Stobart completes first eco-trailer delivery

Date: 27/1/2012

Distribution firm Eddie Stobart has completed the first delivery using a new trailer designed to bring down the number of trucks and lorries on UK roads.

The Envirotrailer used by the firm is two metres longer than the current maximum permitted length of 13.6 metres, meaning it is capable of carrying a 20 per cent higher payload than heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

It is operating the trailer as part of a ten-year trial of longer HGVs being conducted by the Department for Transport.

The turning circles and weights of the larger trailers still fall within maximum permitted regulations and Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group William Stobart said they will bring "environmental advantages" to the haulage industry as a whole.

He described the delivery - which consisted of 54 grocery cages for Tesco stores - as "another milestone in the company's history."

The company is also working to improve its freight offerings and last month it relaunched a low-carbon service linking Spain and the UK, which should reduce the number of cross-continent lorry journeys made to deliver fruit and vegetables.

Posted by Nick Anderson