2010 A Merry Christmas to all....
Christmas Reception and gowning for New Fellows at the House of Lords.
The ultimate event of the year for leaders in the Sameday Courier Industry met at the House of Lords, (whilst Students warmed themselves on the streets of Westminster) to witness five of the industries leaders gowned by Viscount Falkland President of the Institute of Couriers. Grant Cochrane FIoC and John Fitzgerald FIoC of TNT, Michael O'Connell FIoC of DHL, John Nolan FIoC of UK Mail and Brian Wheadon FIoC of Yodel. Bob Russett Master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen and former RHA Chairman spoke of the encouragement that the Fellows of the IoC gave to all in the industry. 'Fellows of the IoC lead, set the pace and make sure everyone is given the opportunity to keep up and that means improved standards of service and provision'. Former Lord Mayor of London Sir David Brewer was delighted to comment 'they (transport industry) are the link and an esstential foundation to all our businessess'. Norman Baker MP Under Secretary of State for Transport, speaker at the National Courier Awards passed his congratulations to the new Fellows. 'The IoC is key to innovation and promotion of all safety aspects within our industry and supports all those that aim to improve their skills and standards of service. Leaders of the industry are rightly recognised for the part they play.'
The full story and photos will follow later this week. Full digital photo cd will be sent out before Christmas to all Fellows.
2010 December Snow..
Snow news is good news!Can it really be a white christmas? The tally of roads closed grows as the snow has now taken grip of the country. From Scotland to West Yorkshire, the Midlands to Hertfordshire or from the South of London to the South East snow has covered the roads.
The couriers are still out there and making tracks all bar be it slowly. Mark Davies FIoC Swift Despatch 'Cold, frozen and dangerous but we are still moving. The north east seems to have a micro climate of its own but off the main road conditions are dangerous. It is worst than the last heavy snow fall of 1980-81 when we had four weeks of snow. We have had to cancel one or two of our long distance deliveries to Croydon and the south east but thats only with the clients agreement'
Many other Fellows of the IoC have agreed that conditions are 'Bad, Dreadful, Awful and Dire' taking the two wheelers off the road and using only vans. If you are in the middle of London you may not even realise that it is snowing but anything outside the greater London area is affected. Overnight trunkers have made it between depots but the local deliveries are hindered by Police road closures. 'Clients are being understanding as there is such a wide coverage of the weather conditions and even if its not outside their windows you can see it on the television'. Deliveries are still being collected but courier companies can not confirm if the delivery will be made until they arrive in the vincinity. 'It is a bit tuff but we are still going'
2010 December 9th Fellow's Gowning and Christmas Reception
House of Lords Christmas Reception for new Fellows of the IOC
The event is on. No snow will stop couriers from getting to the House of Lords. White wine reception, a standing festive buffet and mulled wine celebration for the 2010 gowning of new fellows to the Institute of Couriers. IOC President Viscount Falkland will gown the IOC colours on individuals taking fellowship. In tradition, existing fellows don their gowns to welcome the new, in what should be a very special Christmas event. Friends and family of fellows are welcome and encouraged to celebrate the special moment. Master and Lady of the Carmen livery will be in attendance and Transport Minister Norman Baker is on the invite list. Some of the individuals taking fellowship for 2010 include Grant Cochrane TNT, Mike O'Connell DHL, Brian Wheadon HDNL Yodel,John Nolan UK Mail, John Fitzgearld TNT and Terry Osbourne Lewis Day Transport. Already waiting for next year's gowning is the Chairman of the National Courier Association Mr Phil Bridge of UK Express, Leeds.
The Gowning Ceremony to be held at the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace at the House of Lords, Westminster London. Thursday 9th December 2010. Starting six for six thirty the event will finish at nine thirty, official guides will also be available for a small number of individuals to take a tour of the wider House.
In tradition of the IoC all existing Fellows are asked to attend wearing Hoods for the Fellows line up. Dress code for attendees: Business wear. Ladies dress length below the knee.
2010 14th September
National Courier Awards at the Institute of Directors was a sell out. Introductions by Viscount Falkland. Key note address by Parlimentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker MP. Thirty-Six shortlisted nominees were held to the very last on the edge of their seat before the winners were announced. Services to Industry award reciepient Marc Chauveau of Nexus Supply Management was overwhelmed by the ovation he received. Past and only two previous winners of this industry acolade John Scott GLH and Jeffery Ritterband Lewis Day Transport were on stage to present this prestigious industry achievement to Marc. The Safety award was joyously received by Home Delivery Network who have transformed their driver fleet through training and showed that mass reductions in fuel comsumption also assisted in the reduction of accident rates. Clifford Jordan of Pink Express delivered a state of the industry speech. Team Award went to Point to Point, commended in their actions when fifteen years ago they had to take the reins of the company to keep it going and still nine of that orginial team are together and continuing to lead the company to success. The two wheel category saw cycle couriers come up against motorbike couriers contract, two and four wheels are all in there. Even a far away destination of Port Stanley for a very special DHL winner. Ears Plc goody bags were in the hands of over 200 guests leaving an evening of celebration for the same day courier industry. Full event details, category winners and photos on national courier award section of the site.
