TRANSPORT Management 98

As usual, I would like to share with you some remarkable news items from the past few weeks. As usual, I would like to receive your thoughts/criticisms/comments… Imagination works . We really don’t need to remind you again that the road transport sector is struggling with a dire shortage of drivers. In order to combat this gigantic problem, – some – carriers are showing their most creative side. By the end of this year, Xwift expects a turnover growth of 30%. The company therefore conjured up a nice incentive. Every driver who has been employed for at least two years is eligible for nothing less than a company car, provided that he/she scores well in terms of driving behaviour and the number of accidents. This extremely attractive incentive could of course cause some gnashing of teeth among fellow carriers who would rather not see their own drivers seek other places… TDL Group has also come up with a remarkable measure. The company from Houthalen is the first to introduce the principle of pay according to work. It is thus using the job classification on which the social partners had reached a consensus in… 2014! TDL Group drivers will henceforth be paid according to their qualifications and no longer according to the MTM of their truck. This change of course will give the 320 truck drivers a salary increase of up to two euros gross per hour. TDL will also use a system of additional bonuses: night bonus, flexibility (working in different business units) or bonuses for drivers who train newcomers. Worrying figures. Cabotage in the EU increased by 17% last year (Eurostat figures). The most worrying thing is that hauliers from the new Member States carried out 25% more cabotage transports. They currently account for 71% of the total cabotage volume, while hauliers from the Old Continent are treading water. However, it can be even more dramatic: while Belgian hauliers had to swallow a 26% drop, the Croatians increased by 308%. There is also a significant increase among Lithuanians (+83%) and Poles (+38%). It is therefore not illogical that Febetra is sounding the alarm when it sees an Old Continent with two speeds: "Any further liberalisation of cabotage can only end in an outright disaster for Western European hauliers in general and for Belgian hauliers in particular." Is there a role for the sharing economy in road transport?The VIL wants to provide an answer to this question. To this end, it has started a project in collaboration with eight transport companies (Deny, Eutraco, Exsan, De Clercq, Remitrans, Lux, Vanschoonbeek and Vincent Logistics). A survey has shown that 50% of respondents sometimes have means of transport at a standstill outside peak periods. Among other things, research will be conducted into whether 'fleet sharing' could provide a possible solution. Within a few months, this should become clear.