Chair’s welcome - Laura Hailstone, Freight in the City Project Manager, Road Transport Media, urban space, traffic, congestion and clean air, we are in Manchester today recognizing the link between our last conference in London and the Northern Powerhouse. We are looking for solutions of delivery, cleanly, safely and efficiently.

Chris Rowland, MDS Transmodal, set the context. TFN to become a strategic body by 2017, enhancing the norths connectivity, network capacity & resilience.  Chris outlined his work on the first ever pan-regional freight study modeling to 2033. 'We are looking at transformational growth, MDPs, Modal distribution parks linking rail, water and road, we need to chain MDPs with NDCs and RDCs & on the edge of population zones...Stakeholder input from Dft and the treasury to develop a true action plan for the sector...We must maximize the efficiency of goods movements, to, from and within the North of England to contribute to the Northern Powerhouse...Last mile, will air quality cap deliveries? We need consolidation centers for electric vehicles, harmonized to one set of rules across the northern cities.'

Helen Smith, TFGM Head of Logistics & Environment. Manchester airport is key for our local growth, Atlantic gateway from Liverpool to Manchester on the ship canal supports 1.4 million people working in Manchester. We have a unique sea and inland water way with Trafford Park at its center. We have organised a programme of driver and cycle training and in 2015 signed a memorandum between TFGM and Highways England.

Ian Stansfield, former ASDA VP, MD Summit Logistics Consulting, spoke with passion for final mile. ‘It’s time for an alternative view. Retail is changing. Rail and water has little value to the changing retail habits, people are buying less and more locally, the shape of freight is changing. Dark hour restrictions are making peak delivery windows even more challenging. Love of online continues to grow beyond expectations. Online groceries is main growth for supermarket, consumers want it know. Options are varied, even chilled in lockers! We must love the truck, 50 deliveries, that’s less shopping trips, less car fuel, van deliveries to home mean reduced emissions and congestion. Online is solving traffic, less heavy truck, more home delivery to a growing population. This message never seems to get out! Return vans and trucks are used with waste packaging, even supermarket trays for washing. Investment of driver training must be about what is around the driver. ASDA stats over the last 8 years, 35% growth in volume with 30% less miles covered, fuel efficiency from technology adds another 10% saving. We need round the clock road access. We need road investment and we need broadband investment. Freight is the life blood of the modern consumer. DFT, is electric vehicle silence an answer to dark hours delivery?

Bruce Carnaby,  Clipper Logistics. Focused on Newcastle, Univ campus and pre/post consolidation for deliveries in the heart of the city. 60 departments, 80 buildings, 12000 vehicles a week. We need to re-think, re-time and re-schedule. We need to pre-consolidate then deliver final mile electric. Then if 1/3rd of home delivery is out, we need to deliver to where they are, to their business.

Bruce Carnaby,  Clipper Logistics

Gareth Morgan, Sheffield City Region LEP, this is a diverse geographic, Meadow Hall attracts 25 million visitors a year alongside an older model of 1960s town centers. Logistics challenges from town markets to home deliveries in rural areas. Sheffield LEP region has 43 DC’s, 20,000 logistics workers, rising to 40,000 at peak. Iport Doncaster will be rail connected and there is potentially 6 million sq feet.

Ian Wainwright, TFL, Head of Freight & Fleet Programmes, talked about urban deliveries, the London experience. ‘We all want a livable city, air quality, safety and places to enjoy. Most HGVs in peak are construction. 40% of vans are unknown content, yet vans dominate the traffic flow.’ Ian outlined with passion the TFL journey from 2003 to the Games, FORS and CLOCS. ‘Freight is complex, we need to demystify freight, its goods and services, we need to keep it simple. We want each region to work together, Manchester with London, with the Northern Powerhouse.

Ian Cooper, Director. DHL Supply Chain, ‘Embracing change, we see the importance of cities, we need to meet the needs of the modern consumer, we remain at the beginning of transformation in e-retail, home delivery and click & collect. This is most active in the cities. Yet cities are increasingly congested, we need to be the stakeholders. We need to be clean and quiet, to be fit for the future. This year 6,500 DHL drivers have gone through training. We have over 10,000 vehicles in the UK with a workforce over 40,000. We have over 100 operations in the north of England, Golden triangle joining the Northern Powerhouse, ‘Unrestricted access to the cities is not sustainable, we request a collaborative approach.’

Ian Cooper, Director. DHL Supply Chain

Trade show at Freight in the City, Manchester March 2016