World Postal News
UNI Apro Post & Logistics
1 POSTAL NEWS No 99-2022
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
1.PostNL scores high for sustainability. December 16, 2022.
2.Strikes 14 & 15: Royal Mail workers standing firm everywhere against bullying bosses. December 16, 2022.
3.FedEx expands electric cart delivery pilot in New York City. December 15, 2022.
4.Australia Post charters freight aircraft to deliver backlog of parcels to WA in time for Christmas. December 13, 2022.
5.Austrian Post CEO: We have set ourselves a new, committed goal that we will achieve. December 12, 2022.
1.PostNL scores high for sustainability December 16, 2022
PostNL has again been ranked as one of the top three most sustainable companies in the transport and logistics sector worldwide.
S&P
Global recently announced that PostNL ranks third in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (DJSI). PostNL has been in the top 10 most sustainable
companies in its sector for several years. Across all categories assessed
(Economic, Environmental and Social), PostNL showed a higher score than last
year. Moreover, this year PostNL has also been included in both the World Index
and the European Index. Herna Verhagen, CEO PostNL: “I’m proud of this high
ranking in the DJSI. We consider our social responsibility for people and the
environment in the sustainability arena to be important, and we take it very
seriously. This independent assessment shows that we’re making the right steps
towards a more sustainable organisation and logistics chain.” 
Environmental sector leader
Through measures such as driving more clean kilometres by switching to electric vehicles, using renewable fuels, designing more efficient routes, removing air from packaging, and using innovative methods of transport like light electric freight vehicles, PostNL is successfully working on a significant reduction in carbon emissions. In the Environmental category, PostNL scores ahead of its competitors and is even the highest within its sector. In 2021, PostNL produced 18% less carbon dioxide per kilometre than in 2020, and the company transported 25% less empty space. This contributes to PostNL’s ambition to deliver all parcels and letters in the Benelux region emissions-free in the last mile by 2030 at the latest.
Societal role
PostNL aims to be a company that people want to work for and with, one that’s at the very heart of society. There’s a focus on diversity and inclusion – for example, by using the Diversity Index to gain insights into the extent to which colleagues feel accepted and are given equal opportunities. PostNL therefore made progress in the Social category, and the company scored higher this year than last. By supporting organisations with a social purpose – such as the Nationale Coalitie tegen Eenzaamheid, the Nationaal Ouderenfonds and the Stichting Jarige Job – PostNL offers a helping hand to people who need extra support to participate in society. These and other initiatives are now part of the Special Moments Fund.
Source : https://www.cep-research.com/news/postnl-scores-high-for-sustainability-
2.Strikes 14 & 15: Royal Mail workers standing firm everywhere against bullying bosses December 16, 2022 All regions and divisions report strikers’ morale boosted by last week’s London rally & anger growing at company tactics.
“It
was brilliant to have Dave Ward down here in Portsmouth,” said South East
Region secretary Ruth Harris yesterday. “It was another morale boost for our
members who were still buzzing from last Friday. Our general secretary’s
early-morning visit to Portsmouth MPU was a huge success, she continued, adding
that “He praised them for their resolve and said that the union is nothing
without the members behind it and their collective strength. Dave told them
about how important it is for us to keep solid and to regroup for the New Year
and to make sure we get a biggest possible majority in the next ballot.
“Dave’s visit and what he said really meant a lot to them,” Ruth continued, adding: “It’s very strong here and it’s been good across the region as well.” Outdoor secretary Mark Baulch visited delivery units in the South Central area, including Southampton, Winchester and Andover, where he spoke with members, thanked them for their support and briefed them on the latest situation. On Wednesday, Dave had visited Romford Mail Centre, and Anglia divisional rep Barry Jennings told CWU News of how our general secretary had talked of the need for a resolution to the disputes. “He made the point that of course we want and we need to reach an agreement – but that it’s got to be the right agreement. It’s got to be an agreement that works for our members, as well as for the business and also for the public,” explained Barry, “which was totally spot on and good for our members to hear. “It was also good to get a bit of local media coverage on Wednesday, when our Eastern No5 Branch Secretary Andy Beeby was interviewed about the dispute and made his points really well.” Morale has been up this week after the London protest, Barry continued, saying: “After that rally, it’s all been really positive this week. For example, I’ve had members from places in Norfolk and Suffolk telling me it was the first time they’d been to London and that they’d met other CWU members from up north who also had never been to London and they talked about how much they felt they had in common, that they’d come away with a strong feeling of all being together in the same struggle.” The last few days have also been very difficult for many members, said the Anglia rep, who cited several instances of members being refused sick pay and of reps and activists being suspended. “But all this is just making members angrier instead of being intimidated.” In London, divisional rep Mark Dolan dismisses the company’s anti-strike propaganda as “rhetoric,” telling us that “today and yesterday, we’ve worked out that it’s 97% rock-solid across London. Despite the weather and the freezing cold, the pickets have been strongly supported – and I’m running out of words to describe how fantastic our members are!” Mark notes that the company’s provocations have impacted increasing numbers of members – “we’ve got branch secretaries and area reps who are suspended on trumped-up charges and it’s all aimed at breaking people’s spirits and breaking the strike. But the union’s determination has not wavered and good humour and high spirits have been much in evident across the capital, he continued, saying: “On Wednesday, there was a great atmosphere at Whitechapel when Dave Ward came along. We had ‘frosty the snowman’ and ‘Santa’ and Christmas trees everywhere – it was brilliant.
