strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.
Numbers of new trucks are 15 per cent down year-on-year
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.
Haulage work is probably the same as it has ever been ,but the truck leasing industry is doing a bomb .we’ve just got a new 7.5t to go into london so i’m sure that other hauliers have had the same problem .Old trucks face some serious limitations in the modern world
Soldier z:
Lets take as a shining example the mighty Stobart empire.
Now if you watch the T.V. (on various programmes not just C5) you’ll have seen Tinklers horses and helicopter Willam Stobarts pimped £90k Range Rover and his Lambourghini.
Now nobody at Stobart seems bothered about that
Start a thread on here about Stobart wages half wil tell you it’s great money half will tell you it’s not worth getting out of bed for.
Clearly The unions and drivers at Stobart think that they are earning good money or they wouldn’t be there
not being funny and or to defend the likes of tinkler and stobart, but they were rich men before taking on stobarts, they have many interests outside of haulage in property ect, that’s were they have made vast amounts of money rightly or wrongly, and some of the deals have been in some eyes iffy, but totally legal.(I will put that in to cover the legal side) for that fact you have to give them credit for having a very good business head.
so to use them as an example of the majority of the haulage industry is wrong, you only have to look at the figures for the number of firms that have gone out of business in recent times to know that the profits are far less than you think 
Truckulent:
If hauliers weren’t making a load of dosh why would they bother? Sadly, many drivers believe all the [zb] and are happy to work for poor money as a result.
A lot of the small to medium ones are making next to nothing these days, but they keep going for the same reasons most people with struggling businesses keep going for - because they don’t want to fail, they like what they do, they think things will get better in the future, etc.
As for the new trucks question - it was answered near the top of the thread. It’s often cheaper to run a new truck on finance than an older paid for one once you take into account things like breakdowns (which cost three times on an old truck - the cost of the repair, paying the driver to sit while it is being repaired and the loss of earnings while it is off the road) and the fact that a new truck will in many cases be better on fuel than an older one, a newer vehicle helps with the company image which can help get new business, etc.
Paul
No matter how low the pay is companies will always keep drivers if they get new trucks, if leased they pay less tax so win both ways.
Truckulent:
Who in their right mind would continue to run a business that isn’t making any money?
A lot of people do.
Firstly, a lot of people running a business are too stupid to realise they’re not making any money until it is too late.
Then there are others who are running a family firm that has been around for a few generations and are determined to fight to the end hoping they can turn it round as they don’t want it to be on their watch that the firm went belly up.
Then there are the ones who are convinced that the economy is going to turn around three weeks on Tuesday and it will all be rosy from there on in.
And the ones who don’t want to pack in as they are worried about making their staff redundant in a time when there are few jobs around (I know personally of one local firm that carried on going for several years in this situation until the owners finally, in their early 70’s, decided to close the business down and retire).
I’m sure there are plenty more reasons too.
Paul
Eddie makes a £1 profit per truck per week apparently. 
All the kit’s on the never never as well.
£1 per truck per week who told ya that? i herd it was £1 per shift per truck
you could go on for ever making £1 profit per year
SHYTOT:
£1 per truck per week who told ya that? i herd it was £1 per shift per truck
its 1% per truck 
It is said that if you cannot make 3-4% profit on turn over, pre tax, you are going to go bust unless you have deep pockets to keep baling out as a general rule and that’s any business.
20 years ago, my last company turned over ± 3000 a week, per truck, mind you that was tramping with 1 driver, 1 truck, out all week (5.5 days) . would be interested to know what the average is now per truck per week, guess at 16k a week if running 24 hours/6 days perhaps.
Things must be looking up for some companies, this ain’t a bad wage!
https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/GetJob.aspx?JobID=1831813&JobTitle=LGV+CLASS+1+DRIVER&tjt=LGV&where=Scotland&rad=20&rad_units=miles&pp=25&sort=rv.dt.di&vw=b&re=3&setype=2&pg=1&AVSDM=
Twenty six thousand pounds an hour?..tight bustards…I wouldnt get out of bed for that 
JLS Driver SOS:
It is said that if you cannot make 3-4% profit on turn over, pre tax, you are going to go bust unless you have deep pockets to keep baling out as a general rule and that’s any business.
20 years ago, my last company turned over ± 3000 a week, per truck, mind you that was tramping with 1 driver, 1 truck, out all week (5.5 days) . would be interested to know what the average is now per truck per week, guess at 16k a week if running 24 hours/6 days perhaps.
on general or tipper working tramping all week the total earnings are not going to be much different £3000 to £4000 on a very good week then you have to take all the costs out what’s left is your profit, do the maths yourself guys just on the fuel and wages oh and don’t forget add 25% on top of your top line, and include that in your deductions to cover holiday and employers contributions
and you see how much is left to cover paying for the truck also any breakdowns, insurance and tyres 
Well said “repton” as a small haulier I could’nt agree more,but nevertheless I feel some of wages on offer to drivers are a disgrace to our industry!
Juddian:
Unfortunately the days of running lorries for 15 years is fast disappearing, they get progressively more expensive to keep going after about 5 years, or 2 for certain makes, coupled with increasingly complex systems designed to force you into the main dealers clutches.Daresay there as many operators out there would rather keep the good old lorries going just as those of us with proper older cars do, unfortunately they are being legislated off the road and the modern licence holder wouldn’t be seen dead in a 15 year old FL10 or Scani 113, even if £40k+ wages softened the shame of it.
Give me a 113 Scania tomorrow and id be so happy. 
Our lots’ wagons range from 13plate to '54 (all Dafs) and they run stuff into the ground as it can earn more in a week or two than it’s sale value. The out of warranty trucks are serviced by a small local garage who charge less per hour yet seem to find and sort faults faster than Daf can under warranty. Case in point; Our '61 plate cf had a new centre bearing last week. The TM called me about 2 hours ago to say it failed on Frday and so I wont be double manning it tomorrow morning, and to go with xyz. I believe in keeping an old motor that has been no trouble, and selling newer problematic ones. I certainly wouldn’t buy Daf if I was ordering the trucks.
I bet most owner drivers and small hauliers subbing work aint topping 3k a week and spending almost 50% of turnover on fuel.
Its a free country anyone can set up in haulage if they think tgey can do better.
Although some firms do seem to be paying very low wages but do get bums on seats.
wildfire:
Soldier z:
Lets take as a shining example the mighty Stobart empire.
Now if you watch the T.V. (on various programmes not just C5) you’ll have seen Tinklers horses and helicopter Willam Stobarts pimped £90k Range Rover and his Lambourghini.
Now nobody at Stobart seems bothered about that
Start a thread on here about Stobart wages half wil tell you it’s great money half will tell you it’s not worth getting out of bed for.
Clearly The unions and drivers at Stobart think that they are earning good money or they wouldn’t be therenot being funny and or to defend the likes of tinkler and stobart, but they were rich men before taking on stobarts, they have many interests outside of haulage in property ect, that’s were they have made vast amounts of money rightly or wrongly, and some of the deals have been in some eyes iffy, but totally legal.(I will put that in to cover the legal side) for that fact you have to give them credit for having a very good business head.
so to use them as an example of the majority of the haulage industry is wrong, you only have to look at the figures for the number of firms that have gone out of business in recent times to know that the profits are far less than you think