MARKET FORCES
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It will not be long before the FTA members begin to force many of the general hauliers that subcontract to them to pass over to them any benefit that might accrue from this Budget.
Many hauliers will no doubt be forced to hand over these benefits in rate reductions to their customers just to keep the work. We still have the same problem that we had before this Budget statement—there are too many vehicles chasing too few loads, forcing sub-standard rates.
The programme applied over many years to the fishing industry to reduce capacity by buying out excess fleets is a sound economic concept that hauliers, especially owner-drivers, should embrace if it is offered. Sadly, however, this idea did not even get a mention in the Budget statement.
Chris Harris, Transport Law Consultant, bye-mail.