Joint Administrators from Ernst & Young LLP were appointed by the directors of Netfold Limited on Friday 22 August 2008.

Netfold Limited trading as Amtrak, specialises in national and international parcel freight. The business is head quartered in Aldridge, West Midlands, and operates two distribution hubs in Aldridge and Warrington together with 36 distribution depots across the UK, employing over 900 people.

One of the Joint Administrators from Ernst & Young commented, “Amtrak has found trading in the current economic climate challenging. It is a business led by consumer demand and as consumer spending power has weakened Amtrak’s business has suffered.

“We are currently assessing the financial situation of the business, and as a result the collection and delivery of goods may be disrupted”.

Further to this an announcement on Amtraks website states that  Business Post - UK Mail are offering to take on Amtrak's customers work on their current terms.

Nighfreight has achieved a Four Star rating from the British Safety Council for the company’s health and safety performance, building on its Three Star rating awarded in 2006. This is the second time Nightfreight has undertaken the Five Star Health and Safety Management System Audit, which reviews and benchmarks health and safety within an organsisation from management processes through to the implementation of related systems in the workplace.

The increased Star-rating follows a strict audit undertaken over a seven-day period at a number of Nightfreight sites selected by the Council including the Central Hub, Head Office and depots at Crewe, Cannock, Northampton and Perry Barr. Overall, five sections are assessed that cover ‘Safety Organisation’ ‘Management Control Systems’ ‘Fire Control Systems’ ‘Measurement & Control Systems’ and ‘Workplace Implementations’

Steve Readman who performed the Nightfreight Audit on behalf of the British Safety Council commented “Nightfreight’s internal audit process has been expanded from a paper based system into an excellent electronic version that is clearly adding value to the business.”

On completion of the audit, a 79 page document recording the results and recommendations was handed to Nightfreights Safety, Health & Environment Manager Stuart Harrison

A delighted Stuart commented: “We are proud to add a further star to the Three we achieved in 2006, but not surprised as everyone at Nightfreight has worked so hard both individually and as a team to achieve it. We know the area’s that we must now focus on to attain the goal we have set ourselves for the future and we are dedicated to achieving that goal. The award doesn’t stand still, therefore neither can we.”

Natasha Green, ‘Services & Events Co-ordinator’ from the British Safety Council commented “This is a very good achievement that has resulted from Nightfreight’s commitment to continuous improveme

Pallet-Track Ltd has announced their relocation to a high specification premises close to their existing site in the West Midlands. The new site in Wolverhampton is 267,300 sq. ft. (24,900 sq. m) and more than trebles the existing facility.

A five-year lease agreement with an option on a further five was signed on the 1st August 2008, building and modification work commenced shortly after, the company has set an operational start date of the 6th October.

Pallet-Track who commenced full UK operations just over four and a half years ago are achieving volumes approaching 5,000 pallets per day. Managing Director, Nigel Parkes says: The Company is growing so rapidly that this move is vital for us to maintain our high levels of operational efficiency. All of Pallet-Track’s 70 staff will transfer to the new site.

The facility stands on the former Thompson Engineering Group factory. The new build was completed in late 2006 and has remained empty to date. David Binks of (Agency) Cushman and Wakefield says: This is the largest letting of this type of property in the area for several years and as such a huge vote of confidence for the area.

Substantial modifications in excess of £700,000 will include an additional four access doors, the latest technology in high bay energy efficient lighting and the erection of two-lane inbound and outbound scanning gantries. In conjunction with the move Pallet-Track will also be upgrading their existing IT and communication infrastructure, CCTV and alarm systems.

 The fully secured site with gatehouse comprises of 20,000 sq. ft of office facility set in three locations of the building. Additional amenities have been provided for employed staff and visiting driver welfare.

Pallet-Track will hold an Open Day on the 1st October for their membership to visit and view the new Hub prior to the full operational start date.

City Link has announced the opening of a number of new depots as well as the extension of several existing sites as part of a programme to expand the company’s nationwide depot network.

