Peel Ports secures 50 companies for its Cargo200 campaign

Peel Ports has secured the support of 50 companies for its Cargo200 campaign and is now calling on other North West shippers to help bolster the campaign.

With the aim of slashing road and rail freight mileage by 200m miles in the next five years, the port operator is asking importers and exporters whose goods either begin or end their journey in the North to switch ocean freight delivery from ports in the South East to the more central Port of Liverpool.

Retailer B&M, automaker Jaguar Land Rover and fashion firm Matalan are among the first 50 names to back the Cargo200 initiative.

The head of supply chain at B&M, Jerome Wildsmith, said: “Shipping through Liverpool offers B&M massive benefits. By removing 4m miles of transport we save significantly in our onward transport costs, reduce the carbon emitted and reduce the likelihood of delays on the UK network.

“Not only that, but by using the port close to our distribution centre, we can use Peel Ports’ value-added services, such as their flexible storage and warehouse offerings.”

He added: “The first line to offer direct calls into Liverpool on our key shipping routes is likely to benefit in a huge volume gain, not just from B&M, but the many companies like us in the North-West region.”

Peel Ports believes switching to the Port of Liverpool could save companies up to £400 for every container shipped, in addition to significantly reducing carbon emissions.

Jaguar Land Rover distribution manager Gareth Williams said: “The growth of our business on a global level brings challenges as well as opportunities.

“With plants in the West Midlands and in Liverpool, we join the call to shipping lines and logistics service providers to make better use of the infrastructure in the North of England to shorten supply chains, reduce carbon, and improve transport economics.”

The news follows the announcement that Peel Ports has teamed up with shipping firm Quality Freight UK to launch a new container service between Liverpool and Ellesmere Port.

Mark Taylor, Matalan’s imports operations manager, said: “The benefits we could realise by shipping our 10k boxes through Liverpool are not just sourced from the transport cost savings associated with lower mileage, but from the benefits we will see in our entire supply chain.

“Our fleet of trucks that serve our stores during the day can continue to support the shunt of our containers onto our warehouse site at night without the need of a rail leg from a southern port.

Mark continued: “Additionally, the short distance and night time running all but eliminates the threat of congestion between port and warehouse.

“Equally, we can prioritise which containers we bring off the port and when, so we can be much more responsive to changes in demand from our customers.”

The commercial director at Peel Ports’ Group, Patrick Walters, said that as around half of all UK cargo comes from the North, the Port of Liverpool is “strategically important” as the UK’s most centrally located port.

Patrick continued: “Efficiency and sustainability lie at the heart of the Cargo200 initiative and with the opening of Liverpool2, cargo owners and logistics operators can benefit from a viable, cost effective alternative to southern ports.

“We look forward to welcoming further customers from the shipping and UK logistics sector on board.

“Our next step will be to work with current and new backers on sharing data and carrying out further modelling to reinforce the arguments for shipping via Liverpool.”