41 tonnes? Not for everyone!
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• Dealers finding it difficult to shift lowhorsepower used ex-supermarket buybacks should remember that not everybody operates at 40/41 tonnes or even 38 tonnes.
"There is a lot of light work about, with people running at 32 tonnes or even less," says Nigel Birkmyre, managing director of Scania dealership West Pennine Trucks, He suggests that well over 50% of artic operators bulk out before they weigh out.
West Pennine has made a lot of progress in the used truck market so far this year, says Birkmyre, with supermarket-spec tractors selling well, despite reports about their undesirability.
"People are going for vehicles up to five years old," he says. "Older examples are selling too, but it's much more difficult to move them on."
The company covers Manchester, the Potteries, and the area westwards
towards the Welsh border, and has just relocated its Telford depot into larger premises. With four workshop bays, it covers 65om2, and employs six technicians.
Opening hours are Gam to wpm Monday to Friday, and 6am to 2pm on Saturdays. "We've had to expand because operators are progressively turning to contract maintenance," Birkmyre says.