Fixed double deck trailers represent the best means to transport increased volumes of mixed groceries in HGVs – and the only way for the potential benefits of double decking to be widely realised in the retail sector.

Powered double deckers (with a hydraulically lifting second deck) may look the same but – with the extra weight of their onboard hydraulics – are only suited to lightweight products. In the words of a senior logistics director for one of the supermarkets, they ‘can only carry watercress’.

Powered double deckers typically weigh 5 tonnes more than fixed, significantly restricting their payload. Fixed double deckers, on the other hand, are light enough to carry all mixed product loads.

They also cost 50% less than powered double deck trailers on average, offering the most economical double deck option in terms of capital expenditure.