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Difficultbut not impossible
Page 31
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Tough times are coming but this industry is used to tough times, and some problems can become opportunities.
"A VERY HAPPY AND prosperous New Year." How many times did you express that sentiment over the holiday season? The rub is, 2008 will only be a happy and prosperous year for road transport if the industry addresses the issues at hand with focus and determination.
For every road transport operation that has slashed its fuel usage, optimised its vehicle utilisation and weeded out all its unprofitable work. there are two that have not and this is the time to push all such firms onto the back foot.
The French market is much kinder than ours-more territorial, more courteous. Contracts and customers can more easily be kept on a finders-keepers basis.
Ours is certainly more ruthless and more competitive and also better.This is the time for the fittest to prove themselves and the flabby to get down the gym.
The Telegraph and Financial Times are bandying the word `recession'; certainly a GDP contraction is imminent.And along with the credit squeeze, the dollar is likely to gain ground against sterling once more.This is had news for UK operators because oil is bought in dollars. All these things will put pressure on sales and costs -particularly fuel.
The next 12 months will not be easy, but working in road transport never has been easy. If there is an industry practised in the art of the difficult it is this one.
But there will be opportunity, there will be a consistent demand for transport overall and for the dynamic and well managed, there will be success. Remember: nature favours the smart,but fortune favours the brave.