Member Article

Green Highway sails away with top logistics award

A significant regeneration programme, designed to revitalise trade along the Manchester Ship Canal by creating the UK’s first ‘Green Highway’, has led to Peel Ports Group being named the top Multi Modal business at this year’s SHD Logistics Awards.

Peel Ports beat off competition from Rushlift and Shippo, to take home the award, after demonstrating innovative thinking and a commitment to creating sustainable logistics solutions, which not just cuts costs for its customers, but reduce harmful CO2 emissions.

The award recognises the growth in trade along the Manchester Ship Canal. In the last five years, the number of containers handled on the canal has risen from 3,000 a year to 22,500.

The growth was enabled by an intricate programme of investment in facilities at a container terminal in Irlam, on the outskirts of Manchester, as well as the launch of a ‘Green Highway Shuttle Service’ ran by Peel Ports’ own shipping line BG Freight. This allows customers to transport goods along a 44-mile stretch of water from the Port of Liverpool to Manchester without their goods ever touching the road.

Further expansion plans will see investment in around 4 million sq. ft. of port-centric warehousing and multimodal logistics hubs along the Manchester Ship Canal at Salford, Warrington and Ellesmere Port. The introduction of the new £300m Liverpool2 deep water container terminal later this year will give Liverpool the capacity to handle the majority of the world’s largest vessels, further supporting this predicted growth.

The ‘Green Highway’ can help customers reduce road mileage and carbon emissions. Transporting a 40ft container from Liverpool to Manchester by water generates 67kg of CO2. Moving the same container by road would generate 123kg of CO2 – a 46% cut in CO2 emissions.

In 2013 alone Peel Ports was able to save 1.25 million kg of CO2 and 1.6 million road miles by transporting goods along the ‘Green Highway’ on the Manchester Ship Canal.

Vic Brodrick, Head of Sales, Peel Ports Mersey, said: “Our use of the Manchester Ship Canal takes infrastructure originally built for the industrial revolution and applies it to the challenges of the 21st century.

“The development of Liverpool2 will see the balance of UK logistics move from south to north and means the Manchester Ship Canal will see an even greater resurgence in trade.

“Currently more than 90% of all UK deep sea container cargo enters the UK through southern ports. However, more than half of those containers are destined for the north.

“If containers destined for points North of Birmingham arrive via Liverpool instead of southern ports it would save 150m unnecessary road or rail miles, remove hundreds of thousands of truck journeys and significantly reduce the CO2 emissions from supply chain activity. Most importantly, it can save up to £300 per container.

“The Green Highway is not futuristic thinking, it’s about reapplying infrastructure and logistics solutions from the past, placing ports at the heart of a country’s commercial activity.

“Ports operating at the heart of supply chains can drive commercial value by reducing the cost of transport improving carbon emissions and reducing the impact of congestion.

“The Green Highway has attracted significant business and interest from major international shipping lines, freight forwarders, importers and exporters, who are realising both the cost and environmental benefits that the service provides.

“This award recognises the fact that Peel Ports is a progressive business committed to the development of its assets. Our long-term vision and joined up thinking will drive economic growth in a sustainable manner for the North West region and the UK as a whole.”

The SHD Logistics Awards recognise excellence within the logistic industry and are the benchmark for outstanding performance throughout the UK. The awards focus on the contribution of individuals, projects, organisations and technologies that have excelled in the use, development and deployment of logistics in the past 12 months.

Peel Ports was named Business of the Year at this year’ Mersey Maritime Industry Awards, thanks to its recent investments at the Port of Liverpool, including Liverpool2.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Laura Berry .