The company will open four new depots by the autumn and extend a further two depots.

New depots will open at Worcester, Norwich, Coventry and Stoke all by October in an aggressive build programme which will also see Cwmbran depot refurbished and the Oxford depot extended.

Stuart Godman, City Link’s Sales & Marketing Director, said: “These new depots will increase our capacity and will help us further improve our levels of customer service, which is at the very core of our operation. “The investment marks our commitment to continue to grow the business and provide our customers with exceptional service.”

APC Overnight’s bold move to boost business in Scotland has paid off with a big increase in business north of the border.   APC Overnight has taken an innovative approach by retaining all consignments for Scottish destinations within Scotland, allowing their Scottish depots to offer much earlier deliveries than rivals.

The expansion of its Bellshill hub operation also led to crucial fuel savings, faster response times and reduction in environmental impact. The service is proving particularly popular with the luxury food sector, with fresh produce businesses such as meat, pie and bacon suppliers finding APC Overnight’s early deliveries the best choice for their perishable items.

At Bellshill a third of all parcels received are sorted and distributed in Scotland without ever crossing the border. This enables the Scottish depots to offer much earlier deliveries. Not only does this improve efficiency it also helps APC Overnight to reduce the carbon footprint of its business and manage the drivers’ Working Time better. In addition, by keeping these consignments within Scotland the Essington hub in the Midlands is able it to optimize its services for the rest of the UK.

“The APC Overnight formula in Scotland is proving a big hit and there is certainly much more business to be gained,” says Colin Lynskey-Nonis APC Overnight’s Scottish Manager. “Our customers like our local approach and we plan to take the message out to more businesses over the year ahead.”

With a depot in each of Scotland’s major cities and further depots in Kilmarnock, Dumfries, Arrochar, APC Overnight’s fleet of around 170 delivery vehicles is well positioned to serve the entire country. In addition the network is expanding and this reflects the steady year-on-year growth in business.

“Our service leads the way in efficient next-day deliveries for Scottish businesses. Customers who need consistent, reliable, secure and on-time deliveries need not look further than APC Overnight,” concludes Colin Lynskey-Nonis.

Huddersfield-based The Pink Link and Frenni Transport, located in Wales, have scooped top awards at the second National Sales Convention organised by Palletways, the UK’s number one pallet network, to recognise the best business development performers amongst its network of 100 plus members.

Marc Buchanan, who is Account Executive for The Pink Link, was awarded the title of ‘Commercial Development Champion’ for demonstrating consistent growth for the company’s Palletways business in 2007.

Buchanan said of his award: “I am delighted to have won this award both personally and on behalf of all my colleagues at The Pink Link. Being a member of the Palletways network has opened up significant business opportunities and I'm looking forward to identifying new opportunities for the growth of the company during 2008/9.”

Frenni Transport scooped the ‘European Champion Award 2007/08’ for its commitment to European services and for developing its European growth by volume and customer base.

Ian Laugharne, who collected the award for Frenni Transport, said: “We identified the European market as an opportunity and based our strategy on developing our business in this area. We’re really pleased to have this recognised by Palletways and hope to grow even further over the next year.”

Six sales managers were also shortlisted from the Palletways network, including Brian Hill (Air Sea Logistics, Andover), Dave Evans (HE Baldry (Haulage) Ltd, Lingfield), Duncan Long (Reading Freight Services Ltd, Reading), Adrian Hockey (John T Evans Haulage Ltd, Bristol & South Wales), Simon Mulvey (H&M Distribution Ltd, Warrington) and Alan Reason (J&J Reason & Sons, Binley).

Craig Hibbert, MD of Palletways UK Member network, said: “This is the second year for our sales awards and they’re proving to be very successful. The members are all very competitive which is very healthy and demonstrates that they all want to be winners The success of our network very much depends on the growth of their businesses and all the finalists deserve to be recognised for their hard work and dedication over the past year.”

