Freight industry ‘more efficient than ever’ says FTA

The freight industry is now more efficient than ever and showing continued improvements, according to the Fright Transport Association (FTA).

FTA analysis of Department for Transport (DfT) figures found that in 2015 the amount goods transported on the UK’s roads increased by 12 per cent, but this was achieved with just a nine per cent increase in heavy goods vehicle (HGV) use.

Christopher Snelling, FTA’s head of national and regional policy, said: “HGV use was already incredibly efficient, as being able to fill vehicles as much as possible is key to making a profit or keeping costs low. But as people and businesses across the UK demand more, the industry has continued to find increasingly efficient ways of meeting this need. HGV use has become almost a fifth more efficient just since 2004.

“We need to do more to maximise the use of rail and water freight as part of making the UK’s supply chain as efficient, clean and safe as possible. But they can never replace the need for road freight – that is why the best future will see us maximise the efficiency of road freight as well as the other modes.”