Bit of a worry, Port work (containers and roro trailers) is absolutely dead, frighteningly so. Anyone else finding it so at the moment?
That type of work ought to be flat out at this time of year, Lord knows what January will be like then.
Theres reports that some of the bigger container hauliers are 50+ jobs short for monday. Seems to be the same in Southampton and Felixstowe.
I have container trains rattling past the bottom of my garden and even they seem to be running half empty, the car transporter trains seem ok, full of export Landrovers heading for the ports, but empty coming back up, which must be a good thing.
Ossie
This week does seem different, i have had work but been different to what i normally do and its certainly been alot easier.
we seem quiet.
i’ve been bit busier doing boxes into smithfield at night, but suppose with christmas coming its to be expected.
It is not as it should be for this time of year (southampton).
I have been told that if there is anything else i can do on monday, go do it. Story i got was that there are two ships overdue, some delay in china.
Need to be laying on some fat now in preperation for the new year so hope it picks up.
Well I’m on boxes and haven’t stopped last week was very bizzy the same this week I carnt turn round fast anougth.
been drying up for me the last couple of months so i,ve jumped ship and gone back on the steel, dirty work but regular
Flat out busy from Harwich / Felixstowe / Tilbury / Purfleet.
Rates could be better, but we’re working for same if not more than anyone else.
You gotta work at it, otherwise it don’t jump out at you
Southampton is dead by the looks of it just got hear and no one about but it’s only the second time I’ve been hear this week mainly done all over this week.
AaronR:
Bit of a worry, Port work (containers and roro trailers) is absolutely dead, frighteningly so. Anyone else finding it so at the moment?
Where on roro trailers and we’ve been none stop
Even working sunday
We 've been quiet this week, to the point our gravel washing plant was shut off or slowed down most of the week. A lot of collect customers towards the end of the week but yesterday I finished my break at 2:30 and I loaded about 5 vehicles.
Our management must be optimistic as in the coming year we’re increasing the tipper fleet (they want less reliance on hired hauliers).
They’re spending over £1m on a plant that will wash muck to make recycled sand and gravel plus replacing some mobile plant. They’ve recently opened a brand new stone quarry too.
All this and Hansons are closing their last Oxfordshire gravel pit…
my mate has got his own commercial spray painting company …
doing loads of brand new units …
he is flat out with work at the moment so much so he is turning work away…
Meanwhile on the other side of the world back in August:
It is peak season at Yantian, as containers of Christmas presents begin their journey from this South China port to the other side of the world.
The port’s five miles of waterfront are in operation 24 hours a day, its gargantuan cranes able to load or unload a ship carrying 10,000 containers within half an hour.
When we visit, there are roughly 350,000 containers stacked up, full of the electronics, clothes, toys and furniture that China manufactures so briskly. One of the world’s biggest ships is also in port, the 1,302ft-long, 183ft-wide Maersk Elba standing in a bay.
But for its busiest time of year, Yantian is unusually quiet. And indeed Maersk, the Danish shipping giant that operates the Elba, has scrapped plans to build an even bigger class of ships: in 2011, it lost $75 (£47.50) on each 40ft container it shipped as demand for goods dropped in the US and Europe. It says its losses will continue this year.
For years and years, millions of people funded lifestyles they couldn’t really afford by means of mortgage equity withdrawals, now the banks won’t do this especially as millions of people now owe more on their house than it is worth.
Low interest rates have harmed those who depended on savings to fund their retirement, so they are depleting savings as slowly as they can.
Inflation has massively curbed spending power. Officially inflation peaked at 5.2% and is currently 2.2%: in reality inflation in the things people actually buy, especially those in our demographic probably peaked at 10% or more and is probably currently around 5%.
There are rises in fuel costs coming, which in turn will lead to higher food prices as the cost of feed, fertiliser and transport increases.
Quite simply, everybody I know is skint. Everybody is making pacts agreeing not to buy presents at Christmas because nobody can afford it.
But if you think this is bad, just wait for 2013 and 2014, and particularly wait and see what happens when the USA starts moving interest rates upwards sometime in that timeframe and we have no choice but to follow suit. It’s going to be a bloodbath.
Spot on Harry.
If people can’t afford stuff, they ain’t going to be buying it. If they ain’t buying it, trucks ain’t shifting it.
Also, what has just started to happen now is that people coming to the end of a fixed-term mortgage deal are being told “Sorry, no more interest-only mortgages, you’ve got to have a repayment mortgage now so your monthly payments will be going from £300 to £800”. I can’t see that helping shop tills to ring.
harry i agree totally, me and clare both work although she is part time but im on good money but we are struggling what with xmas coming and i think im going to be forced into 2 weeks off the way xmas and new falls.
im watching every penny at the moment. 
Perhaps the public has just realised that they can live without mountains of imported plastic tat from China.
Don’t go shopping for stuff you don’t need - go out and enjoy yourself doing something other than spending money.
True story: some years ago I was involved with a well-known motor museum and leisure attraction in Hampshire.
Their ‘family Sunday’ visitor numbers suddenly plummeted.
They wondered if at first people were going to a newly-opened motorcycle museum in the area instead. It turned out not. In fact people were coming to the area and visiting BOTH museums.
The fall off was in families from Southampton and the surrounding area who were visiting a newly-opened retail complex instead.
Perhaps people now have less money to spend and are sick of shopping as a leisure experience.