Road

Road freight review; August 2023

Despite the European road freight sector largely showing a picture of weak recovery, amidst an uncertain, challenging and complex market environment, our European operations are expanding and the team continues to grow. The market moderation seen in the second half of 2022 has spilled over into 2023 and as a result, the European road freight

Longer lorries OK from next week

From next Wednesday the 31st May operational road transport equipment can include longer semi-trailer (LST) combinations up to 18.55 meters in length, which is an increase of 2.05 meters on today’s standard size.   The government has calculated that the additional volume created by the extra 2.05 meter length will result in 8% fewer journeys

New EU emissions trading system for road transport

EU Member States formally adopted the new emissions trading system in road transport (ETS II) last month, but the road freight industry insist 2027 is “too soon to launch”, given the absence of refueling and EV charging infrastructure. The Council of the EU in April, adopted a new emissions trading system for road transport (ETS

Unaccompanied freight service milestone

Short-sea container, unaccompanied trailer services and the use of quieter regional ports have enjoyed something of a renaissance since Brexit, as more complex border controls have added to congestion and delays at the busiest Channel ports. DFDS’s Sheerness to Calais service has now moved more than 50,000 trailers since it was first launched in July

New appointment further strengthens European team and platform expansion

Metro’s award-winning European solutions will be enhanced, expanded and advanced by new European Director, and industry veteran, Richard Gibbs. Commenting on his new role, Richard said. “Metro have a familiar and dependable partner network in place, with the ability to extend overland solutions swiftly across Europe, which is critical, in supporting effective European transport and 3PL and 4PL operations to our customers.

December 2022; Freight market summary review

As freight prices on every mode return to relative stability and the worst effects of inflation work though, the market is expected to rebalance, achieve ‘correction’ and ultimately recover with slow growth in 2023. The spiking freight rates on all modes are falling away and, taking inflation into account, the global freight market is expected to grow over 27%

£100 million boost to improve HGV roadside facilities

Last year the shortage of HGV drivers forced the Government to issue temporary visas to experienced foreign drivers and also as a consequence retailers to poach drivers away from carriers and the more general logistics environment, to fill the gaps, amid fears of empty shelves before Christmas 2021. Improved pay and conditions, and the clearing of a backlog of HGV

Metro road freight preparing for everything

Just a few month’s into his new role and Metro’s Head of European Services, Matt Paxton-Rhodes say’s that instead of future-gazing, his focus is on the resilience of current operations, expanding the trusted partner network and finalising the service-model template, ready to transfer into new markets. The market softening experienced in the second half of

Metro are getting BIGGER in Europe

Metro has been shipping freight to, from and across Europe since 1981, using road, rail and short-sea services to create country and product-specific transport solutions. Our new Head of European Services, Matt Paxton-Rhodes, wants to make these award-winning solutions available to more shippers, in more verticals. Metro’s European transport solutions are designed to meet the

Environmental developments you may have missed

While we continue to drive forward our ‘green’ initiatives, by selecting environmentally focused partners and further developing our MVT ECO platform in managing, measuring and offsetting carbon emissions, we also monitor ‘green’ developments that may impact our sector. The Hydrofoil alternative to air freight Air freight emissions account for 0.5% of global emissions and are