Christopher de Saxe

Dear HVTT Forum Subscribers, Postponement of HVTT16 In case you missed the announcement in a previous email, the HVTT16 Symposium that was planned to be held in Qingdao, China in October 2020 has been postponed. A new date will be determined and it is planned that this will be announced by the organisers on 15 July. Effect of panic-buying on the Australian supply chain The Australian road freight industry and regulating bodies have risen to the challenge of COVID-19. The industry has been a star performer amid the unprecedented panic-buying that cleared supermarket shelves to an extent many of us have never seen in our lifetimes. Citizens were assured that the lack of goods on the shelves was not so much a matter of ‘running out’ as it was a signal that our supply chain was stretched to its limit due to the spike in demand. The industry worked hard... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum Subscribers, I hope this newsletter finds all of you and your families in good shape in these unusual times. Life here in Europe has changed significantly for most of us because of Covid pandemic. Schools and universities are mostly closed and education is being practiced as e-learning. People are encouraged to limit social contact and, if the profession allows, to work from home. To a certain extent it is rather pleasant as one has more time to spend with the family, though combining normal work duties with role of home teacher, especially for small children, requires some patience. Teleconferencing represents a special category of tools which became ‘’our daily bread’’ on a large scale. Personally, I do not find it that inconvenient as it keeps you focused on the topic, on the other hand it can develop into a rather high adrenaline event due to the unexpected... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscriber It seems that every time I start to write an IFRTT newsletter there is an international crisis reaching the daily headlines. Currently the Coronavirus is of great concern – besides the rapidly increasing number of daily fatalities & infections and the impact on the economies of several countries, China in particular, there is the uncertainty of when (surely not “and if”) the virus will be brought under control. The devastating fires in Australia are also tragic from a number of perspectives. The weather in South Africa seems to be reasonably well-behaved at present; dam levels across the country are not critical but remain a concern at approximately 50%. Perhaps it is not the focus on water security but the focus on the importance of sustainability in transport that remains arguably low. An excerpt from the draft Green Transport Strategy for South Africa: “The Department of Transport is... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscriber, As another calendar year draws to a close, it is my pleasure to share a few truck-related notes that have recently crossed my desk. In this issue of the newsletter, you’ll find information about ongoing work to quantify truck loads on infrastructure and the challenge of accommodating trucks in urban areas. Truck loads on infrastructure For those of you planning to attend the Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Washington DC next month, consider attending Workshop 1086: Employing Weigh-in-Motion Data to Design, Rate, Manage, and Preserve Our Nation’s Bridge Structures. This workshop brings together bridge and traffic data collection experts and practitioners to discuss how real-world truck weight data can be leveraged to reduce risk and more efficiently address bridge needs. The workshop features an overview of the bridge-related research needs identified in the 2019 TRB Consensus Study Report on Research to Support Evaluation... Read More

Dear friends of the IFRTT, We are now less than one year away from the HVTT16 in Qingdao. I am painfully aware that too little information has been communicated so far, but there is hope! Now the promotion film has been updated and uploaded to Youtube: https://youtu.be/3r4kH1pBvEU Have a look at it!! You will see a very dynamic country with regards to road transport and logistics. The promotion film may look like exaggerated advertising, but I can testify that it well reflects the reality in China. Please visit YouTube and share the video with your respective friend groups and please mention the dates for the HVTT16, October 13-16 2020 in Qingdao and the webpages below. The Chinese organizers, RIOH plan to invite many relevant stakeholders to the HVTT. Due to the Chinese digital firewall they prefer to put the webpage on a Chinese server, which is both rational and understandable.... Read More