by Jane Woo
Since 1981, the amount of goods moved and lifted by commercial goods vehicles has increased by about 12%. In 1986, 101,000m tonne/km of goods were moved. The improvement in the UK economy in recent years, coupled with advancements in transportation technology, have helped to bring about a steady increase in the use of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Legislative changes allowing the use of larger (over 32.5 tonnes) vehicles have increased the total distance covered and the weight of freight hauled, so that the resultant increase in haulage traffic is putting great pressure on the country’s motorway system. Ancillary services, which have their own space requirements, have sprung up in response to an escalation in the operating efficiency of the road freight industry. This article reviews the changing shape of the distribution industry and the significance this will have for land use.
Recent growth
The gradual erosion of our manufacturing base has reduced the import of raw materials in favour of finished and semi-manufactured goods since the 1960s. Britain’s traditional deep-sea commerce with the Commonwealth has consequently declined while transshipment traffic with Continental Europe has risen. The traditional stronghold of rail freight was broken as trading channels shifted towards east coast ports, thereby giving road haulage the opportunity to establish itself in the market. Contract haulage alone now accounts for 68% of freight moved in the country.
The growth in containerisation and the increase in the size of ocean-going vessels contributed to the demise of the British sea ports. As goods have increasingly been transshipped to the UK through Continental ports, a roll-on roll-off service has developed rapidly to reduce time wasted at the quayside. Between 1981 and 1986, the amount of roll-on roll-off traffic by ferry between Britain and the rest of the EEC rose from over 600,000 vehicles a year to over 900,000 vehicles — a 50% increase in five years. Hence, in a 200-day working year, an average of some 4,500 commercial vehicles come through British ports (by ferry) every day.
The mushrooming of retail units on the High Streets or in large shopping complexes on the strength of the lucrative consumer boom in recent years has meant that goods have to be continually moved outwards from manufacturers. The greater the number of retail outlets, the more frequent are the number of trips required of the hauliers.
The boom in retail activities has also raised retail property values since there has not been enough space — especially prime retail space — to meet the upsurge in requirements. High retail rental values have increasingly prohibited “on-site” stockholding at the shop, and have therefore raised the proportion of goods in transit compared with shop inventory. The increasing use of “just-in-time” deliveries means that it is necessary to have goods arriving at the shop on time in order to maintain sales volume.
Multiple traders (firms with 10 or more outlets) are fast dominating the retail trade. For instance, the grocery multiples accounted for almost 70% of the share of trade in 1986. Road haulage is the principal means of goods movement for multiple traders. Some multiples use their own fleet of lorries; others use contract hauliers or even haulier-cum-storage operators for part or all of their transportation requirements.
The consequent demands on road hauliers are manifested by rising numbers of vehicles on the road, increasing use of larger HGVs and longer total distance travelled per vehicle per annum. On busy stretches of primary routes — on the M6 in Cheshire, for example–there is a 21,600 HGV flow per day.
Changes induced by the growth of the distribution industry
Drastic changes in the industrial structure have transformed goods distribution into a highly specialised service. Third-party hauliers have developed a range of customised services for haulage of goods such as hanging garments, frozen/temperature-controlled products, fragile goods and so on. They effectively take delivery of goods from the point of manufacture to a warehouse or a family of warehouses (which may be owned by the client or the transport operator), then look after inventory control, and produce and execute a distribution plan for specific goods. The major impetus behind the rise in contract distribution and warehousing over the past five years or so is the ability to handle large-scale distribution requirements within specified time-limits. The cost savings that can be achieved by both manufacturers and retailers is also significant. Many manufacturers and major multiple retailers such as Sainsbury or Marks & Spencer are using contract operators more and more.
The growth of the distribution industry has helped to focus attention on the hitherto neglected needs of lorry drivers and has led to the recent emergence of purpose-built truck stops. Legislation governing drivers’ workload was changed in late 1986 to accord with Europe-wide rules, and by 1990 even drivers of the smaller HGVs will have to be governed by these EEC (international) rules. In relation to statutory rest periods the rules are rather complex: for instance, they vary between double-manned vehicles, or vehicles with or without a bunk. Generally speaking, a driver must not drive more than nine hours a day and is required to take a break of at least 45 minutes after a four-and-a-half hour stretch of driving, with variations that allow for some flexibility over the length of continuous driving and the length of break. The newer motorway service areas (MSAs) are, by and large, providing parking spaces for lorries on statutory break. However, on busy parts of the motorways spaces are still not sufficient. Moreover, lorry drivers operate on a fixed allowance so that their total expenditure per stop tends to be lower. Many MSA operators are not happy to service this low-spend group.
In addition to short breaks, lorry drivers also need space to park overnight. The statutory maximum daily driving time requires a “daily rest” of a minimum of 11 consecutive hours (again with some slight variations according to the number of days worked in a week). Not all MSAs operate 24 hours a day. At present, motorway service stations in the country provide a total of only 220 beds. Reinforced tarmac surfaces are also needed when a parking area is being frequented by heavy lorries. The type of parking areas that drivers have been using for overnight stops range from derelict land awaiting development, transport cafes and truckers’ hotels to security compounds with service and entertainment facilities.
