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
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202 
Fleet goes under the CVA hammer
Page 70
Page 71
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
When the European Union opened its doors to even more countries from Eastern Europe so began the end for one of transports major international players. The final act was to auction off its fleet
In an industry renowned for low rates, UK hauliers met a new challenge when the latest players in international transport from the 10 new European Union member states were brought into the fold last May.
UK operators working off strong sterling already struggled against the western Europeanbased economies but against weaker monetary markets from Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, they simply cannot compete.
This harsh reality has forced international transport company Bellgate UK, off the road and out of the industry after 30 years.The final act of the tragedy took place on Saturday 29 January at the firm's main yard in Holme-on Spalding-Moor,near, York, when MD Paul Oxtoby saw the fleet auctioned off by Commercial Vehicle Auctions (see panel).
Bellgate's international work involved taking goods overseas for manufacturers and freight forwarders.This sector of the UK's haulage industry is steadily declining.
Bellgate UK ran for 15 years before Oxtoby closed the doors for the last time on Christmas Eve. The reason why is clear: UK operators are working on an uneven playing field. When the new member states from Eastern Europe joined the EU, newspapers were quick to highlight fears of a mass influx of cheap labour and economic migrants.
This didn't materialise but the truth in terms of road transport has been even more harrowing. Oxtoby realised straight away that workers wouldn't be coming to take work —but that they would be coming here in trucks to take away the work his firm relied on. "These companies from Eastern Europe are cutting the price of export work by £200 or £300 a trip," he says. "From the early part of last year! saw the difference.The phone didn't go dead but it rang less often. You just can't compete with that.
Oxtoby admits that the company wasn't making much on the trips before this influx of new competition but companies running for £300 less per trip turned marginal profit into a gaping chasm of debt. "We know what they were getting [charging] because when work was busy we subcontracted work to them," he explains."I took advantage.
"It's unfair competition.They travel here and pay road taxes or tolls in every country. Germany has its tolls; in France they pay tolls for the motorway; and in Belgium there's the vignette. Every country you have to pay — until they get here. They don't pa) for using the roads here, they don buy fuel here... they don't even buy a cup of coffee."
Merciless Easterners
The current position, allowed to develop by the UK government, has been mercilessly exploited by hauliers from Eastern Europe."We (UK) are seen as . joke by European hauliers," sa) Oxtoby. "They aren't even stopped or fined because [police know it's impossible to chase it tit or because they don't speak English. I saw one foreign truck get a ticket for parking next to tin road with no lights.
"The driver simply took the ticket off, ripped it up and threw away because he knows nothing will be done about it."
Oxtoby also believes he was victimised by VOSA when a Bellgate UK truck was stopped a Dover.A hole was spotted in a mudguard and an immediate prohibition was issued. He sees this as evidence that VOSA prefers to target UK companies which will have to pay any fines. Getting that problem sorted out cost more than £200, simply because a patch had worked loose and fallen oft "In France if you are stopped they get out a book with statements in your language telling you why you have been stopped," says Oxtoby."Then if they fine you they take you to a cash machine for the money.These types of things should be introduced here. Unfortunately we are too bloody wishy-washy."
Lack of action
He also criticises the transport organisations like the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association for failing to do enough for UK transport companies in the face of cheaper competition from overseas: "They might as well stick their head in a dustbin for all the good they do.
"They are as much use as a chocolate fireguard."
At the height of the company's success in the late 1990s Oxtoby ran 22 vehicles and subcontracted 10 more, producing annual turnovers in the region of £3.5m. Over the past 10 months he wound down to 15 vehicles and has now washed his hands of the transport industry, saying: "At least got out on my terms" •