The worst is yet to come
Page 9
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The tragedy of foot and mouth continues to worsen with every passing day with the only livestock being moved in significant numbers this week being carcasses for burial. The enormity of the operation is clear for all to see. Little wonder that Snowie Holdings, the haulage company involved with the mass burial, is asking anyone it speaks to for spare drivers.
The enormity of the effects on UK plc in general, and the haulage industry in particular, have yet to become quite so dear, but what is obvious is that they will be very wide-reaching. Good news, then, that some relief is available for hauliers in terms of the relaxed drivers' hours rules already announced (CM 15-21 March) and the latest statement that Customs & Excise and the Inland Revenue have been told to deal leniently with those suffering cashflow problems because of the disaster.
But more help will be needed. While it may be too early to expect any response from the government to the industry's calls for compensation, in the longer term these calls must be taken seriously, if many more businesses are not to take the same route as the animals they are so tragically transporting.
• At least 15,000, possibly 20,000 used trucks could be rotting away in dealerships, fields, open-cast mines and airfields, according to CAP (see page 53). We all knew there were trucks being put out to grass, but these figures are shockingly high. Perhaps now is time for manufacturers to rethink the shortterm leasing deals and buyback policies that have contributed to this mess, for their own sake as well as that of the countryside.