Making do, won't do: we need to boost sales With
Page 35
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
fewer new starts, hauliers making do and some going under, demand has fallen in line with supply In March and April everyone in remarketing was bemoaning the same thing: volume. Where are all the vehicles?
Well, they are not there, they never were, and don't say you weren't warned. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders had it all in black and white. In 2009, just 27,938 truck registrations (6 tonnes and over) were recorded, down 42.6% on 2008, and it beat the previous record of 29,528 set in 1992. In 2010, it set another record: just 27,588 registrations.
There was a time when 12 months' worth of registrations would beat those two figures combined. So there can be little surprise that in 2013 the number of late-year trucks coming through has been pitiful. During the drought when used trucks were plentiful, one renowned dealer stated that he never "worried his head" about tomorrow.
No surprise today to see his website showing just one used truck registered in 2009, the rest are all older. That is mirrored across much of the independent sector, the used truck market today bears no resemblance to what it was three years ago.
Once volume is fully lamented, attention turns to demand — the life-blood of the used market. You can't sell what you don't have, and with some predicting another decade of low volumes, something is needed to generate sales for tomorrow's used truck market.
With fewer new starts, hauliers making do and a host of businesses going under, demand has fallen in line with supply. Some momentum to raise volumes for the future is in place. Euro-6 helps, in a fashion, to force operators to buy new Euro-5 trucks before the end of the year, but government incentives are needed and more lenient borrowing options would also help.
But we need more, otherwise, dear dealer, you might not have a head to worry about.