“We’re all ready for next week. We’ve challenged our pickets in London to be vibrant and festive – lots of carols and more ‘Santas’ and all sorts. Let’s see what the best turnout is!” Acting DGSP Andy Furey was up in Edinburgh yesterday, addressing a lively CWU rally held outside the Scottish Parliament, which was also addressed by national officer Davie Robertson and divisional rep Tam Dewar, as well as three MSPs representing the SNP, Labour, and Green parties and a speaker from the RMT. Tam Dewar told CWU News: “It was a huge success and there were hundreds of us there, Edinburgh members and also delegations from Glasgow, Stirling, Falkirk, Fife and other towns. “All of Scotland was represented and the commitment our members gave to come down to Holyrood was fantastic. “I reckon there were about 600 or so altogether and we were chanting: ‘Thompson out’ and ‘Sack the Board’. It was a good speech from Andy, who gave us all a full update on the counter-proposal the union’s put to the business and also from Davie as well. The non-CWU speakers got a big cheer as well for their solidarity and support towards us.” Belfast saw a lively rally yesterday as well, reported divisional rep Fra Martin. “We organised a big solidarity event at Tomb Street – the biggest delivery office in Northern Ireland and the street was packed with about 200 members,” he said. “We were all wearing ‘Santa’ hats and we also had a DJ playing loads of Christmas tunes as well as the classic ‘I’m Part of the union’. And there were speeches from our executive member Bobby Weatherall and myself and other trade unions were there supporting us too ” Fra said that members from Northern Ireland who had attended last Friday’s London rally had all returned enthused. “I didn’t go myself,” he explained, “as we’d decided to invite lay members form different workplaces to go rather than the branch officers so that they’d all have a story to tell to their workplaces when they returned – and they did. They loved it. They said it had been massive and they couldn’t believe the numbers there. “Now we’ve had a positive couple of days and we’re all ready for next week.”
One of the most memorable speeches at last week’s London rally came from North Wales/North West divisional rep Ian Taylor, who vowed to the thousands in Parliament Square that the union would not settle this dispute until justice had been done for oursuspended and victimised reps, activists and members. And speaking to us yesterday, he said that, this week, he had received many appreciative comments from members for highlighting the issue so prominently. “The victimisation has been, I think, a particularly distasteful feature of this dispute. It’s cowardly,” said Ian, adding: “We do not leave anybody behind who’s been attacked in this way. Standing up to the bullies is part and parcel of what we do. “Overall, these two strikes days have gone remarkably well – beyond expectations,” he continued. Support for union grows and Mr Thompson’s popularity wanes by the day and, as one members said to me today: ‘This has gone too far for us to turn back’.” Looking ahead to the strikes planned for the 23rd and 24th, Ian said: “Our morale is up, our spirits are up and we’re going to try to give it a festive feel next week – let’s just say we’re working on a few ideas.” “The feeling is that there’s just no alternative,” said North East divisional rep Steve Warren, when asked what the overall mood was among members about the dispute at the moment. “The company’s position is unacceptable and we just have to carry on with the action. That’s why it’s keeping absolutely solid.” As well as keeping up his tour of workplace picket lines, our general secretary is also communicating via live broadcasts with other locations and yesterday, one of them was Sheffield CDO and Steve said that this is a large unit in the centre of the city. “There’s around 200 members there and it was executive member Steve Haliwell who did the broadcast with Dave – it went very well. And also one of our members from that unit, Rohan Kon, was interviewed on BBC news yesterday morning. So we’re definitely getting our message across.”
