As you’ll already know, snow can severely impact your deliveries. While we may be dreaming of a white Christmas, for those who work in logistics, it’s a very different story, as it makes the delivery and shipment of goods incredibly difficult.
In Britain, businesses have been known to come to a standstill as a result of heavy snowfall. In February 2009, Britain received the most snow that many areas had received in some 18 years – in Devon, for example, 55cm of snow fell overnight. The snow temporarily shut Britain down, with resources stretched. At one point, we were using 25,000 tonnes of road salt a day to grit our motorways and main roads, despite suppliers only being able to provide 30,000 tonnes per week.
As a result, road salt was rationed and many roads posed dangers for drivers, leading the AA to label them ‘death traps’. In order to ensure a situation like this doesn’t arise this winter, it’s imperative that our councils have the correct stocks of road salt to combat the snow and ice. Fabric structure manufacturer, Rubb Buildings, creates salt barns that are used to store road salt. They have gathered data from local councils about the amount of road salt they have in stock.
Which UK council has the most road salt stocked for 2016/17? Lincolnshire Council has the highest levels of road salt in stock for winter 2016/17 at 50,000 tonnes. Last year, the council stocked 35,000 tonnes in total and spread 10,010 tonnes over the course of the winter.
Despite stocking the highest level of road salt in the UK, the region receives a relatively low number of sleet and snowfall days on average each year – between 10 and 30 days. However, while the number of snow days may not be as high as other parts of the UK, the region still receives its fair share of snow. In 2010, parts of Lincolnshire received up to 40cm of snow – perhaps the council’s precautions are to ensure they are fully prepared once the snow hits.
Following behind Lincolnshire were Durham and Northumberland, areas with the second and third highest stores of road salt. Durham has stockpiled 42,580 tonnes, while Northumberland has 37,000 tonnes stored. Considering the counties receive between 20 and 50 snowfall days on average each year and their combined track record for using a large amount of road salt, this seems a wise move by the councils.
Where needs the least amount of road salt?
If you operate around Cornwall, you could find yourself dodging some of the bad weather. On average, the region receives just 7.4 days of snowfall on average each year. However, to avoid leaving it to chance, Cornwall Council has stocked 19,315 tonnes of road salt for this winter to ensure they’re fully prepared should the white stuff make it to the coastal county.
While we don’t know when the snow will arrive, we do know that UK councils are doing all they can to stock the resources they need to keep our roads safe.
RUBB BUILDINGS
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