In an IMechE report dubbed ‘UK Freight: In for the long haul?’, the organisation also states that an average of 150 million lorry miles per year are preventable because 65% of the population lives within 150 miles of Liverpool Port, while 91% of deep-sea goods enter or leave via Southampton or Felixstowe.
“IMechE itself notes that the 30% figure is not representative of the situation as it includes such things as petrol and milk tankers returning to base, where there is nothing you could put in them,” insists FTA head of national and regional policy Christopher Snelling (pictured).
“So it is disappointing that they chose to put it forward without caveat in their press release,” he adds.
And RHA chief executive Richard Burnett comments: “The number of lorries on our roads has hardly changed over many years [and] nor has empty running, much of which is inevitable, as this report concedes.”
Burnett says the focus should be on cars and vans on UK roads, numbers of which are rising rapidly.
“The idea that replacing efficiently-operated HGVs with vans will reduce congestion is illogical. Lorries are good for cities,” he states.
As for the shipping issue causing further wasted truck miles, Snelling says there is “no prospect” of deep sea ships diverting from south-east UK ports (as per the northern European sea corridor from northern France to the Baltic) to north-west England.
“There are many great opportunities for maximising the use of ports like Liverpool for the UK supply chain, but for the IMechE’s press release to suggest in isolation that these road miles are simply done without need, is misleading,” complains Snelling.
“The logistics industry is working hard to maximise efficiency and minimise social impacts like pollution,” he continues.
“There are some good ideas and useful points in the IMechE’s report. It is just a shame that ... it has chosen to draw attention to assertions that do not make a useful contribution to the debate.”
And the RHA’s Burnett adds: “The suggestion that road hauliers don't know what they are doing is ridiculous. They will continue to serve the economy but they are the victims, not the cause, of increasing congestion.
“It’s a fact that of 35 million vehicles on UK roads, little more than 1% are lorries [yet] road haulage is a vital, IT-driven and innovative service industry that powers every sector of the UK economy.”