Freight Forwarding News

Finding the Balance Between Efficient Freight Forwarding & Environmental Responsibility

To many, it might seem that efficient freight forwarding and taking care of the environment are incompatible objectives.

After all, the traffic produced by freight forwarding damages the environment by polluting the air and creating noise. As well as undermining the quality of life in cities it also contributes to global warming.

However, freight forwarding is necessary in order for us to receive products into shops for us to buy. As a result, it is necessary to find a way to have an efficient freight transportation system and to look after the environment at the same time.

Recent European legislation has made significant inroads into reducing the environmental impact of freight forwarding. For instance efforts are being made to enhance the way in which different modes of transport operate together. The idea behind this is to combine modes of transport to minimise the effects on the environment for any one shipment whilst also maximizing economic efficiency.

Another example of how European governments are trying to make freight forwarding more environmentally friendly is the new policy introduced by the UK last year. Tony McNulty, the then transport minister, announced a new policy that was designed to reduce the impact of freight transportation on both congestion and the environment. The particular objectives of the new freight policy were to cut down on accidents, pollution and congestion caused by the UK’s freight forwarding industry.

Amongst the government’s plans to reduce the negative impact of the freight trade was the merger of water freight grants and the sustainable road haulage budget from April 2005.

Between 2005 and 2007 a total amount of £50.4 million will be available in rail freight grants. £2 million of this has been assigned for new applications, whilst £19.2 million will be available in road and water grants.

According to Tony McNulty,

"Current freight programmes have separate budgets and are administered separately even though they all have the same objective.

"By bringing these programmes together into one funding pot we can focus on the overall aim of promoting cleaner, safer freight transport that does not add to congestion.

"These new arrangements will provide better value for money for the taxpayer, and will ensure that the additional funding announced today to support the freight industry brings real benefits for the environment and the economy."

Freight Forwarding Companies Are Encouraged to Move Off The Roads

New funding designed to move the transportation of heavy freight off the roads will improve driving conditions between England and Scotland. Travellers driving from Scotland to England will find the roads much less busy after measures were introduced recently to move the forwarding of freight off the road and onto the railways.

The main reason why freight forwarding companies are being encouraged to use the railways instead of the roads is the issue of congestion.

Road congestion is getting worse in Scotland every year and this has a damaging effect on both the environment and people’s quality of life. Congestion is one of the primary causes of increased journey times which leads to passenger frustration and stress.

The Department for Transport and the FFG have contributed funds to help a number of major distributors forward freight between Coatbridge and Daventry by rail instead of by road. This is an attempt by the Scottish government to address the issue of congestion on the country’s roads.

The Department for Transport has also introduced a grant scheme to encourage freight forwarding companies to make the switch from road to rail transportation. The grant scheme gives financial support to freight forwarding companies who transport inter-modal containers by rail instead of by road.

There are currently around two hundred and sixty lorries a week that use Scotland’s busy roads to forward freight. The funding will help reduce the number of vehicles on the roads which will make life easier for holiday makers and business travellers.

The Scottish government has said that it is committed to encouraging freight forwarders to use railways and waterways rather than roads to transport goods around the UK. Indeed, 60 million lorry miles have been removed from Scottish roads since 1999.

Forwarding freight by rail and water instead of road also has environmental benefits. This combines with the need to reduce congestion to present a convincing case to freight forwarding companies about why they should move off the roads.