I know this is the ‘Europe’ forum - apologies if I rock the apple cart - but is there much call for haulage work from the UK, beyond Europe? I’m thinking Africa/Middle East - I’m guessing air and sea freight is more economical; and given the security situation in North Africa and beyond Eastern Turkey, the risk/reward might outweigh any jobs. But I just wondered…
AFAIK Pulleyns still do pharma work to Turkey.
Ralph Davies and Peter Gilder used to do Kazakhstan and some went near the Chinese border, not Rdc bull ■■■, armed guard in the cab and dirt roads, great fun.
I’m sure many of the trucks pictured on this thread are heading out further than turkey:
el_presidente:
I know this is the ‘Europe’ forum - apologies if I rock the apple cart - but is there much call for haulage work from the UK, beyond Europe? I’m thinking Africa/Middle East - I’m guessing air and sea freight is more economical; and given the security situation in North Africa and beyond Eastern Turkey, the risk/reward might outweigh any jobs. But I just wondered…
Yes but 99% of it will not be on a British truck with a British driver, free market economics make such a thing impossible in general freight on the most part. For example, just about everything going from the UK to Turkey will now be on a Turkish truck, or at the very least a Bulgarian one. Yes people like Pullyns do some pharmaceutical work to Turkey but that’s just a drop in the ocean and probably has more to do with the level of insurance Pullyns have which would prevent many companies from being bothered with such work. The same was true on the Pharma work I used to be employed on going to Switzerland, we couldn’t compete on rates with any non-British company but we were a small company and that was our main work so it was worth our while to pay for the insurances required. Many times Danzaz/DHL tried to undercut the rate to get the work but backed out as they didn’t want to splash out the extra for insurance for what to them was such a small job, so we kept it and the firm still does it till this day.
I would imagine that since the British heyday of long distance work, there is now more actual freight being shipped but a British company employing a British driver who has to pay his mortgage on a British house of whatever stupid amount houses cost this year in the UK, well those wages just can’t compete with a Turk driving from the UK to Turkey, a Moroccan (of Eastern European) driving from the UK to Morocco or a Russian going to Russia etc. Trucks from all of those countries are just as new and modern as British ones, often more so these days, their drivers are just as experienced, often more so these days and they’re much cheaper, also more so these days than back in the 70s, 80s and 90s when British trucks operated to those places when there were more restrictions in international road transport and the transport industry in those countries wasn’t anywhere near as developed as they are today.
Lets not also forget that the overwhelming amount of British trucks today are spec’d for UK only work, being 6x2 tractor units with small tanks and trailers almost always exceeding 4m high, so to be involved with European work you have to invest in equipment which then puts you at a disadvantage when used domestically within the UK. A German, Polish or Turkish truck will be the same spec whether its used domestically or internationally, thus their entire transport fleets by and large are much more dynamic and useful as opposed to our island bound equipment than can go no further than Dover or Harwich.
robinhood_1984:
el_presidente:
I know this is the ‘Europe’ forum - apologies if I rock the apple cart - but is there much call for haulage work from the UK, beyond Europe? I’m thinking Africa/Middle East - I’m guessing air and sea freight is more economical; and given the security situation in North Africa and beyond Eastern Turkey, the risk/reward might outweigh any jobs. But I just wondered…
Yes but 99% of it will not be on a British truck with a British driver, free market economics make such a thing impossible in general freight on the most part. For example, just about everything going from the UK to Turkey will now be on a Turkish truck, or at the very least a Bulgarian one. Yes people like Pullyns do some pharmaceutical work to Turkey but that’s just a drop in the ocean and probably has more to do with the level of insurance Pullyns have which would prevent many companies from being bothered with such work. The same was true on the Pharma work I used to be employed on going to Switzerland, we couldn’t compete on rates with any non-British company but we were a small company and that was our main work so it was worth our while to pay for the insurances required. Many times Danzaz/DHL tried to undercut the rate to get the work but backed out as they didn’t want to splash out the extra for insurance for what to them was such a small job, so we kept it and the firm still does it till this day.