In the interview, Rohan was asked to explain what the strike was about and she replied: “Put simply we’re here to save Royal Mail. If the CEO Simon Thompson had his way, all this would be gone” and went on to say that the CWU had received “huge support from the public and from small businesses.” On the company’s latest attacks on sick pay, Steve said that, in his opinion, “it’s part of a Royal Mail strategy – a kind of intimidation. People need money for either heating or eating. And to be threatened with not having any pay when they’re genuinely off sick is very stressful. But if management thought this was going to force people back to work, they’re mistaken – it’s making people more determined than ever.
“As for next week, I’ve already been invited to picket lines with turkey on the menu!
In Sheffield, as in many other towns and cities around the country, CWU strikers have met up with and showed their support for other groups of striking workers, taking our union’s banners and placards to their picket lines and giving solidarity to their struggles for fair pay and in defence of terms and conditions. Yesterday, Sheffield CWU strikers stood together with nurses from the RCN and on Wednesday, our members in various parts of the UK visited picket lines of the rail workers from the RMT. In Birmingham, a joint event is planned for next Monday evening, when strikers from various different unions and sectors will be invited to the CWU’s branch office, reported Midlands divisional rep Paul Kennedy, who said: “It starts at 7pm and we’ll have speakers from the NHS and from the RMT and I’ll be speaking for the CWU – and we’re organising a special Birmingham curry for everyone too. It’ll be great.
Our own dispute is, he said “holding up really well. Members are now dug in and sticking with it. There’s a real solid determination to see it through, as they all know what’s at stake, the future of the service. Paul spoke angrily about the way that the company is currently treating the workforce, describing the attack on sick pay as “just cruelty. “It’s a demonstration of cruelty to try to force people into work who are not well and should be off sick,” he said, adding that this was particularly vindictive at this time of year. We’re telling people to lodge grievances. “The feedback I’m getting overall is that the London rally was a huge boost, that it’s remaining solid and that we’re all ready to go again next week.” And from down in the South West, regional secretary Kevin Beazer said that yesterday and Wednesday had been “as good as it has all along. People realise that the business is not serious about negotiations and our members are toughening up. The last memo Royal Mail put out about managers going out on delivery has wound people up even more. And the work’s stacked everywhere – there are piles and piles of mail. I think it’s happening even more here than in other regions.
“I’ve gone to pickets early in the morning and I’m in awe of the people who turn up – in good spirits and truly resolute. It’s all good humoured – despite it being very, very cold – and they’re telling me: ‘We can’t stop now’ and ‘We’ve got to continue until the end’.” “It’s been hard for people, but our reps and our members have been outstanding. Kevin also praised the organisation and the turnout last week, saying that “we had about 200 people from each of our South West branches at the London rally and there were reps and members who’d never been on anything like that. People have been telling me all week that it gave them a massive lift.”
Source : https://www.cwu.org/news/strikes-14-15-royal-mail-workers-standing-firmeverywhere-against-bullying-bosses
3.FedEx expands electric cart delivery
pilot in New York City December 15, 2022 To support its
goal of having carbon-neutral operations by 2040, FedEx will introduce electric
delivery carts from technology startup BrightDrop in New York City for the
2022/23 holiday season.
The pilot will use four-wheeled electric carts (e-carts) on city sidewalks. The e-carts are a part of an expanded pilot program aimed at improving deliveries in major metropolitan areas. The Trace e-carts used in the expanded pilot are intended to help FedEx couriers make deliveries in five locations in New York City – the Diamond District, Theatre District, Midtown, Midtown East and Brooklyn Heights – expanding on an initial test site in the Diamond District in 2021. The routes included in the e-cart courier pilot now cover more than seven walking miles across the two boroughs. With this trial, FedEx plans to reduce vehicle idling and redistribute delivery activity away from the curb, helping to alleviate bottlenecks on high-traffic streets. In the previous, smallerManhattan pilot, FedEx couriers increased the total number of stops and stops made per hour when using the e-carts, versus operations without them. Michael Salerno, a senior station operations manager at FedEx Express in Manhattan, said, “FedEx customers depend on us to deliver resourcefully and reliably, especially during the holidays. By furthering the use of these carts on real routes in Manhattan and Brooklyn, FedEx hopes to shape what the future of efficient urban delivery could look like.”
