Work in Furniture manufacturing, I have been busy with Deliveries all year. 1 wagon 1 driver.
Boss from head office came up put us on three days from this week! No date to go back on full time.
Thinking of a move, or agency for the two days I’m home!
I’m agency and have only had about 9 days work so far in the whole of November. Seen a few signs up at the places I’ve been telling regular drivers no holiday in November/December. I’ve got a whole month at one place in December so I’m lucky.
Think it depends where you are, I’ve got as much work as I want into the new year and I know the place I go into have got around 6 of us agency bods in this week, 4 of us are pretty much in there full-time. They’ve got 5 runs up for grabs and another of their drivers is leaving next week. Its not hard work and the pay is decent so a few of the local outfits must have upped their rates significantly.
The brakes are already coming on in the UK economy again, if your busy at the moment grab it while you can, Next year could get painful again!!
I would keep the "full time"job and try to get agency work for the off days.Find out who has the R.M. contract also Argos and that type of business need drivers as well.
It’s really tailed off at the place I’m at. They’ve gone from about 50 agy a day (between day & night shifts) down to about 10 and there’s still been lots of last minute cancellations too. Some of the regular faces usually seen about have only had a handful of days work throughout November. Edward is right in what he says, things are on the turn again and the short to medium term outlook at least is looking pretty grim for the economy. Remember Cameron’s comments at the G20 summit recently : “there are red warning lights flashing on the global economy.” You don’t come out with stuff like that as PM if there isn’t some major ■■■■ about to go down.
Seasonal shift here. Howdens has dropped off, fridge work, parcel companies and Stobby Tescos are now going mental. Got asked if I’d be prepared to go to Leeds to do a 6hr run for guaranteed 10hrs at £2/hr more than my normal rate. Said no because I think 60 miles each way is ridiculous to go to work unless you’re nighting out but it shows how its getting in some places on the Xmas run up.
Come January no doubt we’ll be watching tumbleweeds again.
We were busy up until 2 weeks ago now it’s tailed right off.
I can cope with loss of a few hours as my mrs earns more than me but it ain’t good in the long term for my savings etc.
Im agency. Still solid work my dec/jan work was sorted last month. Guess when your on garanteed income they make sure theres somewhere to send you.
There must be more ailments as I work for a Pharmaceutical company & we are flat out … even worse after the failed Xmas dinner’s lol
Ps Matt if the work does tail off they will send you somewhere…guaranteed buddy.
Gone very quiet on agency here too, only had a handful of days this month, I’m working tomorrow at Langdons the first day this week and not looking any better over the next few weeks
Banged out on wilkos still 36 hrs roughly this week 
even had too do some Xmas shopping at west fields Stratford. When will it end 
Been flat out. Starting to slow down now. I need a rest!
Hoping that things will pan out like last year. Nice easy January at 30ish hours to ease me into the new year, then on goes the tap in February!
Doing alright where we are, couple of customers have recently signed up on their current job for the next 6 years, although they are a nuisance the long termers are the bread n butter.
You can tell it’s nearly Xmas, Marshalls are on for Stobarts 
tango boy:
You can tell it’s nearly Xmas, Marshalls are on for Stobarts
I’ve noticed that to,
Been a strange year for me.
In late march there was a big change loads of work about, full weeks right through with the odd down day due to the nature of agency work. Sept and everything goes mental, name your price conversations and I’m thinking if this keeps going til xmas happy days. Then early Oct everthing goes quiet, plenty of crap retail work on rubbish money and the usual low payers but nothing good. Then this week xmas has turned up, 6 day weeks and max your hours until its over on about the 20th.
First week in Jan we will find out if the driver shortage is real…
edwardj:
The brakes are already coming on in the UK economy again, if your busy at the moment grab it while you can, Next year could get painful again!!
Yep busy as usual. But there seems to be loads off empty Containers sitting at the Port of Felixstowe, and seems to have been since summer time 
I am getting tons of offers for work atm, but only on the worst contracts, Currys “Mastercare” DHL Newark and Norbs Easton…basically because they burn’t so many drivers this last few years I reckon. it is a pleasure to say no thanks, not that desperate 
I am a guaranteed 4 day week until the end of the year. The guarantee was 40 hours too but somehow the daily hours are up to a minimum 11 1/4 hours paid and I couldn’t get more than 8 1/4 hours work today. 2 runs is all I can get and its local deliveries because the further away runs are all gone by the time I start. Seems like a decent deal for me and there are jobs coming up after new year which I am actually tempted to go for