting fresh food consignments from UK ports and delivering them quickly to our customers.

So the impact of any customs delays after Brexit is likely to be serious because if checks on consignments have to be carried out for every load, and this means waiting in queues then the supplies will be no longer fresh on delivery.

This is always assuming that the ports have the space and the extra manpower that will be needed to carry out the checks.

Then there is the issue of what to do about those “unaccompanied containers” which have been sealed and certificated at their origin and are then shipped across countries, loaded off trailers on one side of the Channel then onto a local haulier’s trailer on the other. This depends on all the countries through which the goods may have to pass accepting the same certification.

Registration of both trucks and drivers may also be affected, which may mean drivers not being to travel freely across borders.

However, these problems have all been well rehearsed by drivers, ports authorities and those bodies that represent the haulage industry, such as the RHA (Road Haulage Association) and the FTA (Freight Transport Association).

But is it possible there could be benefits for the Haulage Industry if it becomes more difficult to cross countries’ borders?

It may mean that European Haulage Companies will prefer not to send drivers all the way to the UK, resulting in increased business for UK-based hauliers picking up the goods and transporting them to their final destinations.

That may mean that there will be more job opportunities for UK citizens to join the haulage industry.

It may also mean that there will be fewer of the sometimes-huge continental trucks and trailers on UK roads, which may also bring improvements in traffic flows.

Obviously it is hard to predict what the consequences of Brexit will be without more detail on the final agreements, but given the expertise and responsiveness of the UK’s haulage industry and their ability to respond quickly to customer requirements, there may be more positive benefits than we are yet seeing discussed.