Award nomination summary's to follow in National Courier Awards section.
Awards Presented. Ian Mutch President MAG presented the Two Wheel Awards to Emily Chappell Pink Express, Ivan Da Silva TNT, Christopher Perrotton GLH, Tom Pinniger eCouriers.Chris Hodder Political Advisor for BMF presented the Four Wheel Awards to Paul Da Silva Rush Couriers, Brian Edgar eCouriers, Andrew Field TNT, Laszlo Forgo Lewis Day Transport, Dermott Jackson Sameday UK, Paul Johnson DHL, Ephrem Mebrahtu Pink Express and John Souter DHL Dee Barratt-Davies Ears Plc presented the Contract Category Awards to Shane Barclay Pink Express, Cayleigh Haddock UK Mail, David Johnson Lewis Day Transport, Martin Johnson Excel, David Morris TNT and Kevin Pitts Redcare Logistics. Dr Mick Jackson CEO for Skills for Logistics presented the Office Awards to Tariro Bungu eCouriers, David Hicks CitySprint, Gary Musson DHL, Mark O'Sullivan Excel, Dominic Rainford, Tracey Ramsay Lewis Day Transport and Mark Wilson Pink Express.Dr Mick Jackson then presented a very special Team Award to Point to Point Couriers.Corporate Safety Award was recieved by Brain Wheddel on behalf of Home Delivery Network - YODELJeffrey Ritterband Lewis Day Transport and John Scott GLH the only two reciepients of the Services to Industry award present the industry's highest acholade to Marc Chauveau Founder of MPC Logistics.
2010 September
Neil Michaeloudis new chairman of The Despatch Association GLH London FD Neil Michaeloudis, Fellow of the Institute of Couriers has become the new chairman of the Despatch Association, his appointment followed the September DA committee meeting at the offices of MachOne Couriers in Central London.
2010 August
Mike Penning MP new Transport Minister has ordered a review of the two-part test which was introduced in April 2009 as a result of European regulations. This follows r ecently released UK Government figures that show deaths of all road users dropped by 12%. More importantly for the motorcyclist, fatal and serious injury motorcycle casualties fell to 20,703, or put another way showed a fall of 4% in 2009 despite a 2% rise in bike traffic. Actual fatalities dropped from 493 to 472 and serious injuries fell from 5556 to 5350. So good news there followed by the announcement that the motorcycle test is to be reviewed following all the recent problems we have often highlighted through IOC and in Dispatch News reports.
2010 July
Courier industry shows big Government figures. Motorcycle support services, that includes couriers, leasing, publishing, insurance, and training contributes £940 million in Gross Added Value to the UK economy. An analysis of the hire and leasing sector suggests that this sector alone has an annual turnover of around £38 million, just over half of which is estimated to be GVA (£20 million). Another big sector is still the motorcycle courier industry which despite the internet, still has an annual turnover of almost £800 million, with added value of over half of that at £480 million providing employment for 20,000 people. It is also estimated to provide a tax contribution of almost £200 million and so it goes on.
Motorcycle Couriers in London Bus Lanes. More good news for London bike couriers at least with the announcement that London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced he will continue to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes for the time being. This follows an 18-month experiment that was carried out to see if a permanent arrangement would improve road safety. Various studies revealed that more than half of motorcyclists switched from riding on the outside of the road (filtering) to use the bus lanes thus increasing their safety. Despite the many objections that such a move would increase the risk of pedal cycle (already allowed to use them) collisions with motorcyclists, these fears have proved unfounded. Journeys times for motorcycles using bus lanes have been more than 10 per cent quicker than those not using bus lanes and 36 per cent quicker than cars!
2010 June
Ian Kerr update on the UK Motorcycle Shows Birmingham NEC Dates. The major NEC Bike Show covering all aspects of motorcycling will now run from Saturday November 27th through to Sunday December 5 th two days less than usual. The MCIA's annual event has also been renamed Carole Nash Motorcycle Live after its major sponsor. Apart from Harley Davidson, all major manufacturers will be exhibiting at this years show after last years when many major players like Honda were absent. A new layout will ensure that a major manufacturer’s stand is at every main entrance, to be seen by show-goers as they pass through to retail and inter-active areas of the show.