It has been the small, older transport cafes and motels which have generally catered for lorry drivers and can still be found along many trunk routes. However, these cafes have in the main not been able to keep up with the rising demand. Many are small operations offering food, limited parking area and a few beds. They are traditional day-time rest stops, but many of them now offer overnight facilities. The birth of the motorway network has removed a portion of through traffic from the old trunk roads so that the last few years have seen the rise of the well-equipped lorry parks or truck stops. Although such purpose-built parks are still few and far between, they are proving popular with drivers. Favourite lorry parks, such as those in Penrith and Nuneaton, offer floodlit, patrolled parking, games and TV room, overnight accommodation with free shower facilities, bar and licensed restaurants. The Carlisle truck stop alone can accommodate 300 parked vehicles. These parks are beginning to address the growing problem, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. They are still far from meeting the needs of the current traffic, and will be even less adequate to cope with further growth in the road freight industry which can be expected after 1992.
Land use implications
The Department of Transport has belatedly recognised the need for updating, upgrading and extending the motorway network as well as for improving the trunk roads. The changes brought about by the growth in the distribution industry will, inter alia, have a twofold implication for land use.
First, the need to redress the growing problem of the unmet needs of the HGV drivers will mean that more parks specifically built for long-distance drivers have to be planned for. The high cost and the low return associated with lorry parks, combined with the resistance hitherto of local planning authorities, have discouraged operators from developing more parks. The Association of County Councils (ACC) has become more aware of the problems of road users. In its report published in late 1986, the ACC recognised that highways, particularly lay-bys, have been used increasingly for lorry parking because of the “gradual exclusion of commercial vehicle drivers from sites previously available to them”, and because of the “high capital costs of providing replacement off-road facilities”.
The considerable increase in highway parking has encouraged mobile canteen trading on and adjoining highways. The association has discussed with the Department of Transport the formulation of a strategic plan for the development of transit stopping facilities for commercial vehicles. The initial step will aim to set up a working party consisting of the ACC, the Department of Transport and the private sector so as to overhaul the present ad hoc nature of providing services for lorry drivers. Discussions with the Department have been slow, however. In relying on private initiatives, the department is maintaining only a policy on the provision of MSAs at present and is rather well-disposed towards “comprehensive schemes”. Since the association reflects the general concern of the county councils, it may signify a more favourable attitude towards granting planning consent in the future for the development of services for lorry drivers.
The second land use implication concerns the growing importance of third-party contract distribution. Part and parcel of the growth in contract haulage is the development of largescale warehouse and storage facilities which provide the transport specialists with the cost-effective edge over the traditional owned fleet. For instance, Knowles run a storage facility in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire, of which 1.6m sq ft is covered and over 1m sq ft is open. In Immingham, Humberside, over 2m sq ft of open storage and just under 500,000 sq ft of covered storage is provided by Humberside Sea & Land Services. These warehouses occupy large tracts of low-cost land with easy access to some trunk roads (this is also evident from the map). If industrial production and retail consumption continue to grow, there will be greater pressure for land to be made available for such huge warehousing facilities.
The requirement for land for the development of both truck stops and warehousing facilities will be substantial. While the locations of truck stops will be more widespread, warehousing tends to cluster near transshipment points. The bulk of the existing square footage of large warehouses is in the South East, as illustrated on the map. Not only is this a reflection of the heavy continental traffic through ports in Suffolk, Essex and Kent, it also attests to the need to service effectively the most populated areas in the country. Warehouses in Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, the West Midlands and Nottinghamshire are strategically sited so that goods can be moved to the retail centres in a matter of hours. These areas will continue to hold advantages over other parts of the country. The location requirements for truck stops, however, are very different. Resting places will inevitably be close to the motorway network. Statutory rest periods and maximum driving time will also govern the distance over which lorry drivers can work before having to stop.
The future
The industry can look towards further expansion and rationalisation in the years ahead. Both 1992 and the Channel Tunnel are going to have mixed effects on the industry.
The Channel Tunnel may prove a mixed blessing. Euro Tunnel expects the tunnel to provide effective competition for the roll-on roll-off traffic. In their projection, Euro Tunnel expect the tunnel to capture 24% of the roll-on roll-off market: however, the creation of a through rail link does not necessarily suggest a ready switch to rail. At present, a substantial cross-channel rail freight market is absent. Moreover, the tunnel cannot handle specialist transport, unaccompanied freight or dedicated bulk transport, all of which are now being increasingly catered for by contract hauliers. Furthermore, improved rail services between the Midlands and the North to Kent are essential before rail freight can resume a greater share of the market.
Advance plans for 1992 attempt to dismantle the fragmentary nature of domestic distribution systems in European countries. The truck liberalisation scheme agreed by EEC ministers in June will ban country-to-country quotas by 1992, so that British operators will have unrestricted access to the huge continental market. At the same time, European operators are also free to compete in Britain. However, the computerised warehousing and distributing system in the UK has progressed more rapidly than many continental counterparts, giving British operators an essential edge. The truck liberalisation scheme should spur consolidation and rationalisation in the industry.
There is thus every indication that further growth in output and capacity can be expected of the industry. The problems associated with more lorries on the road will need to be addressed by co-ordinated planning at various levels of government in land allocation as well as private initiatives.