The trade association for UK freight forwarders started the year with the highest number of members it has ever had, many of which attended another extremely successful Freight Service Awards ceremony in London in late January.
Early in the year, BIFA also welcomed a new face to its secretariat, with Mike Jones coming onboard to work on policy and compliance issues within the Trade Services Department.
With the closure of the Skills for Logistics in January, early Spring saw BIFA further promote the wide range of courses it provides as a training services provider, across all freight modes.
February saw high level meetings with HMRC to discuss the changes to the Union Customs Code; and with Maritime and Coastguard Agency to discuss issues concerning container weighing, which both come into force in 2016.
And training was on the agenda for BIFA at Multimodal 2015 in April, where its representatives emphasised its focus on raising training standards in the industry to the 8,500 plus attendees at the event.
May saw BIFA engaged in much lobbying ahead of the General Election. The trade association made it clear to all in parliament that whilst BIFA is resolutely apolitical and favours no party in government, it wants all those in the corridors of power in Westminster to ensure that those involved in the facilitation of international trade are at the forefront of government thinking and policy.
The year has been dominated by dreadful events at the Channel Tunnel and has seen BIFA repeatedly call for action to address the problems being caused by the would-be illegal immigrants attempting to stowaway on trucks. For the last six months of the year, the trade association pressed the authorities in France and the UK to step up their protection of the routes across the Channel and fulfil their obligations to let trade move unhindered before serious damage is done to this strategic freight route.
Early summer saw Fred Osborn succeed Carson McMullan as BIFA’s national chairman, with Mark Bromley becoming Vice Chairman, as well as the launch of a more attractive website with greater functionality and accessibility.
Following the report by the Airports Commission on airport capacity in the UK, BIFA backed the report’s proposal that the UK must push ahead on the expansion of aviation capacity with a new runway at Heathrow.
In July, following the budget, BIFA said that it felt that there is some evidence that the UK Government is listening to the advice it is getting trom the UK’s logistics sector and noted the new “secure zone” being created at Calais for lorries; freeze in fuel duty and planned investment in the UK’s road infrastructure, as being positive signs. Towards the end of the year, there was good news on two fronts.
Firstly BIFA Board member Steve Parker been elected President of the European Forwarders Association, CLECAT. Secondly BIFA held a highly successful event in Central London to kick off a nationwide tour of roadshows, which will focus on the impacts on the forwarding landscape of the implementation of the Union Customs Code and the amendment to SOLAS requiring the verification of gross mass of containers prior to loading.
Other than the UCC and container weighing, a key objective in the coming year is to continue the work on more comprehensive educational material available to BIFA Members online. BIFA has wrestled with this topic for the past few years and believes it has an emerging strategy which will become clear as 2016 goes on. Of course, later in 2016, the FIATA World Congress will be held on BIFA’s doorstep in Dublin and the trade association expects to see a large contingent of its members crossing the Irish Sea next October in order to attend the event.
BIFA Membership
1,500 corporate members
BIFA Events in 2016
BIFA Freight Service Awards 2015-16 – 21st January 2016
BIFA Regional Annual Dinner – LIVERPOOL – Friday 26th February 2016
020 8844 3634
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