EEC tonnages down
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
PRELIMINARY indications from the EEC Commission show that tonnages carried by road in the Common Market continued to decline in the first quarter of this year but there are hopeful signs of an improvement later, reports our Brussels correspondent.
More road haulage companies, questioned about their prospects, were pessimistic than at the beginning of 1982, states the Commission in its quarterly transport survey. But a majority of firms were optimistic of a recovery in the second quarter. A total of 13 per cent of firms even reported they were hiring drivers, with firms in some countries finding recruitment difficult.
Nevertheless firms are still re luctant to spend money. Overall, the percentage of companies making investments has fallen from 38 per cent to 32 per cent and the decline was most marked in France and the UK. Cash-flow remains a problem with the percentage of firms encountering difficulties increasing to 50 per cent. Final EEC figures for 1982 show that tonnages carried by road, rail and inland waterways fell by 2.4 per cent. Only the road sector showed any growth (0.4 per cent in the final quarter).
But there was a much sharper increase of 6 per cent in the final quarter of 1982 in power vehicles using ro/ro ferries between Britain and the Continent. But foreign-registered vehicles are grabbing an increased share of this traffic. According to the EEC figures, UK-registered powered vehicles now have only a 48 per cent share of the ro/ro business compared to 52 per cent in the third quarter of last year.
This is the first time since 1974 that foreign vehicles have outnumbered British vehicles on the ferries. The French are making most headway and their share of the traffic has risen to 20 per cent.