1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174 
All-time low for road freight
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• by Nicky Taylor Road freight growth in the UK is at its lowest level ever recorded and is expected to fall further, with hauliers in construction and agriculture being particularly badly hit.
The figures come from the Freight Transport Association's Quarterly Transport Activity Survey. It found that only 25% of respondents reported an increase in activity levels during the first quarter of this year, with growth being far less vigorous than anticipated by operators at the beginning of 2003.
The ETA attributes the poor figures to a fragile economy, tabs in high street spending and low business confidence. Only the North of England showed sustained levels of growth in transport activity.
In the construction industry a Quarter of respondents said they expected road freight activity to fall between April and June after a rise at the beginning of the year.
The Office of National Statistics says construction output fell by 2.6% during the first quarter of the year. "This is likely to have a delayed impact on the construction transport industry," adds ETA economics analyst Rachael Hare. Barnstaple-based William C Hockin has seen his construction haulage volumes fall by 30% in recent months. One customer, local chimney manufacturer Selkirk Europe, went into administrative receivership last week. Hockin delivered three vehicle loads of the manufacturer's products nationwide every week.
As with construction, a quarter of respondents in the agricultural industry also expected a fall in volumes after a rise at the beginning of the year.
• Activity levels for international hauliers fell throughout 2001 and 2002, and the FTA warns that the downward trend is expected to persist as UK hauliers continue to face tough competition from Continental operators with lower costs.