2010 May
Carl Lomas IoC Chairman safe after being plucked from the southern ocean by Britains Finest, the Royal Navy. Carl comments " being rescued by the Royal Navy was truely amazing and I am indebted to their actions and bravery. Gods luck in logistics to find a Warship within range. I am delighted to be back on terra ferma and looking forward to celebrating with the courier industry's finest in September at the National Courier Awards"
2010 April
Dispatch News Report for latest 'Courier Industry Icon' go to Dispatch News Link
GLH celebrates staff successes
John Scott FFIoC, recently honoured with the National Courier Awards 'Services to Industry' announced this years GLH Annual Staff Awards on 22nd April 2010. This is a time to say Thank you to all of the staff, fleet and those who work alongside the GLH team. An important event for the company to recognise those who are respected by their peers and clients. Individuals recognised for achieving standards of service to the company beyond the expected standard of their job requirements. Nominations will be put forward to the National Courier Awards.
2010 March
BBC Transport with Andrew Marr
Vicky Booth, Associate Producer is currently working on a BBC1 primetime documentary series presented by Andrew Marr called Megacities. The series is about how some of the biggest cities in the world operate in terms of transport They have filmed in Tokyo, Shanghai, Dhaka and Mexico City and will be filming in London in the last two weeks of March. Vicky has contacted the IoC to feature a motorcycle courier. She focused on the Annual Courier Awards and wished to feature one of the recent winners in the show. If an IoC member has a particularly special individual to hand for this year contact her at the office - 0207 239 1010 direct.
Skills for Logistics gets Lord Mandelson Gov OK.
The Government has announced the renewal of the licence to operate and fund Skills for Logistics, the sector skills council for the freight logistics and courier industry. The announcement follows a comprehensive review carried out by the National Audit Office.
Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “Employers can be confident that Skills for Logistics has come through a rigorous assessment and will offer employers the highest quality service in meeting their skills needs.”
SfL Chief Executive Dr Mick Jackson FIoC says ‘We are obviously delighted by this major vote of confidence in our work. We operate in an industry which is absolutely vital for the health of the economy, it is crucial that we have a well trained and efficient workforce fit for the purpose of delivering the goods in the widest possible sense. We intend to continue the good work which has resulted in the renewal of our licence.’
Skills for Logistics has recently appointed Paul Brooks, Director of Unipart plc, as its new chairman in succession to Andrew Callaghan. Brooks said ’We are indebted to Andrew for seeing us through the first six years and now need to continue to promote our industry as an exciting and rewarding career option for school leavers, graduates and job changers. Skills for Logistics is well underway with that work and re-licensing allows us to continue with these endeavours.’
2010 February
General Election?
In an effort to make sure that motorcycling is not overlooked by a new government or legislated against all the various motorcycle groups have joined forces to make potential parliamentary candidates realise that motorcyclists are also voters. The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) who represent riders rights, have joined with the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) who represent the industry, to encourage motorcyclists to vote. The main 'Riders Are Voters' campaign will soon kick off and as part of this, motorcycle riders and businesses in the motorcycle industry including courier will be encouraged to contact local Parliamentary Candidates to ask for support for a motorcycling manifesto; 'Britain Needs Biking'. IOC are following the BMF and MAG lead.
New Motorcycle Tests
Somewhat ironic that at the same time this alliance was announced the proposals to improve skills and safety for new motorcycle riders were published by the UK government. The measures are contained in a consultation on the implementation of new European requirements which will come into force in 2013. The main aspects of the proposed changes, which may make getting a motorcycle licence harder, are that the current two categories of motorbike will be replaced with three A1 (up to 125cc), A2 (up to 35Kw) and A (above 35Kw) and new rules will be introduced for riders of larger bikes. Riders wanting to progress to larger categories of motorbikes will have to take additional training or a further test and there will be a rise in the minimum age from 21 to 24 for those wishing to start riding larger bikes without previous experience.
2010 January
More new Legislation Tyre rubber and battery recycling for vehicles.
Two new pieces of legislation come into force for the new decade that will affect the motorcycle industry. From January 2010, all new motorcycle tyres sold in the UK have to be made with clean, eco-friendly oil, which features low PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons). This is due to the concerns about the level of pollutants previously discharged into the environment throughout the life of a tyre. As a result of this historic British tyre manufacturer Avon Tyres, who have been in business since 1885 and making motorcycle tyres since 1911, have announced they will be "utilising 'eco-friendly' or 'clean oil' in all its tyres from this year" (2010). The firm claim that they have already been doing this for some time as well as being better for the environment; the change has not affected many of their products, but has actually increased the grip of some tyres.
Next up is new legislation, designed to ensure that all waste industrial and automotive batteries are recycled in the future, this also coming into effect on the 1st January 2010. In a nutshell what this means is that 'producers of industrial and automotive batteries will be required to arrange the collection, treatment and recycling of such batteries, free of charge, if requested by business end-users and final holders'. No doubt that potential cost will be built into the purchase price!
Bike Sales Figures
Despite an overall fall of 24.4% in UK sales in November compared to 2008, sales of naked bikes have again risen. The market statistics released by the Motor Cycle Industry Association, the governing body showed the number of bikes registered totalled 5,680, compared with 7,517 a year ago. Despite the declining weather conditions, large-capacity machines performed strongly, with Buell coming out on top.
