Pallet volumes on the up after bumper first quarter
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By Chris Druce THE FIRST QUARTER of 2011 saw signiicant growth for the pallet networks, according to the latest Association of Pallet Networks (APN) survey.
The survey of its eight members, which represent more than 600 hauliers, reveals 3.6 million pallets were moved in the irst quarter – an 8.7% improvement compared with a year ago.
The volume is 25% higher than the irst quarter of 2009, suggesting a sustained recovery is under way, buoyed by record monthly business last September (which was the highest month for pallet throughput recorded since APN started collecting data in January 2007), despite a recent slew of forecasts revising down UK economic growth.
APN says next-day services made up the lion’s share of overall volumes, accounting for 62%, despite a slight shift towards economy deliveries in the recent recession-affected years. Members’ trunk trailer utilisation in the period was 73%, helping mitigate instances of empty running.