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Peter D Stirling
When rail makes economic sense
Road congestion, unprecedented fuel costs, the Working Time Directive, and other factors besides are causing many an alert management to take a fresh look at distribution modality. In particular, logistics and supply chain professionals are thinking rail. When it comes to bulk commodities, rail has always held an advantage over road but, increasingly, its predictability and reliability, in the UK and throughout Europe, are shifting the economic balance for other product categories. Already, some supermarkets and parcel operators have shifted significant volumes of traffic across to rail.
A leading service provider of this dynamic option is Peter D Stirling, the long-established terminal operator. The company has recently made a major investment to upgrade the facilities at its Mossend Rail Terminal, near Bellshill in Scotland. This has coincided with improvements to the rail network that has led to increased reliability.
To assist this development, Peter D Stirling engaged Davies & Robson to advise on how best to exploit the rail connection. New business traffic from the UK and Europe is already coming on stream: mixed train loads of fmcg products are being loaded at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal in the Midlands for onward delivery throughout Scotland.
As Peter Stirling says, “We have invested heavily in our facilities and are now able to handle trains of up to 425 metres with a full range of handling facilities including an overhead crane, 45 tonne reach stacker as well as a full range of equipment for bulk discharge. With our own rail-connected warehousing, and situated close to the motorway network, we are a natural choice for those companies based in the UK and Europe seeking distribution in Scotland. Any company looking for a gateway to Scotland should talk to us first.”
www.peterdstirling.com
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