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• by Lucia Cockcroft The number of operators running between
Page 7
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one and 10 trucks has slumped by 12,900 in the past four years, according to findings of the 2001 Road Transport Market Survey commissioned by Reed Business Information.
The NOP research, was based on 1,500 phone interviews with transport professionals "in overall charge of the CVs operated by their company'. It concluded that 58,800 companies fell into this bracket in 1997, compared with 45,000 in 2001.
The findings also show that the total number of UK haulage companies operating CVs over 3.5 tonnes has dived by 19% from 1997 to the present. There are now 52,600 companies operating vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, compared with 65,300 in 1987 and 91,900 in 1988.
But the news for medium-sized operators running 11-25 vehicles is happier, with a 10% rise in this sector since 1997 to 4,300.
The survey also indicates that, despite shrinking margins and aggressive competition, the big boys have been comparatively unscathed by the cut-throat market, with the number of companies in this sector remaining static since 1997, at 1,000.
Operators running fleets of 11-25 are also the group showing the greatest rise in the number of vehicles they are running—up from 63,000 in 1997 to almost 77,000 in 2001. Overall there are 19,000 fewer HGVs on the road compared with 1997.
The report indicates that artic operators are moving away from two-axle tractors, lured by more appealing three-axle VED rates and higher payloads within the 41/44-tonne gross limits.
The outlook for growth over the next 12 months appears bright, with 92% of companies expecting their fleets to either remain the same size or to expand. But once again most of this expansion is coming from the larger end of the market, with only 11% of operators with one or two vehicles expecting their fleet size to increase, compared with 54% among the five-tonne-plus group.
• For more en the NOP data, see feature page 44.