This week we have seen a massive increase in European express enquiries for pre-Christmas deliveries. At the start of the week prices were pretty normal. As the week drew on and express operators were trying to position their vehicles to get their drivers home for Christmas, prices have soared as many European operators have been quoting jobs and factoring in running back home empty.
The skills for us to maintain our express prices at a reasonable level is to engage the right driver on the right job at the right time. Loading a foreign driver to deliver in the UK on 22nd / 23rd December will incur a high surcharge as there is no guarantee they will get a load back to their country of origin from the UK.
We look to back load as many UK drivers as we can for UK deliveries just before Christmas and as many foreign drivers as we can for European deliveries. Horses for courses. It’s not always easy getting the right driver in the right place but that’s our job and what we need to be doing for our customers. They rely on us to get the best deal for them by using our knowledge and supplier network.
We see this mad panic every year. It’s like people forget about Christmas and the fact that drivers need to get home too. The express transport market will get back to normal in the New Year and no doubt we will see a return to the madness again next year.
Don’t forget we are still offering a Money Back Guarantee on all European express van work. If we’re late, you don’t pay the rate. Still a few drivers to get home for Christmas so give us a call.
or call our express experts on 01543 412306