Be proud of your job
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If the Queen had celebrated her coronation with a visit to the 1952 Commercial Motor Show she would no doubt have been very happy to know that her new kingdom not only had a thriving truck-building industry, but also produced some of the best CVs in the world. Check out this photo taken at Earl’s Court on the opening day. I can count no less than 16 British truck marques. In fact, in 1952 UK hauliers had at least 30 domestic truck makes to choose from.
But while our truck-building industry has been decimated in 60 years, it’s a different story when it comes to our haulage industry. Admittedly, only a small percentage of the firms that were around in 1952 are still trading today, but those that have survived have an incredible story to tell.
Just check out these stats: in 1952 there were 450,000 goods vehicles on the road, which together moved 32 billion tonne km. By 2010 this number had shrunk to 390,000, yet the goods moved had increased to 151 billion tonne km.
That’s an amazing leap in productivity. In comparison, the number of cars on the road increased from 2.22 million in 1952 to 27 million today. In other words, in 1952 every truck shared the roads with five cars, whereas today the ratio is one truck for every 69 cars! And some say trucks are responsible for causing congestion! What’s more, in 60 years the average speed has doubled, fuel economy has improved dramatically, emissions have been slashed and productivity has risen four-fold. That’s something Her Majesty can be proud of. In fact, it’s something you can all be proud of.
Will Shiers
Commercial Motor – the official UK journal of the International Truck of the Year and International Van of the Year Awards