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/last-mile/fedexexpands-electric-cart-delivery-pilot-in-new-york-city.html
4.Australia Post charters freight aircraft to deliver backlog of parcels to WA in time for Christmas December 13, 2022
Fears that Santa Claus may not be able to deliver gifts to WA have been eased, with a flight laden with more than 70,000 parcels touching down in Perth.
Australia Post was forced to charter the giant Atlas Air Boeing 747-400 freighter from Qantas, which landed on Monday night, to cope with a surge in online buying and limited capacity because of a reduction in flights from the Eastern States. Prior to COVID, Qantas operated 16 Airbus A330s a day between Sydney, Melbourne and Perth but many of the flights have been replaced with smaller 737s, slashing cargo capacity. Qantas has been using Atlas Air 747s for freight work since 2004 and recently extended the partnership to include a third aircraft. Atlas Air provides the crews for the freighters , which typically operate from Australia to the US via China.
Source: https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/australia-post-charters-freight-aircraft-todeliver-backlog-of-parcels-to-wa-in-time-for-christmas
5.Austrian Post CEO: We have set ourselves a new, committed goal that we will achieve December 12, 2022 Austrian Post has joined the global initiative “The Climate Pledge”, co-founded by Amazon.
Austrian Post has been delivering all letters, parcels, advertising mail and print media CO 2- neutral since 2011, and by 2030 delivery is to be completely CO 2-free. As a next step, Austrian Post is venturing towards the goal of Net Zero. Put simply, the aim is to achieve a balance of the entire company for emissions generated and prevented – the overall result is a neutral zero, i.e. net zero. In addition to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (direct emissions, e.g. from own vehicles, and indirect emissions, such as from the generation of purchased energy), Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions that are not directly within the company’s sphere of influence, such as supply chain) are also included.
“For more than ten years, we have been delivering all shipments in Austria in a CO 2-neutral manner. And by 2030 even completely CO2-free. We are already very successful in demonstrating how sustainability and growth can go hand in hand. With the commitment of Net Zero until 2040, we have set ourselves a new, committed goal that we will achieve,” explains Georg Pölzl, CEO of Austrian Post. “We are proud to welcome Austrian Post as our first signatory of ‘The Climate Pledge’ in Austria,” said Sally Fouts, Global Head of The Climate Pledge at Amazon. “It is fantastic to see that Austrian Post is leading the way in deploying electric vehicles and renewable energy projects locally to decarbonise its operations and become carbon neutral by 2040.”
UNI Apro Post & Logistics
1 POSTAL NEWS No 100-2022
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
1.The Postal Regulatory Commission finally starts asking the USPS about the S&DC plan. December 16, 2022.
2.Trans-Continental neighbourhood mail delivery in Montreal and Québec City on hold. December 16, 2022.
3.Swiss Post and Swisscom boost collaboration in IT sector. December 15, 2022.
4. bpost pioneers artificial intelligence for parcel sorting. December 13, 2022.
5.DHL Parcel UK receives six electric trucks and 30 LNG tractor units. December 12, 2022.
1.The Postal Regulatory Commission finally starts asking the USPS about the S&DC plan December 16, 2022
The Postal Regulatory Commission is currently
reviewing the Postal Service’s request to make its pilot USPS Connect Local
Mail (CLM) a permanent product. CLM offers same or next-day delivery for
documents sent at a post office with a delivery unit (carrier operation) to the
addresses served by that DU.
Today the PRC asked how the CLM product would be impacted by the Sort & Delivery Center plan, which will be implemented in 2023. The S&DC plan will relocate delivery unit operations to large, centralized facilities that are in many cases 10 or 15 miles from the post office, making it more difficult for some mailers to use LCM. LCM also allows mailers to hand off mail directly to the carrier, which could be complicated by the S&DC plan. The PRC has thus asked the USPS to “describe in detail how implementing this [S&DC] plan would affect the existing entry of USPS Connect Local Mail.” Responses to the questions are due by Dec. 23. The PRC's questions appear to be the first time the Commission has asked the Postal Service about the S&DC plan. The OIG is also asking for input into the plan for an audit it's conducting. Expect a lot more of this in 2023.
2.Trans-Continental neighbourhood mail delivery in Montreal and Québec City on hold December 16, 2022.
Effective December 19, letter carriers in Montreal and Québec City will no longer have to deliver the Trans-Continental neighbourhood mail in its current form. Canada Post has paused the delivery of the product after mounting pressure from the Union. The delivery of the Trans-Continental neighbourhood mail began in Montréal the week of October 17, 2022, and in Québec City around December 13, 2022. The Québec City local was not consulted prior to start of the delivery.
