New shipping service reduces HGVs on Scotland's trunk roads

15th March 2015

Over 6,300 HGV journeys to be removed from key routes in first three years.

"Corpach timber transport company Boyd Brothers is well on the way to becoming greener thanks to a Scottish Government investment of almost £1 million" said Transport Minister Derek Mackay during a visit to the Highland sawmill today.

The Minister was speaking as he visited Boyd Brother's premises to see at first-hand how they are putting their £959,773 Waterborne Freight Grant to use.

Mr Mackay said:“The new Boyd Brothers shipping service is an excellent example of how the Scottish Government can work in partnership with the private sector to deliver more sustainable freight transport options through modal shift.

It is also very pleasing to see a close partnership approach between a freight operator and its customer, in this case BSW Timber, aimed at achieving greener transport solutions.

“Reducing lorry traffic on the A82 is good for the environment but also for users of the road whether they live in the area or are visiting this spectacular part of Scotland on their holidays.

“I welcome this great opportunity to visit such a thriving port which handles significant volumes of timber and timber products by sea much of which, without freight grant support, would have been transported by road.”

Transport Scotland’s freight grant schemes have enabled the removal of nearly 200 million lorry miles from Scotland's roads. The funding will reduce the number of HGVs travelling on key routes in Scotland such as the A82 and M74 by transporting the timber by sea. Over 6,300 HGV journeys will be removed from these roads during the first three years of operation.

The new service was launched in September last year as a direct result of the Scottish Government funding and will transport sawn-timber produced at BSW’s recently opened sawmill at Corpach to Tilbury in the south-east of England.

Tony Hackney, Chief Executive of BSW Timber, said:“The new shipping service has allowed us to significantly expand our logistics operation in southern England, linked to our new Essex-based southern distribution centre which opened in 2014. It is helping us feed the demand for the high-quality home-grown Scottish timber produced by our Fort William mill, driven by the upturn in the construction sector in London and the south east.”

Callum Boyd, Director of Boyd Brothers, added:“We are delighted to be able to offer the sea freight service to BSW Timber. The vessel we are using will bring grain up from England to be used in Scottish distilleries and is a good fit to take timber back south to Tilbury. The Waterborne Freight Grant is providing vital funding support in the first three years, until we can build up to more cost effective volumes in the future”

Transporting goods by road is often the most cost-effective way for companies however the Waterborne Freight Grant enables goods to be transported by water instead of road without the companies involved being out of pocket.