BUSINESS BAROMETER
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Trucking Britain Out Of Recession
This week CM launches an initiative that will track the road transport industry’s path to recovery.
By Justin Stanton
THE RECESSION: we’re all in it together – operators, clients, suppliers, dealers and us, the transport media.
Not a week goes by that we don’t write about another irm downsizing or going to the wall; not a week goes by without clients extending their payment terms, or failing to pay on time; not a week goes by without a transport operator opting to quote suicidal rates.
But at some point the recession will end, and conidence will return.
Our new initiative, Trucking Britain Out Of Recession (TBOOR), is a recognition of this. This initiative is being led by CM, and supported by our sister websites and magazine titles: Roadtransport.com and TruckNet UK, Motor Transport and Truck&Driver. It’s also being backed by the Road Haulage Association and many of the industry’s
leading suppliers, including: DAF, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Renault Trucks, Scania, Volvo and Michelin.
TBOOR will reveal the full extent of the impact the recession has had, and then, month by month, we’ll track the industry’s health. Ultimately, it will chart the industry’s journey back towards the light and a growing economy.
By taking part in TBOOR – and following its results (and the more of you that take part, the more robust that data will be) – you can benchmark your operation. The information generated by operators completing the monthly TBOOR survey will appear in CM, starting next month. As and when the fabled ‘green shoots of recovery’ show, you should see them irst in the TBOOR reports over the coming 12 months. ■
What’s the incentive?
Apart from helping your business and the industry in which you operate, everyone who fills in the survey will be entered into a monthly £100 prize draw. After a year, everyone who has filled in a survey will be entered into a draw for £1,000. At this point, each respondent will get one entry for every survey they’ve completed – the more surveys you complete, the greater your chance of winning the prize.
● Don’t waste a moment. Log on to www.roadtransport. com/britain now.
THE SURVEY
The TBOOR survey should take you no more than a few minutes to complete. Each month there will be a series of core questions, allowing us – and you – to compare key issues on a month-to-month basis. These key measures include: ● Turnover ● Volumes ● Utilisation of your fleet ● Staffing ● Business confidence Also, we’ll drop in a series of topical questions throughout the year.