When Canada Post introduced the delivery of the Trans-Continental neighbourhood mail, it did so without ensuring that proper measures were first put in place to protect the health and safety of our members and prevent overburdening. In addition to our health and safety concerns, we also conveyed our misgivings about the financial, structural, and environmental impacts of delivering this neighbourhood mail. Representatives from the Montreal Local and Region, as well as the National Office, worked tirelessly to draw attention to this issue, closely monitoring the situation and giving support to our affected members as well as demanding answers from Canada Post. We are pleased that CPC understood the health and safety issues involved and that the parties were able to come to a resolution. Now that the Trans-Continental neighbourhood mail delivery is on hold, the parties will discuss the possibility of developing long term solutions that protect postal workers and the postal service.
Source : https://www.cupw.ca/en/trans-continental-neighbourhood-mail-delivery-montrealand-qubec-city-hold
3.Swiss Post and Swisscom boost collaboration in IT sector December 15, 2022 Switzerland and its companies are becoming increasingly digital, including Swiss Post and Swisscom. Both companies offer and develop digital solutions for people and companies in Switzerland. In future, the two companies aim to reinforce their longstanding collaboration in the IT sector: they want to build up their IT capacities in clearly defined areas together, rather than independently and in parallel. Swiss Post and Swisscom have signed an agreement as a basis for this closer collaboration. It represents an important step to help counter the shortage of IT specialists in Switzerland.
Digitization is progressing rapidly. Both Swiss Post and Swisscom are working intensively on digital solutions for the future and on developing their IT competencies. Additionally, more and more processes, work procedures and services at both Swiss Post and Swisscom are based on information technology. IT is becoming the driving force behind rapid digital developments in both companies, and its importance will continue to grow. Swiss Post and Swisscom have been working together for many years in the IT sector. Swisscom is a key IT service provider for Swiss Post today, for instance when it comes to protective measures against network attacks or innovations such as the Internet of things. In future, both companies want to collaborate even more closely in defined IT areas, for instance data storage, and avoid duplications. They have signed a memorandum of understanding to achieve this goal. Swiss Post’s Head of IT Wolfgang Eger explains: “Together with our Swisscom colleagues, we want to harness synergies in the future as we continue to develop. We aim to jointly enhance our digitization capabilities and expand our business IT expertise. It will mean we can secure key capacity as well as access to new technologies for Swiss Post.” Thomas Wettstein, Head of IT Solutions for Swisscom Business Customers, says: “We’re really looking forward to working even more closely with Swiss Post in future. Given thehuge challenges that we face as Switzerland continues to go digital, this move makes a lot of sense for both companies and for Switzerland as an IT location.”
Swiss Post and Swisscom retain their entrepreneurial freedom
The memorandum of understanding specifically regulates the type of collaboration between the two companies, and it sets out how IT orders are awarded by Swiss Post to Swisscom. The contents of the memorandum of understanding specifically cover the development of certain areas within Swiss Post’s IT Service Center, for instance relating to data storage and the smart workplace. This is where the two companies are looking to combine their competencies: Swisscom will bring its IT expertise to these services, and Swiss Post, as one of the largest IT service providers in Switzerland, will cover customer needs.
The agreement is set out in such a way that both companies retain their entrepreneurial freedom. It means that the agreement does not include a purchasing obligation for Swiss Post, nor a delivery obligation for Swisscom, and so both companies will continue working with both existing and new IT partners.
Tackling the shortage of IT specialists together
Swiss Post currently employs around 1,300 IT specialists, while Swisscom is one of the leading ICT companies in Switzerland. This makes Swiss Post and Swisscom clearly two of the biggest IT employers in Switzerland. Both companies are faced with the challenge of a shortage of skilled workers: Switzerland is increasingly short of IT specialists, and the battle for the very best IT talent is intensifying. Swiss Post and Swisscom see potential in this closer collaboration for building up IT capacities in certain areas together, rather than independently and in parallel, helping them to tackle the shortage of IT specialists. This closer partnership with Swisscom will have no impact on Swiss Post’s plan to create around 200 new IT roles in Switzerland by 2030. Wolfgang Eger stresses: “We don’t want to cut any jobs. On the contrary, we want to retain our Swiss Post IT specialists, and add even more in future.”
