Scots find it tougher
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• Scottish hauliers continue to find trading conditions tougher than those experienced by their competitors south of the border, according to Government statistics out last week.
Provisional Scottish Office estimates show that for the year to the end of March Scottish tipper operators watched output in the construction industry fall by nearly 6%.
This compares unfavourably with the figures for the whole of Great Britain which showed that over the same period construction output rose by 3.3%.
In Scotland public and private house building activity remained steady but contractors and hauliers were hit by a sharp fall in construction of public sector buildings coupled with a parallel decrease in office building.
According to Fife-based independent tipper operator Bob Willison, private house building has been declining since February: "Work has dropped off by around 10%, and the majority of tipper drivers are scrabbling around for work," he says. "Things look likely to remain very patchy."
However, hauliers working for the electrical and instrument engineering industry in Scotland were boosted by a 23% rise in output over the year, which was double the rise in the sector throughout the UK.