Haulage boom continues
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• Last year was a boom year for the road haulage industry, with public hauliers putting the squeeze on own-account operators and meeting increased demand by switching to 38tonners, says the Department of Transport's 1977-1987 statistical report.
Output jumped by 7% last year to reach 108.6 billion tonne-kilometres. This compares with an average growth rate of 2-3% over the decade. The recent tendency for the public haulage sector to prosper at the expense of ownaccount fleets was emphasised, as own-account work showed absolute falls in both tonnes lifted and tonnes moved.
The number of 38-tonners increased by 20% between the end of 1986 and the end of 1987. Although they still account for less than 10% of HGV stock, they moved over 40% of all goods.
At the same time, the tonnage moved by smaller fouraxle lorries fell by 10%, suggesting that the bulk of increased demand was met by a growth in the numbers and work rate of 38-tonners.
The move to bigger lorries is reflected in the vehicle registration statistics. HGV registrations went up by 11% in 1987 to reach 80,500 vehicles. Nearly 85% of artics now weigh 32 tonnes or more.
Freight traffic through ports in Great Britain increased for the sixth successive year, reaching 456 million tonnes.