The logistics industry, specifically the pallet network sector, is seeing record volumes driven by the easing of lockdown and sector-wide driver shortages. We attach an open letter from the Association of Pallet Networks (APN) outlining these issues in more detail.
Volumes across the Palletline network are up 30% compared to pre-covid levels and some areas are seeing increases of more than 60%.
The easing of lockdown measures has caused an influx in supplies to the hospitality and retail trades, particularly in tourist hotspots, which has added substantial volume on top of the normal seasonal peak for DIY and other leisure related freight.
Additionally, freight is being directed towards the pallet network sector by the shortage of drivers and trucks in the general haulage market as a result of Brexit and the introduction of IR35 tax changes. Find out more here.
Although we are aware that our current service levels in some parts of the network are below the usually high standards which we pride ourselves on, Palletline are closely monitoring the sector and our performance is tracking higher than other pallet networks.
Palletline have been proactively restricting services in areas of high-pressure to control the flow of freight and will be implementing a country-wide suspension of our VU and PT services, alongside additional regional restrictions from Wednesday 12th May. Please refer to the table on the following page for the fastest service available within those restricted regions.
Additionally, Palletline are temporarily moving the Third-Party Collection cut off time back from 12:00 noon on the day of collection to 20:00 the day prior to collection.
We would like to apologize for any delivery or collection delays that you are currently experiencing and reassure you that the entire Palletline network is working round the clock to keep the flow of freight moving throughout the UK.
