Welcome to This Week in Freight, your go-to source for the latest haulage and road freight news and advice in the UK.
Freight thefts are surging across the UK — but hauliers are pushing back. A new alliance between Logistics UK and TAPA EMEA aims to share intelligence and strengthen defences before criminals strike again.
We also take a look at how operators are upgrading fleets without draining cash reserves, with a deep dive into the best HGV finance and leasing options available today.
Meanwhile, in Europe, a German haulier’s decision to install full bathrooms in its cabs has sparked debate: can comfort perks really fix a driver shortage rooted in pay and conditions?
Plus, we round up the latest in EV freight trials, new logistics hubs, hydrogen innovation, and charging breakthroughs across the UK and Europe.
🛡️ British hauliers unite against freight crime
Freight thefts cost the UK nearly £700m a year — and hauliers are fighting back.
Logistics UK and TAPA EMEA have formed a new alliance to share intelligence, raise security standards and protect drivers.
The partnership builds on wider efforts to improve safety, including links with NAVCIS and Motorway Buddy. It’s a united front for safer roads and more secure loads.
→ Read how the industry is joining forces.
💰 How to fund your next fleet upgrade
Replacing ageing HGVs can drain capital fast — but smart financing could ease the strain.
From leasing and hire purchase to sale-and-leaseback, our new guide breaks down the main funding options for hauliers looking to modernise their fleets, including:
- How each financing model works
- What to check before signing
- How greener finance options support electric and hybrid trucks.
→ Explore which HGV finance option fits your business.
🚛 Onboard bathrooms: fix or gimmick?
A German haulier has fitted its trucks with full bathrooms — shower, toilet, and all — as Europe faces 426,000 unfilled driver roles.
But critics say no amount of comfort can fix deeper issues like low pay, long hours and poor facilities.
Across Europe, firms are testing everything from housing support to fixed shifts to make driving more attractive.
→ See which perks actually make a difference.
Also worth a read
- ⚡ Electric courier vans are improving fast — but are they truly ready for long routes and heavy loads?
- 🚛 A major UK eHGV trial has clocked over half a million zero-emission miles, proving electric trucks can already compete on cost and reliability.
- 🌍 Global supply chains are being reshaped by geopolitics as Western economies rethink their dependence on China.
- 🔋 Renault Trucks has mapped nearly 500 public charging stations for electric HGVs across Europe, showing progress but exposing how far infrastructure still has to go.
- ❄️ Everything you need to know about cold chain logistics — from temperature control and tracking to the tech keeping food and pharma freight fresh.
Movers & shakers
Here are this week’s big developments across road haulage:
- 🔋 Bosch has deployed a 40-tonne Iveco hydrogen truck at its Nuremberg plant to test real-world performance of its in-house fuel cell power module.
- 🍺 Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, has partnered with GXO and Renault Trucks to roll out new eHGVs as part of the Electric Freightway project.
- 📦 Carousel Logistics has launched a UK and Ireland PUDO network, giving engineers and field staff faster, label-free parts collection and returns.
- ⚙️ Voltempo has started series production of its HGV HyperCharger in Birmingham — the UK’s first megawatt charging system built for electric trucks.
