UK loses Channel lid
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• by Guy Sheppard UK hauliers' share of crossChannel freight traffic has shrunk from 51% to 36% in the past five years, according to the Freight Transport Association.
It says the latest quarterly figures from the Department of Transport show the decline is speeding up, and that the Germans are gaining most from the trend.
Between April and June the number of German-registered vehicles entering the UK rose by 60% compared with the same period last year. The number of Dutch and East European vehicles increased by 20%.
FTA economist Simon Chapman says the figures underline the competitive disadvantage that UK hauliers are facing from high road taxes and the strong pound: "Hauliers' contracts ultimately stand or fall on the operators' cost relative to their competitors."
His comments are borne out by David Rogers, managing director of Northampton-based EM Rogers Transport: "A lot of foreign companies are coming
in and charging in Deutsohmarks and Lira, and beating us in that way" He says
that of the 65 tractors fleet, 40 are going abroad week. Two or three years t would have been another 10 John Smith, managing d tor of Kent-based L Transport International, the number of its Vac engaged in Continental has fallen from 25 to 15 ir past five years.
"Our core business European groupage, and I has been an increase in number of foreign-regisl vehicles that we would con to move our groupage, bec they are cheaper," says S