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208 
P HAULAGE MARKET
Page 54
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Bigger players enjoy greater growth
THE TOP END OF the haulage market is becoming increasingly congested, with 70% of the business in the hands of just 200 companies, according to Plimsoll Publishing. Its report, Top 200 Road Haulage Analysis, says the biggest players are engaged in dogfights as they attack one another for shares in the market. As a result, 66 of those 200 firms have shown no increase in sales; 55 are selling less than they did two years ago, 116 companies are increasing investment more than sales; and 93 companies have plunged further into debt just to maintain their place in the market.
David Pattison, senior analyst with Plimsoll, says a number of these firms have borrowed heavily to invest during the profitable growth period of the past few years. However, with the market slowdown, "this ambitious investment strategy has left 47 companies being awarded a danger rating in this study as a result of their failing business strategies".
Pattison thinks these companies will cut staff. change management or cancel projects in order to cut costs. Many will also be sold.
The report comes just one month after Plimsoll warned that one third of UK road haulage companies were showing recessionary behaviour.
More than half of the top 2,000 have seen profits fall, with one quarter running at a loss. One third of firms were seeking short-term finance, suggesting that cash flow was becoming a problem. Pattison predicts that if these trends continue, one in seven haulage concerns could disappear.