1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136 
UK hauliers prepare for battle
Page 6
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• In the first major survey of British hauliers' preparations for the 1992 Single European Market (SEM), Commercial Motor has discovered that UK operators are responding well to the challenge.
Over 43% of the international hauliers we questioned say they have already established business links with Continental operators, and another 19% plan to do so.
More than 17% have set up Continental bases: a further 19% are looking for premises.
British hauliers are also buying Continental operations in preparation for 1992. More than 17% of international operators have done so: 16% more are negotiating now.
Germany apparently holds the greatest promise of growth: over 31% of our survey predicted major potential for expanding operations to and from Germany. France, Spain and Belgium are also seen as good growth markets.
At present, 59% of Britain's international hauliers operate to France, 58% to Germany, 50% to the Netherlands, 45% to Belgium and 28% to Italy.
Almost two thirds of those currently operating on the Continent told us they had experienced growth in European business over the past five years. Only 8.6% reported a drop.
Three years ago operators were having terrible problems getting permits for European destinations, but dramatic increases in the availability of permits have clearly improved the situation fOr British hauliers. Only 13.8% of those questioned reported permit problems, with Spanish permits particularly hard to come by.
Even Britain's domestic hauliers are readying themselves for the SEM. We contacted 353 operators with international licences, but only 16.2% of them operate on the Continent — the remaining 83.8% hold their licences in anticipation of a growth in trade with the Continent.
Despite warnings about cabotage from the Road Haulage Association and the Transport and General Workers Union, Britain's international operators seem undecided about the prospect: 47% of those asked believe their business will not gain from cabotage, but 36% see growth opportunities. Several operators claim to be doing work abroad on a cabotage basis, often to off-set the cost of running empty on an outward journey.