MORE pressure is being put on the government to sort out highways congestion which could seriously affect companies transporting goods through Gwent.

Towards the end of last year, a survey showed that it was taking twice as long to get from the Severn bridges to Cardiff at peak times.

Data from Trafficmaster, the traffic information company, showed that this particular journey almost doubled to 73 minutes during the evening rush in November.

The Road Haulage Association has for a long time considered the journey through Newport's lane-switching M4 section to be among the most frustrating its members encounter anywhere in the UK.

Now, the Freight Transport Association is predicting more delays throughout the country's motorway network, citing the M4 westwards through Newport as typical of what it thinks might happen.

It has produced a map showing how far lorries travel now in three hours and the reduction expected without the full implementation of the government's ten-year plan to improve roads and tackle congestion.

James Hookham, the FTA's director of policy, told me that in three hours today, at 56mph, a lorry can travel from Chepstow to Haverfordwest. Without planned improvements it will get only as far as east of Carmarthen.

"This might not seem a lot for a single journey, but if you are a company scheduling journeys day in, day out, it could well mean having to build a distribution depot closer to your destinations or buying more lorries and drivers," he said.

"This is is not the road lobby banging on again. It is not just about building roads. " Traffic management plans need to be pulled together everywhere."

All road haulage groups say the extra journey times translated into heavier costs, which eventually get back to their customers, who then pass them on to the consumer.

"Road congestion is the curse of modern logistics," Mr Hookham said. "It causes unpredictability in journey times and results in more vehicles needing to be used to meet deadlines and stay within the strict drivers' hours requirements."

The FTA's conclusions are drawn from the latest research into journey times. If reductions in time travelled turn out as predicted, the FTA says it would mean a loss in productivity of 27% and a cost to UK industry of up to an estimated £7 billion a year.

The first estimates assume that none of the government's Ten Year Plan will be delivered. The next stage of research will incorporate reductions in traffic flow that would be expected with the greater use of public transport.

Once the whole programme of research is completed, it is hoped that logistics distribution managers will be better able to predict journey times.

"These figures highlight the need for the government to deliver on its promised investment in the nation's transport infrastructure published in 2000," Mr Hookham said. "This includes the plans to increase rail passenger numbers by 50% and rail freight by 80%. Without this, parts of the country will become out of reach for current distribution arrangements."

The problem on the M4 at Newport is normally perceived as one for local motorists - something they have to endure.

But there are increasing signs that congestion is giving the region a bad name.