Probably the best commercial Fedex has ever created.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=148dowDhkVY]

Transport for London (TfL) has allotted a total sum of £67m over the next four years to increase the number of eco friendly haulage vehicles in the capital.

The tender will be divided into four parts covering different types of electric and hybrid vehicles, including vans and trucks up to 12-tonne.

TfL also said that the tender would encompass low carbon vehicle financing options such as purchase price, leasing options, contract hire and service and maintenance.

Electric vans and trucks are expected to be more affordable with this funding

About 70% of the funding will be allocated to eco-friendly passenger vehicles, with the remaining 30% spent for low emission minibuses, light commercial vehicles and light duty trucks.

Kevin Harkin, sales director for Smith Electric Vehicles, a company specialising in manufacturing electric vehicles said: “This announcement is great news for the UK commercial electric vehicle industry. Large scale procurement can stimulate the market, grow volumes and thereby help EV manufacturers bring down the purchase costs for fleet managers.”

Major delivery service operators in the UK and EU have turned to trucks to minimise their delivery delays and limit the impact of air traffic disruption.

Items such as express mail, documents and packages, normally shipped within Europe by air are currently being transported by road instead. This means there will be delays of at least one day or so.

Delivery companies like TNT are relying on trucks to limit delivery delays

It has also been reported that trucks are now being used to deliver packages on long distance routes such as Belgium to Italy and Russia.

However, international cargo will not move until restrictions are lifted as most airports are currently closed. It was estimated that the flight disruptions might have grounded about half of the daily 11,000 ton cargo volumes between Asia and Europe.

Spokesmen for TNT, UPS and FedEx all said that their companies are working hard to make sure planes are loaded and ready to leave once the flight restriction is lifted.

This is how DHL helps a customer send her love to her boy friend. What a delivery service!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kquiJR3j_5w]

North Wales bin lorry drivers are complaining that they are being targeted unfairly by police for not wearing seat belts in their cabs. There have been nearly 30 drivers fined with £30 penalty tickets so far this yet.

The drivers, employed by three North Wales councils, claim they are exempt from wearing seat belts as they rarely driver more than 50 metres between stops.

One driver said: “The policeman watched as I collected the recycling boxes. I drove up the street before he came and said I had to wear the seat belt. I pointed out the short distances involved and the exemption but he wasn’t having that and issued me with the ticket.”

Bin lorry drivers complain that they are being treated unfairly

A North Wales Police spokesman commented on the incidents: “These individuals provide an irreplaceable service to the community, and in recognition of the nature of their role they are afforded a partial exemption by law for journeys of less than 50m. If they exceed this distance without a seat belt they commit the offence.”

What a load of rubbish… (sorry, couldn’t resist!).

Just days after the Government put fuel duty up by 1p a litre, fuel prices have hit a record average of £1.20p a litre and experts warned the price could rocket to £1.50p this summer due to the weak pound and increased cost of wholesale fuel.

In an industry where fuel constitutes an enormous part of every haulage company’s overheads, the fuel duty increase is affecting all areas of the industry around the UK.

Haulage companies are not happy with the recent fuel duty increase

Tony Burriedge, from Lancashire, set up his own haulage company 12 months ago and is now being forced to abandon his business as petrol and diesel prices have rocketed recently.

He said: “I am officially packing it in at the end of this week. I can’t afford to run with the prices people are paying. We are still fighting competition from Europe where they have cheaper fuel, we just can’t compete with them.”

Andrew Spence, a farmer, who led Fuel Lobby protesters at the Shell UK plant in Jarrow in both 2000 and 2005, warned that angry haulage companies are prepared to launch action and make petrol prices a political issue once again.

The 42-year-old, who also runs a haulage business in Durham said feelings were running high in the haulage industry and blockades could be back before the General Election.

Shiply has reached another historic milestone: we have more than 10,000 transport providers now registered on the site.

This means whatever you are moving, whether a dining table, a car you are bidding on eBay or belongings to your new home, on Shiply there are a huge number of transport companies who can fulfil your needs.

This is apparently how delivery services are carried out in many countries around the world (masters of logistics is the title of the video). Somehow we think perhaps there is no insurance involved!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5BrHrX1-is]

As heavy rain and snow continued to hammer Scotland during the Easter break, some farmers have turned to local haulage companies to help get their sheep under cover and provide a dry place to shelter and lamb.

Livestock wagons and trailers are being used as temporary accommodation for sheep during this harsh weather condition and the National Farmer Union (NFU) is suggesting farmers to contact local hauliers for help with sheltering.

Scottish farmers are turning to local hauliers for help with sheltering their sheep

Sandy Tulloch, chairman of NFU’s Less Favoured Areas Committee said :”The haulage industry may have a role in helping producers out the hole they are in. It may be worth any sheep farmer, for the price of a phone call, contacting their local haulier to see if they have a trailer available that could help them get their stock out of the weather and, hopefully, get their ewes and lambs on their feet.”

We at Shiply are wondering whether any Scotland couriers on Shiply offered to help your local farmers shelter their sheep. If you did, please share your stories, we believe everyone is interested to know.

Fedex has shown its strong commitment to eco-friendly transport by putting four zero-emissions electric delivery trucks to the demanding Los Angeles delivery circuit.

The company also claimed to be the first amongst its U.S. courier service competitors to put all-electric trucks to work. However, there is not yet a title for the truck as it will not officially enter service until June 2010.

Fedex’s electric delivery trucks will be tested in LA for their reliability

Mitch Jackson, vice president of environmental affairs and sustainability for Fedex said: “Eletric trucks are still their infancy, but we think they have a bright future in the mix of alternative energy vehicles.”

Way back in 2004, Fedex has already shown strong leadership in eco-friendly shipping solutions when it introduced hybrid-electric commercial trucks which currently total 1,400 worldwide.