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taus rise but work falls
Page 5
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iy Miles Brignall 'hers are not as pessimistic )ut their business prospects they were a year ago—but y probably ShOuld be, :ording to a new survey.
The CBI/Grant Thornton art warns that operators' iectations of a rates rise are irshadowing a downturn in amount of work available. Dominic Swords, chief econist at the Henley Managent College, and his team ;ed operators about the rk they have at the moment labout their prospects.
Of those firms 25 said voles had fallen more than they expected over the past ee months, and 16 said they expecting further falls over ! next three months.
On the positive side, says the tort, companies have been )orting increasing rates since Ilast survey in February, leadto "a modest improvement in value of business—the first since November of last year".
Swords suggests the slight improvement in fortunes is due to "shortages in the sector rather than an underlying improvement in trading conditions".
He believes the industry is going through a period of consolidation following several business failures occurring over the last reporting period.
The report also highlights
the impact of driver shortages: -Since the three months to February of this year total costs per employee have risen especially sharply.
"In the latest survey 51 companies reported the largest wage increases since May of last year. A further increase of a similar magnitude is expected over the coming three months," it says.