4.bpost pioneers artificial intelligence for parcel sorting December 13, 2022 The end of the year is traditionally the busiest period for e-commerce logistics teams. And the last few years, online shopping has become more than ever a natural part of our daily lives. bpostgroup is adapting to this new normal with investments over the next five years to become an international industrial champion firmly anchored in Belgium. In order to optimize the parcel sorting process, bpost recently brought a new system onstream in Brussels, designed in partnership with Berkeley University spinoff Covariant. The innovation comprises the upgrade of the camera system that ensures parcels are scanned even more accurately, driving down the number of mis-deliveries. The sorting machine is provided with eyes, which is already running at full speed to optimize the sorting of parcels during the year-end peak.
As Belgium’s biggest sorting centre, Brussels X (BX) has a state-of-the-art parcel sorting machine (PSM) that can handle 25,000 parcels an hour. The machine also scores exceptionally well in terms of precision, but there is always room for improvement. In partnership with Covariant, the innovation team identified an opportunity to gain an even clearer image of the parcels passing on the conveyer.
bpost challenged Covariant to develop an artificial intelligence-driven application to further improve the sorting activity. The PSM at BX already performs at a very high level. While there are a limited number of mis-deliveries due to incorrect scanning, the success rate can always be improved. That is exactly what the new development brings, as it provides the machine with eyes.
AI improves efficiency
Every parcel for sorting passes through the camera tunnel, where it is photographed from multiple angles, the barcode is scanned and the weight and dimensions are taken. The new development takes this to the next level, as it captures the characteristics of parcels that the cameras have not been able to pick up until now. This primarily concerns parcels that are laid on top of each other on the conveyer. Those parcels will now be redirected to a special chute where they can be handled separately. The new development can also identify the packaging method, which means that plastic bags can be redirected straight to a dedicated chute for shipping.
In due course the new system will also enable bpost to provide customers with more information about parcel handling based on collected data. The machine vision will allow data to be collected on damage, enabling bpost to advise customers on the best ways to adapt their packaging material for more efficient shipping.
For interested readers:
The sorting machine can handle a large number of parcel formats, sorting parcels straight into a cage trolley for immediate shipping or directing them to a manual sorting branch, primarily based on size and weight. For efficiency reasons, bpost clearly wants to maximize the number of parcels that can be immediately shipped. Cameras will now recognize parcels in flexible plastic bags and redirect them to this chute, optimizing this separation process. Up until now, these have often been redirected to a manual sorting branch as their packaging meant they took up too much space, although the actual product dimensions were smaller. The new system is able to detect this difference, which means that more parcels will go straight to the chute for immediate shipping.
Source : https://press.bpost.be/bpost-pioneers-artificial-intelligence-for-parcel-sorting
5.DHL Parcel UK receives six electric
trucks and 30 LNG tractor units December 12, 2022 DHL Parcel UK
has taken delivery of six fully electric 16-metric ton Volvo trucks and 30
liquefied natural gas (LNG) Volvo tractor units.
The fully electric Volvo trucks will hit the road in London from January 2023. The Volvo FL Electric Rigids are powered by four 200kWh batteries which can run for 120 miles, carrying a maximum of 12 pallets weighing up to 6 metric tons. These will recharge overnight at strategic DHL Parcel locations in London for daily operations into the city center. The 30 LNG Volvo tractor units will start going into operation later in 2023. Once the commissioning of the Bio-LNG gas tank is complete and drivers have been trained how to safely re-fuel, the 30 new Volvo FM LNG Tractors will be based at the DHL Parcel UK hub in Coventry. With a maximum reach of up to 400 miles per tank, they will be used on routes throughout the UK. When running on Bio-LNG the LNG tractor units emit 85% less CO2 emissions compared to a traditional diesel engine with the same power output (460bhp).
Both deployments are part of a £64m (US$78.5m) UK investment in a green heavy fleet in line with the company’s sustainability strategy to achieve net-zero emissions logistics by 2050. On the road to achieving this goal, the group will invest over £6bn (US$7.3bn) in sustainable fuel and clean technologies by 2030. The zero-emission vehicles will also be 3-star compliant to the London Direct Vision Standard. Peter Fuller, CEO of DHL Parcel UK, said, “Our aim is to be at the forefront of change in UK road transport. Having zero-emissions electric vehicles in our final-mile heavy fleet is a major step forward in our vision of net zero logistics-related emissions.”
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/sustainability/dhlparcel-uk-receives-six-electric-trucks-and-30-lng-tractor-units.html