New year, same woes
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So, 2010 is upon us with a flurry of snow and consolidation in the industry: is this a case of starting as you mean to go on?
Since our last issue of last year, Peter Carroll has sold Seymour Transport to Evans Transport following the collapse of the construction industry FD Bird & Sons has closed its transport arm, Hayton Coulthard has merged with the Scottish arm of Gregory Distribution to form a joint venture, and Bryan Haulage has gone into administration.
At the opposite end of the scale, DHL has offloaded its loss-making container business to Maritime and sold its UK domestic parcel business to Home Delivery Network [see p61. Chrislmas and the new year are quiet for some industries, but not transport! More consolidation is expected: the results of the latest Trucking Britain Out Of Recession survey reveal that 66% of operators expect some of their rivals to coltapse this year (see p14-15).
Meanwhile, operators' revenue forecasts for 2010 are mixed: 30% expect an increase compared with 2009, 26% expect it to be static, and 40% expect a decline. For now, 2010 looks like being the mother of att nangovers from the year before. You thought it was tough last year? You ain't seen nothing yet. And as this issue went to press, many of you will have been struggling to maintain service levels due to the bad weather and resulting poor road conditions.
Our message? Don't get down, just concentrate on doing the job right. Committed and incentivised staff will help you survive.
Justin Stanton 00,010.4%, "ossoftesk.