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Boom time for the tippermen
Page 14
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• Tipper operators working for the construction industry are enjoying a boom period, says Mick Binns of the National Owner Drivers Association — but he does not expect it to last beyond the end of this year.
"The construction industry has had an absolutely amazing 12 months," says Binns. "Budgets are being exceeded and drivers are doing more work than ever."
A spokesman for leading aggregate suppliers ARC says the company expects its output to rise by as much as 40% this year because of the increase in civil engineering operations, commercial construction work and housebuilding. "This means a steady improvement in the fortunes of hauliers," he says.
ARC contracts its transport work out to over 900 ownerdrivers and reckons that the level of confidence in the construction business is so high that hauliers are renewing their vehicles on the strength of it, which has a knock-on effect for vehicle manufacturers.
The latest trend survey from the British Aggregate Construction Materials Industries confirms that the high level of construction output in 1988 continued throughout the first quarter of 1989.
Demand for ready-mixed concrete was particularly strong, with a 16% increase over the first quarter of 1988. Sales of sand and gravel aggregates also grew in the first quarter, up 6% over the same period a year ago, while crushed rock aggregate sales were up by 1%.
Tyneside operator Hargreaves Freight moves conditioned ash from power stations for the construction industry. Transport manager Pat McCann says that work has really picked up over the past year — and he expects it to be even busier over the next six to 12 months.
Binns is less optimistic: "A lot of the commercial work now being carried out was in the pipeline before the recent rises in interest rates," he says. "There has already been a drop in domestic house building and I think we shall see a reduction in the amount of construction work generally by the end of the year. The bubble will burst."
The BACMI survey shows there has already been a 7% fall in road surfacing material sales this year.