Postcomm welcomes Royal Mail's industry consultation on a revised zonal access price structure. This consultation impacts on two projects which Postcomm has been undertaking over the past several months.

The first project is Postcomm’s general review of zonal access pricing (under which Royal Mail charges a zonal price for delivering mail to the “final mile" for large customers and other postal operators).

The second project concerns TNT Post UK Limited’s request to Postcomm for a direction under Condition 9 of Royal Mail's licence for two access products, both of which it requested to be zonally priced but with a two zone pricing structure.

Postcomm hopes that Royal Mail, TNT Post and the wider industry will be able to  work together to put in place appropriate terms for both zonally priced access and nationally priced access to the Royal Mail network. If agreed, these new arrangements could help to secure the provision of a strong and self financed universal service in parallel with the development and sustainability of both access and end-to-end competition.

We are asking Royal Mail to finalise its consultation initiated by this industry letter and to report its findings to Postcomm and the industry by the end of October 2008 (and, if appropriate, to request modifications to its licence).  If the consultation has not been concluded successfully during this period, Postcomm will reassess the need to propose a direction in relation to TNT Post's direction request for a different zonal access price structure.  Should this be necessary we would expect to issue a proposed direction in December 2008.

Postcomm will aim to publish its observations on Royal Mail’s industry consultation by the end of August 2008.

FedEx Express will be helping up-and-coming designer bag label Chris and Tibor access new and emerging markets.

FedEx Express is a sponsor of the UK Fashion Export Award for New Exporter of the Year and established the award in 2005 as part of its continuing and passionate commitment to the fashion industry.  The award is an annual program aimed at allowing a new generation of talented fashion entrepreneurs to develop rounded and successful businesses and to begin competing on the international fashion stage.

With next-business-day, time-definite, door-to-door custom clear delivery services to over 220 countries worldwide, FedEx Express is ideal for fashion companies like Chris and Tibor who are looking to grow their business globally.

Chris Liu and Tibor Matyas launched Accessories brand Chris & Tibor in 2006. Apart from the fresh, cutting edge feel of their bags, it is the label’s strong East London vibe that turns them into sought after items in hip concept shops and luxurious department stores.

Now in their fifth season, Chris and Tibor have an impressive 40 plus stockists internationally and are seeking to expand in the U.S.A.

 “We are excited about working with Chris and Tibor at such a pivotal time in their business development and look forward to sharing our expertise with them,” said Catherine Higham, marketing specialist, FedEx Express. 

Liu and Matyas said, “We are delighted with the award and the financial and advisory support that FedEx will provide as part of the prize.  We believe our business will grow much faster with FedEx invaluable help and support.”

Postcomm has published decision documents about giving Royal Mail financial relief for industrial action in 2007-08, and potentially also for 2008-09, and set out the future of the bulk mail compensation scheme.

Postcomm has largely accepted Royal Mail’s application for relief from the financial consequences of transformation-related industrial action in 2007-08. This means Royal Mail will forgo £21.6m of allowed revenue (due to the C-factor) because of poor quality of service performance during the year, but bulk mail customers will not receive compensation. If Postcomm had not accepted the application, Royal Mail would have had to pay around £77m in bulk mail compensation to customers and would have forgone around £91m in allowed revenue. If Royal Mail’s application had been accepted in full, Royal Mail would still have forgone £12m because of its poor Postcode Area performance.

Postcomm has agreed, conditionally, to Royal Mail’s request to suspend the Bulk Mail Compensation Scheme and to adjust the C-factor in 2008-09 where quality of service failures are caused by transformation-related strike action. However, Postcomm will consider a wide range of factors in reaching a final decision on relief at the end of the year.

Postcomm has decided to remove the regulated bulk compensation scheme for delay from 1 April 2010. The main reasons for removing Royal Mail’s compensation scheme for delayed bulk mail are:

• In the developing competitive market it is more appropriate to move towards market driven outcomes;
• Removing the scheme will allow customers to negotiate compensation schemes to suit their own needs;
• The current scheme does not necessarily target those customers who have suffered poor performance.

