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Dramatic fall in haulage work „s
By Roanna Avison THE IMPACT OF the recession on the haulage industry became apparent this week with a Road Haulage Association (RHA) survey revealing that 70% of hauliers had seen business drop by more than 10%.
The RHA gauged the opinion of 300 operators ranging from owner-drivers to those with fleets of more than 250 trucks. While 2.2% said they were doing more business, the majority had seen a dramatic fall in work.
Some 41% reported a 10-30% fall. 20% had experienced a 30-50% drop and 9% had seen business go down by more than 50%.
RHA director of policy Jack Semple (right) says this, coupled with the fact that 52% of hauliers were seeing invoices taking even longer to he paid, will have a hugely negative impact on the industry.
The survey also revealed that 20% of hauliers are having serious problems getting credit from the banks and 25% are struggling to get credit for spare parts and consumables.