Category: Road

Into his second year Metro’s European Director, Richard Gibbs, updates us on his mission to develop the infrastructure, systems and services that will provide the best European transport solutions, for effectiveness and cost efficiency.  “Metro has expanded its European road freight platfor... Read more

2023 was supposed to be the year that global supply chains bounced back from pandemic lockdowns and factory shutdowns, trade wars, tariffs and war in Europe, but now container shipping is disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea and restrictions on the Panama Canal. The COVID pandemic and its after... Read more

With the deadline fast approaching for export declarations moving to the Customs Declaration Service HMRC are highlighting a worrying trend at the border, with misuse of valid documents leaving innocent exporters potentially non-compliant and exposed to penalties.  In their latest Customs... Read more

Increases in HGV road toll charges in Germany, which includes an additional CO2 emissions tax of €200 per tonne began on the 1st December 2023 and for vehicle combinations with a gross vehicle weight of up to 40 tons, prices will increase by almost 86% – giving 35.4 cents per kilometre. Th... Read more

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 int... Read more

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 extr... Read more

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 emission... Read more

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 m... Read more

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 exten... Read more

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 befo... Read more

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... Read more

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 n... Read more