In June 2007, Postcomm agreed Royal Mail’s request to suspend – until the end of the financial year – the payment of compensation to bulk mail customers, and to earn revenue that it would not otherwise be permitted to do (due to the ‘C factor’), where industrial action has taken place and quality of service figures have dropped.

Postcomm agreed to the request because it wished to ensure that Royal Mail was not discouraged from taking the steps needed to modernise its business, which would benefit all mail users. Royal Mail requested that Postcomm repeat these arrangements for the year 2008-09.

In December 2007, Postcomm’s consultation on the review of Royal Mail’s compensation schemes asked for views on a proposal to remove the requirement on Royal Mail to have a bulk compensation scheme for delay. The consultation asked for views on the date at which the requirement should be removed – April 2009 or April 2010.  Following consideration of the responses, Postcomm has decided to remove the regulated bulk compensation scheme for delay from 1 April 2010.  This will allow sufficient time for Royal Mail, senders of bulk mail and access operators to make alternative arrangements for after the removal of the scheme.

CitySprint has relocated its Leeds ServiceCentre to larger premises in line with increasing demand in the area. The new ServiceCentre is located at Unit 18, Enterprise Park Industrial Estate, Old Lane, Moorhouse Avenue, Beeston, Leeds, LS11 8HA.

Sam Leckey, CitySprint’s Regional Manager for the North, explains:

“CitySprint has had a presence in Leeds for almost twenty years and provides courier services to a broad range of local companies. Due to increasing demand we had outgrown the previous ServiceCentre…our new premises are larger and have greater warehousing capacity. We are now even closer to key clients in the area and are only a five-minute drive from Leeds city centre. The new premises are also more ‘client friendly’ with additional space to hold client meetings at the ServiceCentre if required. We are confident that the new Leeds ServiceCentre will allow us to achieve even greater service levels to our clients.”

In addition to its Leeds ServiceCentre CitySprint has a network of 30+ ServiceCentres across the UK. This cross-country coverage is unique in the courier industry and enables CitySprint to provide a truly national or local service like no other same day courier company. Through its network of regional ServiceCentres and ServiceCentre based customer services teams CitySprint is able to provide its clients with local knowledge and expertise, regardless of where they might be based. CitySprint’s clients also enjoy the personal relationships they are able to develop with account managers and ServiceCentre staff at their local ServiceCentre. They can feel confident that if there is ever an issue, or if they simply want to discuss their job, they know they can pick up the phone and have a real person to speak to.

UPS is looking to increase it's business in Europe with a €10bn (£7.8bn) bid for Dutch rival TNT, and FedEx, which has previously expressed an interest in TNT, has yet to rule itself out of bidding.

FedEx UK has announced the launch of a new facility in Exeter to meet the growing demands of business in the region.

The facility, located in the Greendale Business Park, Woodbury Salterton, has doubled capacity in the South West and reduces delivery times by up to one and a half hours. The station, which processes packages going to and from customers, will handle both packages for FedEx UK domestic, and FedEx Express International customers.

“This facility demonstrates our commitment to playing a central role in the future growth of the South West of England,” said Trevor Hoyle, managing director, Operations, FedEx UK.  “Our investment in Exeter means a faster and more flexible service for local businesses and ensures they continue to benefit from connection to the global economy.” 

The depot, which is located five miles from Exeter City Centre and three miles from Exeter International Airport, has the capacity to sort 500 packages per hour along a 70-metre conveyor belt system designed to allow the fast processing of parcels.

The 17,000 sq ft facility was also specially adapted to allow vehicles to load from any of the 13 double-shutter doors at the front and side of the building – freeing warehouse space inside the depot for peak periods and annual growth.

