The Institution of Mechanical Engineers has called on the government to bring out a national freight strategy in a bid to improve traffic congestion, support the economy and improve air quality.
Figures from the organisation\’s latest report UK Freight: In For The Long Haul show that up to 30 per cent of all haulage vehicles on roads in the UK are actually empty and approximately 150 million miles are done by lorry drivers unnecessarily.
What\’s more, up to 400 tonnes of perishable goods touch down at Heathrow each morning, many of which need to be tested in labs for quality before they can go through customs. These samples are sent down to Cambridge at the moment, which takes around 24 hours. Labs closer to the airport could speed the process up, while reducing costs at the same time.
Where freight shipping is concerned, more could be done to boost efficiency and co-ordination. At the moment, for example, 65 per cent of the population in the UK lives within 150 miles of Liverpool Port, yet 91 per cent of deep-sea volumes come in and leave via either Felixstowe or Southampton.
\”A national strategy that looks at the entire range of transport methods used to deliver freight would have the potential to ease congestion, improve air quality and boost the economy – as well as making travelling and commuting more agreeable for the public as a whole,\” head of transport and lead author of the report Philippa Oldham said.
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