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UK hauliers are frozen out a Continentals take Euro wad
Page 6
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• by Guy Sheppard UK international hauliers suffered a huge drop in market share last year, even though the overall number of trucks travelling to the Continent rose by nearly 7%.
Latest government figures show that UK hauliers now account for less than a third of freight traffic from the UK to mainland Europe, compared with more than half six years ago. Last year, 515,000 UK registered trucks travelled to the Continent, compared with 545,000 in 2000.
The downward trend became even more pronounced in the f nal quarter of 2001, when the number of foreign trucks leaving UK shores was up by 13% on the same period of 2000, compared with a 6% fall for UK-registered trucks.
This was despite a general surge in HGV Channel traffic caused by problems with Channel Tunnel rail-freight services !see news story, page 9).
Freight Transport Association chief economist Simon Chapman describes the statistics as very worrying. "Effectively, the UK's market share has been halved in the last five years," he points out.
Chapman says Continental operators are benefiting from the much higher flow of imports into the UK compared with our exports. Cheaper fuel duty and the increasing use of Eastern European drivers who are paid around a third of the rate of EU citizens are further tilting the balance in their favour, he says (see story, pages 10-11): in 1996 Eastern European operators accounted for one in twenty of the foreign trucks leaving the UK; now they account for one in 12."
Mike Freeman, head of international affairs for the Road Haulage Association, predicts the threat from Eastern Europe will continue to get worse in the run-up to the enlargement of the European Union: "Those countries that are candidates to join are naturally increasing their trade with us prior to accession." In 2001 some 82,000 non-EU trucks travelled from the UK to the Continent, compared with 53,000 in 2000 and 29,000 in 1995.
George James, managing director of West Midlandsbased James International, says his international business has slumped by 20% over the past two years, but because he is doing more domestic work he has not had to reduce his fleet of 18 vehicles so far. "We need
support from our government:he adds. "There should be greater control of foreign operators who come to this country, such as charging them a daily rate to use our roads."
Joe McNeill, owner of Folkestone-based Goldfinch Transport, says he would have to charge about £800 for a trip to Stuttgart in Germany, whereas a Continental con tor would charge nearer 'We are working a lot hi' now for a lot less money spending a lot more searching for loads," he "We are just getting the overs." McNeill adds that fir work for his 11-vehicle fleet tougher now than at any tir the past 20 years.