Home Delivery Network Limited (HDNL) has picked-up its second Large Supplier of the Year award in IMRG’s Online Green Awards. Following its success in 2007, the UK’s largest dedicated home delivery and collection service has continued to build upon its achievements in reducing its carbon footprint and increasing efforts to deliver 300,000
parcels to every postcode, every day in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

Company focus this year was to be greener at the grass root level of the business, with an emphasis on cultural change throughout their structure. This grass roots approach engages all 6,500 members of staff across 72 locations and has proved extremely successful, allowing the company to reduce its utilities carbon usage by 490 tonnes for the 07/08 financial period, with other savings being made across the company.

The change has included small scale initiatives such as staff reducing energy expenditure by turning off lights, closing down computers and machinery when not in use. The introduction of more hand held terminals, allowing signatures to be recorded electronically and increasing online parcel tracking has reduced paper waste.

HDNL has also committed to long term recycling at its locations, with Blackpole, one of its specialised operations, pioneering a specific waste trail. Blackpole has been so successful in reducing waste by 45% or 10.75 tonnes of carbon a month that the scheme will be extended to other sites with the same effect. The introduction of a cardboard bailer has
also been a success and an additional plastics and cardboard bailer is being installed at an additional site.

HDNL has also increased the availability of the Merridale fuel management system to all of the drivers on the road and at depots. This is a 50% increase and allows measurement of fuel consumption plus driver behaviour, giving the opportunity to highlight areas where fuel efficiency is poor.

Brian Gaunt, Chief Executive of Home Delivery Network Limited said: “We are delighted to accept this award for Large Supplier of the Year for the second year running by the IMRG in their OnLine Green Awards. Our strategic focus on getting greener at grass roots has made a promising start, with cutbacks and sustainable practices implemented and tangible savings being made throughout the business.” “Our approach to CSR is a holistic one and we are committed to developing a relevant, credible and sustainable programme.

The Department for Transport has published the statistical bulletin Transport Statistics: Road Traffic and Congestion in Great Britain Q2 2008 according to arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. This bulletin includes first release of the following National Statistics:

* Provisional estimates for road traffic in Great Britain for the second quarter of 2008
* Provisional estimates for inter-urban congestion in England for the year ending June 2008.

Road traffic

Figures for 2008 are provisional. Final 2008 figures will be published in July 2009 and are liable to differ slightly from the provisional figures.

The provisional figures show a decrease of 0.5 per cent in overall estimated traffic levels between the second quarters of 2007 and 2008.

The bulletin includes breakdowns by vehicle type and road class. Key results include:

Between the second quarters of 2007 and 2008

* Car traffic decreased by 2 per cent.
* Light van traffic increased by 4 per cent.
* Heavy goods vehicle traffic increased by 1 per cent.
* Traffic on motorways was unchanged.
* Traffic on both rural 'A' roads and urban 'A' roads decreased by 2 per cent.

* Traffic on rural minor roads increased by 3 per cent.
* Traffic on urban minor roads was unchanged.

Inter-urban congestion

This quarterly bulletin includes National Statistics on congestion on motorways and trunk roads in England used to monitor the PSA measure on inter-urban congestion. Between the CSR07 baseline year ending March 2008 and the year ending June 2008, provisional figures show that:

* Average vehicle delay on the slowest 10% of journeys fell from 3.95 to 3.86 minutes per 10 miles.

An intrepid team of friends and colleagues made it to Paris in time for the Tour de France finale yesterday after setting off from London on their own cycle race to raise money for charity.

The bike ride, which covered 328 miles in total, began last Wednesday from Tower Bridge, London and culminated in Paris, France on Saturday. Fourteen riders hit the road after pledging their support to raise much needed funds for the Prospect Hospice in Swindon and the Marie Curie Cancer Care Hospice in Solihull.

Paul Miller, Head of Procurement at Home Delivery Network (HDNL), who helped to organise the charity race said: “The idea of a charity bike ride started off as a joke at a friend’s barbeque last year, but after a year of serious training and hard work we’re extremely proud of the whole team and the money they’ve raised. We’d like to s ay a big thank you to everyone who has supported us.”

