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There's no profit in low margins
Page 28
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AS YOU report in this week's issue (CM 3 November), average profit margins in the haulage industry have shrunk to 2.5 To. In fact if you look closely at the company accounts you publish you'll find many firms say they are satisfied by margins of considerably less than 2.5%.This includes some of the UK's biggest haulage and distribution companies.
My bank pays me anywhere between 2.5% and 5% depending on the savings account I choose, and for considerably less time and effort than running a haulage companyThere are no drivers to worry about, no trucks stuck in traffic, no costly breakdowns, no soaring fuel costs and no customers breathing down your neck.
I appreciate that haulage has always been a low-margin business, but the rewards on offer for the time and effort involved seem pathetic. Given all that, you begin to wonder why so many carry on in this business.
I can only assume that like small boys with train sets, there is still an enduring fascination with owning and operating big trucks— no matter what it does to your health wealth or sanity.
Phil Moore Kingston, Surrey