Haulage is still shrinking
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• The number of hauliers has fallen to its lowest level for 10 years, with 65,300 UK companies operating vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
This is down 5% on the 1995 figure of 68,800, and 30% below the 1988 peak of 91,900, according to the 1997 Road Transport Market Survey published by C',1/rs parent company Reed Business Information (see feature, page 42).
There are now 39,400 ownaccount operators and 25,900 hire-or-reward hauliers, and most of them are small. Nearly 80% run less than five trucks; only 2% of businesses can muster fleets of 50 vehicles or more.
The CV parc is also down, from the 1990 peak of 483,000 to 429,200. But while continued efficiencies are expected to further reduce the number of operators over the next couple of years, there is some cause for optimism.
Among the 1,500 operators questioned as part of the survey, nearly half expect to buy new vehicles some time in the next 12 months.