I would imagine that since the British heyday of long distance work, there is now more actual freight being shipped but a British company employing a British driver who has to pay his mortgage on a British house of whatever stupid amount houses cost this year in the UK, well those wages just can’t compete with a Turk driving from the UK to Turkey, a Moroccan (of Eastern European) driving from the UK to Morocco or a Russian going to Russia etc. Trucks from all of those countries are just as new and modern as British ones, often more so these days, their drivers are just as experienced, often more so these days and they’re much cheaper, also more so these days than back in the 70s, 80s and 90s when British trucks operated to those places when there were more restrictions in international road transport and the transport industry in those countries wasn’t anywhere near as developed as they are today.
Lets not also forget that the overwhelming amount of British trucks today are spec’d for UK only work, being 6x2 tractor units with small tanks and trailers almost always exceeding 4m high, so to be involved with European work you have to invest in equipment which then puts you at a disadvantage when used domestically within the UK. A German, Polish or Turkish truck will be the same spec whether its used domestically or internationally, thus their entire transport fleets by and large are much more dynamic and useful as opposed to our island bound equipment than can go no further than Dover or Harwich.
I suspected as much.
Thanks for the fulsome reply.
Thank you . That was very nicely explained.
It is rare enough to see UK trucks even in France, for exactly the reason’s stated.
Owen
John Mann had hundreds of lorries on constant UK to Morocco and back, the locals over there would throw rocks at the trucks and pull the brake button on the trailer or cut the suzies, they were young lads paid to disrupt and put off UK hauliers going there so the Moroccan owner drivers and employed drivers could a get a piece of the cake in transport.
I spoke to a Pulleyn driver a few years ago , he said they loaded out of a pharma depot in Madrid, from there, you could be sent anywhere, Scandinavia ,the Baltic States or Russia.
UK to Turkey now, will take about six days, border controls to take in to consideration.
The roads in Turkey are to a high standard.
The area known as Mugla is a production area for food, such as nuts, olive oil and other arable industries, the towns there are booming, and most residents have modern cars, either on finance or bought outright.
toby1234abc:
John Mann had hundreds of lorries on constant UK to Morocco and back, the locals over there would throw rocks at the trucks and pull the brake button on the trailer or cut the suzies, they were young lads paid to disrupt and put off UK hauliers going there so the Moroccan owner drivers and employed drivers could a get a piece of the cake in transport.
Had, past tense. None of this exists any more. All done by Moroccans and Bulgarians now. John Mann is as relevant to current British international transport as narrow boats are to domestic transport in the UK. Its all dust in the wind.
robinhood_1984:
toby1234abc:
John Mann had hundreds of lorries on constant UK to Morocco and back, the locals over there would throw rocks at the trucks and pull the brake button on the trailer or cut the suzies, they were young lads paid to disrupt and put off UK hauliers going there so the Moroccan owner drivers and employed drivers could a get a piece of the cake in transport.John Mann is as relevant to current British international transport as narrow boats are to domestic transport in the UK. Its all dust in the wind.
O/T I know but back when I ‘professionalised’ my logistics qualifications (around 2000), there was talk of pushing more freight back onto the rails and, yes, narrow boats, due to hideous levels of congestion… 
el_presidente:
robinhood_1984:
toby1234abc:
John Mann had hundreds of lorries on constant UK to Morocco and back, the locals over there would throw rocks at the trucks and pull the brake button on the trailer or cut the suzies, they were young lads paid to disrupt and put off UK hauliers going there so the Moroccan owner drivers and employed drivers could a get a piece of the cake in transport.John Mann is as relevant to current British international transport as narrow boats are to domestic transport in the UK. Its all dust in the wind.
O/T I know but back when I ‘professionalised’ my logistics qualifications (around 2000), there was talk of pushing more freight back onto the rails and, yes, narrow boats, due to hideous levels of congestion…
I think there is always talk of putting more freight on the railways, but I understand that it needs subsidising to compete with road freight, you always read of some Company or the other using rail and taking x number of truck off the road, but it’s usually more a PR stunt than a serious operation.
As for UK registered truck going further than the Europe, I should think any that do are normally specialist, either exhibition, concert work or specialist vehicle transport. I know a lot of specialist car transport work was heading to Russia. but going to the Middle East must be almost impossible these days as much due to the political situation as anything else.