The Freight Transport Association has just published the most recent edition of advice for UK-based operators on delivering and collecting in Europe and beyond.  The guide helps freight operators to avoid delays and deal with roadside enforcement, giving information about public holidays, weekend lorry bans etc.  

Chinese exports to Europe fell 9% in October compared with the same period in 2010.  The foreign trade director of the Ministry of Commerce in China told the BBC last year that the ‘foreign trade situation will be severe’ in 2012. Other commentators argue that industry is becoming more efficient which will reduce the cost [...]

The Danube, one of the main rivers in Europe used for freight shipping, is not being used by at least four countries. Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Serbia decided this after up to 90 per cent of the river’s surface became covered with floating ice. The busy river flows 2860km from Germany and serves as the natural [...]

Intermodal barges services are being developed for shipping containers in the Nord-Pas de Calais in France and the Wallonia region in Belgium. It is planned that new multimodal terminals for freight will be developed along the future broad gauge Seine-Nord Europe canal.  The canal will link the Seine basin, including Paris, to Belgium. An agreement [...]

Danske Bank regularly publishes a Freight Forwarding Index, which reports the results of a survey of freight forwarders.  Volumes of freight seems to be contracting in July and August, compared with the previous two months, and the air sector is suffering the worst from this. Freight forwarders in Europe are expecting a slight increase in [...]

A report issued jointly by a shipping consultancy and the Bremen Institue of Shipping Economics and Logistics, warns that freight rates will remain low next year unless carriers reduce the amount of capacity available. The report suggests that shipping volumes will be flat in December with any increase well below those of 2010. The report [...]

Emerging markets will become more and more important in the global economy, as countries like India and China report growth rates of around 10%, in sharp contrast to the developed Western economies.  The CEO of Agility Europe wrote in the journal of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport that logistics providers need to re-examine [...]