Paul unfortunately had to pull out of the race, following an injury whilst training but was on hand to cheer the team on their journey to Paris. The team was supported by HDNL, the UK’s largest home delivery and collection service and Vauxhall Movano who provided a van which acted as a support vehicle throughout the race.

If you would like to make a donation to the team, please visit www.justgiving.com/london2paris2008

ByBox, the UK's market leader in overnight parts distribution, has the solution for green-minded consumers who want to buy products distributed with the minimum possible impact on the environment.

And the need for such a service has been further reinforced by the latest survey by online retail group IMRG which shows that more than three-quarters of consumers would choose a carbon-friendly delivery method over traditional delivery methods – and many even said they would pay more for carbon-friendly delivery.

The good news is that ByBox have established a distribution system that is 83 per cent more efficient than traditional methods. The ByBox system means that distribution vehicles travel five times fewer miles per parcel than vehicles using traditional delivery methods, according to a study by Professor Alan McKinnon of Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University. Consequently ByBox’s carbon footprint is significantly less than companies using standard distribution methods.

The ByBox ‘pass the parcel’ system is simple but effective - consolidate multiple deliveries into a single location, transport them at night when there is less congestion and less likelihood of delay, and deliver them into a dropbox for the customer to collect when most convenient.

The ByBox system removes the need for legions of small vans on the roads during the day trying to make deliveries to people who are not there and thus, inevitably, having to make return visits, increasing congestion and fuel consumption. It also means that customers need not go to a depot to collect their parcels should they not be present when delivery is attempted – thereby eradicating additional journeys that add to the environmental impact of delivery.

And as the deliveries are made at night when the roads are less congested there is less chance of delays drivers cover less distance and do not use as much fuel.

The result is a more-consumer friendly, carbon and time efficient service where goods still arrive on time but with fewer miles traveled.

ByBox already makes 20 million deliveries a year in the UK using this system, primarily for the distribution of parts and equipment urgently required by companies with mobile service teams.

But it has plans to extend the reach of the service to benefit the many more consumers now using online retailing and others that require more flexible, convenient and regular delivery methods for all manner of goods.

ByBox Chief Executive Stuart Miller said: "Global warming is a major issue and everyone has to play their part reducing emissions.

“We are glad to be able to innovate in the distribution sector and find new methods that both reduce emissions and provide cutting-edge solutions that meet the needs of our customers.”

ByBox now holds around 70 per cent of the field service market and has recently expanded its number of boxes and is looking to develop new markets.

Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services, has agreed Royal Mail's proposed changes to its retail compensation arrangements for lost, damaged and delayed mail.

The key changes, which come into effect from 1 August 2008, are:

• For items posted with Royal Mail which have no intrinsic value (for example a 1st or 2nd class letter), or where a claimant cannot provide proof of posting, there will be compensation for loss, damage and delay of a minimum of six 1st class stamps (currently worth £2.16);
• For items that have an intrinsic value, with proof of posting with Royal Mail and proof of value (such as an invoice or receipt) customers will be entitled to a postage refund plus compensation for actual loss up to the value of the item, or 100 1st class stamps (currently £36), whichever is the lowest;
• compensation for delayed retail mail will become payable one day earlier than at present - three working days after the due delivery date instead of four;
  £5 and £10 payments for delay and substantial delay will be discontinued, except for Special Delivery Next Day (not posted on account);
• Redirected retail mail will now be eligible for compensation for delay; and
• users of the Articles for the Blind service will now be able to claim compensation for loss, damage and delay.

The new compensation arrangements simplify and align the processes for making a claim, the evidence required to support a claim, and the compensation payments themselves.

Royal Mail estimates that the new arrangements will result in a slight overall increase in the total compensation payable under the retail scheme.

Further details are available on Royal Mail's website:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump1?catId=69800720&mediaId=69800733