I know that but can you as an owner driver (I presume you are one?!) honestly say that if it comes to the crunch, you can seriously compete with a Pole, Latvian or Hungarian company who are after the same work as you? They can easily undercut you and whilst your service may be better, by the time thats realised and you’re wanted again, you may well have gone bust.
No, I couldn’t compete with them for some work just as I couldn’t compete with many UK companies and I wouldn’t even attempt to compete with them for some types of work.
However there is work that I can compete on because, like I said in my last post, not every company looks at the bottom line and other considerations come into play when they want transport.
All I can say is I have been an OD for 15 years and I have always worked the same way during that period, I won’t work for silly rates for instance and the customer gets 100% commitment and service, and in that time I have always been busy and am just as busy now as I have ever been even to the extent of having to turn work away because I cannot cover it either through already having taken on a commitment or not having the hours to do it. This is all work either to and from mainland Europe or within it; I do virtually no UK work.
I am also not alone in this as I personally know several OD’s who are in the same situation as me and I see regular faces on the ferries each week, who I don’t know, but seem to be busy.
whats not been said on this is the fact that these east european and also west european haulage companies only really chase the high volume repeat business, ie, 200 loads per month ex so & so, to so & so, they are not interested in low volume and / or specialized loads which obviously there are plenty about which is where, if you can find them, you can make a go of things.
flatbedman:
they are not interested in low volume and / or specialized loads which obviously there are plenty about which is where, if you can find them, you can make a go of things.
robinhood_1984:
What ever happened to Murfits? Last I heared they put a load of their trucks on Belgian plates and then they suddenly disapeared. You used to see alot of them abroad.
Murfitts sold out to Norfolkline, who said they were keeping it going as their dedicated door to door service. Then they shut it down, laying off 400 drivers. I was one of them.
I have loaded say from Spain to Germany the response was often along the lines of “Stuff that, don’t want to mess around like that, I want a load for the UK or not at all.”
Ive seen and heard all that Coffee, even the ones who have dumped trucks because they were going to be weekended abroad.
Reliability and service will always win over price.
There are some who dont like coming back to the uk, but prefer European Tramping. (Do they mean me)?
