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Reasons to be grateful
Page 9
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It is often said that you could get a better return on your money putting it in the building society than running a road transport business, but Mr X thinks that's missing the point...
Road transport operators are ford of moaning about rates and falling profit margins, and certainly there is a proportion of bosses in the industry for whom this is a real concern real in the sense that they are making a loss.
But net profit lines in accounts have been adjusted to take account of all kinds of factors and we should reflect on these hidden in those adjustments are all sorts of returns we would be foolhardy to ignore.
Firstly, there's tax. The Chancellor may not be your favourite person but there are few of us who do not want essential funds to go to hospitals, schools and -on rare occasions-road building. Fuel duty may be too high, but every road transport company is providing a huge benefit to this country in terms of fuel tax and income tax; that in itself is something we should be proud of.
Secondly, there are wage costs. A burden to be sure but a huge number of families are supported year on year through this fine industry. That's not to be sniffed at either.
Then there's the issue of directors' fees. I'd be the last to say that company directors particularly those who have risked their own money in a business and have years of expertise and experience to contribute should not be handsomely rewarded for what they do. But next time you see a company with a profit margin of only 2 or 3%, have a look at the directors' fees. These guys couldn't make that kind of return in a building society.
For anyone running a public company where you have to placate shareholders every year, profit margin is indeed the holy grail. But for many of the private road transport operators out there, it's important we don't miss the point.
Would we like to make more money? Of course. But if you're paying tax, offering employment, paying into pensions and national insurance and, not least, having a decent standard of living yourself, then surely that's the real pay-off.
"A huge number of families are supported year on year through this fine industry. That's not to be sniffed at"