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Recession forces construction firms to slash fleet sizes and staff numbers
Page 13
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By Joanna Bourke SPECIALIST CONSTRUCTION hauliers are cutting fleet sizes and staff to avoid failure in the recession.
The Road Haulage Association estimates 100,000 trucks are dedicated to construction. and director of policy Jack Semple says the sector has got steadily worse each month since May 2008. As a result, tipper operator WM Quinn Group is selling part of its fleet as a way of surviving the slump.
According to Gary Brown, plant manager at the Ardwick, Manchester-based WM Quinn. at least one employee per week since midNovember has been laid off.
The arm has instructed Malcolm Harrison Auctions to sell nine HGVs and 19 vans on 7 March so it can focus on demolition work rather than transportation. WM Quinn believes that if it can keep its head above water until November, it will he safe.
"We have seen no pick-up, so this is an opportunity to offload vehicles while we can. It will be a case of investing in new trucks when business picks up," Brown says.
Meanwhile, in Llanelli, Wales, Ian Jarmin, environmental and legislation manager at Owens Road Services, tells CM the group is concentrating its efforts on fast-moving consumer goods and will only return to the other sectors when the market picks up.
The decision comes after the company had to lay off 42 drivers in November 2008 as a result of the construction slowdown ('Credit crunch claims victims across industry', CM 13 November 2008),