United pallet doubles up

The United Pallet Network is to double the size of its Melton Mowbray hub after growing volume by 52% in the past year. The network put the growth down to the success of its reduced “Volume” tariff for consignments of four or more pallets and it is now moving up to 1,800 pallets a night. Managing director Andrew Spencer says: “We’ve found the tariff, at a heavily rebated scale, extremely useful in attaining freight that operators would usually run directly themselves.” At its annual conference last weekend the network told members it is to introduce central billing next year for efficiency reasons and told of the successful launch of its member debt protection fund UPN Safeguard in April. The network has taken on 23 new members in the year, most recently South Humberside-based John Reid Trucking and Freight Movement in Newport.