Local pallet hauliers face price pressure
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By Chris Druce
PALLET GROWTH is providing a lifeline for hauliers but rate pressure remains ever present, network bosses have warned.
The latest figures from the Association of Pallet Networks show members saw volume growth of 4% in the first half of the year. This is slightly down on the corresponding period last year when volumes were up 7.9%, although the UK has since re-entered recession.
In response to the latest figures, Adam Leonard, MD of The Pallet Network (TPN), said the fact TPN and other networks had seen growth in a tough market was positive.
“However, rates are under pressure,” he added. “There’s a danger as a sector that if we lose too many hauliers [as a consequence of low rates] we don’t have a business model.” Nigel Parkes, MD of PalletTrack, said: “Rates are always a matter of focus with clients and have been since 2009.
“As the economy starts/stops, customers will always be looking at becoming more efficient.” Parkes suggested offering additional services was key, for example Pallet-Track’s electronic signature capture technology is popular with members and customers.
He said he hears about rate pressure everywhere he goes, in almost every industry. “Sometimes it’s about giving more bells and whistles for the same cost,” he said.
Cris Stephenson, deputy MD at Pall-Ex, said the network is developing it’s European offer to provide new avenues for members to exploit. “It’s about diversifying [in the face of rate pressure], so that we don’t need to simply attempt to grab volume to offset this.” According to the latest APC data, May 2012 saw volumes reach levels seen in the run up to Christmas 2011, with just over 1.4 million pallets handled across the membership.
For the first half of the year, quarter pallets showed the largest growth in terms of consignment type, up 14.8% year-on-year.
The UK’s pallet networks shifted more than 15.3 million pallets in 2011, a 7.3% rise on the number moved in 2010.
• See p14 for the Road Haulage Association’s view on rate pressure.