Tag: Road Transport

Geodis profits soar by 50%

Posted by | Mar 7, 2007 | |

Europe’s Geodis turned in net profits of EUR 48.4 million last year, up 50% on 2005. Earnings per share rose 48% to EUR 7.80 from EUR 5.25 on revenues up 5.3% to EUR 3.78 billion. The board is recommending increasing the dividend by 11% to EUR 2.45 a share.

The company said it aimed to increase revenue by 40% over the next three years and lift operating margin, currently 2.8%, to around 4%.

It performed better last year in Europe (excluding France), coming close to break-even with an operating loss of just EUR 0.5 million, reflecting recovery in Italy, where operating losses were limited to EUR 3.6 million, and improved UK results.

The company’s international region (Asia, Africa, Mexico) performed well in the second half of the year. Operating profit for the six-month period came to EUR 3.8 million, reflecting increased revenues after a difficult first half.

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Russett back as MD in Palletline network

Posted by | Mar 7, 2007 | |

Bob Russett is back in the industry full-time, taking 100% control of a Birmingham freight firm and buying a warehouse in Telford.

Russett bought out the other three founder shareholders of Palletline Distribution, the Palletline Network member based at the West Midlands hub. Selling their shares are; Ken Hackling, who has his own transport business; and Colin Sturgess and John Watt, who had their own transport firms but have retired from the industry.

Russett becomes full-time managing director of Palletline Distribution, which he says has offered very limited storage hitherto. There is room to expand at Telford, he adds.

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Electric vans for French post office

Posted by | Mar 4, 2007 | |

In late 2005, France’s state-run postal service began a trial of eight experimental Cleanova electric vans in an effort to meet a government requirement to reduce pollution.

Not only did the vans work well and prove cheaper to operate than gasoline-powered ones, but the mailmen who drove them reported higher job satisfaction. Now, La Poste is working on a five-year plan to replace the bulk of its 48,000-vehicle fleet with electric cars.

The cars La Poste used were developed by Société de Véhicules Électriques (SVE), and were outfitted with a specially designed lithium-ion battery developed by a joint venture of Milwaukee car-parts maker Johnson Controls Inc. and French battery company Saft Groupe.

SVE has yet to settle on a price for its electric car, and it isn’t clear how much La Poste will have to pay to increase its fleet. But the car will be significantly more expensive than a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle because of the high cost of the lithium-ion battery, which La Poste says would account for about 60% of the unit price. The mail company says it will save on operating expenses because charging the electric car with electricity costs about one-sixth what it would spend to fill up the tank with gasoline.

SVE plans to make only a few cars at first. The French company expects to begin volume production toward year end with the assembly of 1,000 vehicles and, from 2009, gradually ramp up production to about 20,000 a year. That would be a fraction of the two million vehicles sold in France every year, though still more than all the other electric cars ever produced.

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Empost takes off with new Cargo and Logistics service

Posted by | Feb 26, 2007 | |

Empost, the UAE’s national courier company announced the launch of its Cargo and Logistics service offering air, land and sea freight operations through the Logistics division of Empost. This service will enable Empost to expand into a higher degree of customer services and will improve the level of proficiency.

Sultan Al Midfa, CEO, Empost said, “The new Cargo and Logistics service will provide Empost customers with regional and global transportation networks, specifically tailored to their requirements to offer reliable, prompt, secure, efficient and profitable solutions. We are aiming to offer a comprehensive global supply chain solution that will reduce costs, improve customer service, reduce inventory investments and speed up product delivery.”

The portfolio of services offered by the land, air and sea freight division includes flexible International land options from standard to expedited services; Door-to-Door and Airport-to-Airport forwarding Sea-to-Air transhipments and Air-to-Air transhipments, Customs Clearance, Ware House & distribution and Land transportation within UAE and the globe.

Online management tools for shipment tracking, and time bound and guaranteed air freight services, with flexible options for shipment and delivery ranging from 24 hours to seven days, depending on the urgency of the shipment.

Empost’s sea freight service operates in association with a variety of global ocean freight and transportation providers and is designed to combine the economies of ocean freight with the speed of air freight. The service can handle any shipment size, such as full container loads to less than container load, special equipment and oversized cargo, with the additional guarantee of personal cargo monitoring until the freight’s arrival at the desired destination.

Both air, land and sea logistics services will facilitate communication by sourcing all incoming and outgoing logistical needs through one point of contact on a 24/7 basis. The booking and tracking system will be EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) compliant and CCN (Cargo Community Network) based, enabling Suppliers and Customers to communicate directly to improve Data integrity and generate significant cost savings.

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FedEx freight launches long-haul LTL service

Posted by | Feb 5, 2007 | |

FedEx Corp. announced the official launch of its new long-haul less-than-truckload (LTL) service, FedEx National LTL. Additionally, the company formally launched direct LTL service in Canada through the newly-formed FedEx Freight Canada. The addition of these services, combined with the industry-leading regional service provided by FedEx Freight, offers a more comprehensive solution for LTL customers and expands the FedEx portfolio.
FedEx National LTL and FedEx Freight Canada were created through the acquisition of the business assets of the former Watkins Motor Lines and Watkins Canada Express, which was finalized on Sept. 3, 2006. The new services respond to customer demand for greater flexibility in the LTL sector.
“In five months, we have made tremendous progress in our strategy of providing a reliable and cost-effective service for long-haul shippers,” said Douglas G. Duncan, president and CEO of FedEx Freight. “The cultural fit between the former Watkins Motor Lines and FedEx, with a shared focus on employee engagement and customer service, has made it possible for us to achieve a great deal in a short period of time. We have hired close to 9,000 employees, re-branded equipment and integrated Web sites to allow customers to quickly and seamlessly navigate between our regional and long-haul services.”
FedEx National LTL has also re-engineered its operations to focus on the long-haul market with a strictly scheduled network, similar to FedEx Freight’s operations in the regional market. These changes enhance FedEx National LTL’s already strong on-time performance, a key requirement of shippers in all sectors.

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