Prospects for the Transport Industry in 2010

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Obviously, we have been in a time of great economic change all this year, following on from the downturn in mid-2009.

I’m uncertain about next year. Obviously we will have a General Election in late Spring and it is possible that we will have a different party in power, but even so our fortunes will mirror those of other major economies, such as the US and Japan.

What is life likely to be like next year in UK manufacturing, and consequently transport? Will there be more redundancies and bankruptcies or will firms start taking on again? Will unemployment in general go up or down? What will happen to property values? And interest rates? Who will win the election anyway?

Make your predictions here and I’ll thread-necro this at the end of next year :wink:

2

Driving up/down the road from Scotland and seeing all these school kids driving for minium wage with The tories and there pals coining it in and thinking if we could lower the age limit to say 16 we would make more money.

3

Bring back Screaming Lord Sutch I say :laughing:
As my auld Grandad used to say,it dont matter who you vote for,the government still gets in,so it’ll be a case of same cowboys different hat!
Probably the wrong time for me to thinking of moving on though,applied for a couple of other jobs round the Southampton area,lets just wait and see what next year brings :wink:
Simon :sunglasses:

4

It won’t matter whatever government gets in next year because we’re all sitting on a drifting ship without any power.It all seems like things were in 1979 just before that big change of government and an economy heading for the rocks.My prediction is large scale redundancies,massive wage cuts on the basis of low paid job or no job,and Catch 22 stagflation in which if wages and prices rise it’ll just put the place into even deeper debt and more job losses and if they stay as they are it’ll just mean that we’ll hit the rocks later rather than sooner.

5

My prediction for 2010 is that Norbert Dentressangle UK decide to sell to Eddie Stobart :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

6

DAF95XF:
My prediction for 2010 is that Norbert Dentressangle UK decide to sell to Eddie Stobart :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

More chance of Geodis buying them both out!!!

7

marcustandy:

DAF95XF:
My prediction for 2010 is that Norbert Dentressangle UK decide to sell to Eddie Stobart :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

More chance of Geodis buying them both out!!!

I reckon Gordon Brown will be out of work as well as the rest of Britain by April Fools Day.

8

It’s a serious question and gets the predictable silly answers.

There will be an election in May and, whoever gets in they, will be faced with Mr. Micawber’s position - Annual income £20.00, annual expenditure £19.99, result happiness; Annual income £20, annual expenditure £20.01, result misery. Except in our case the latter figure is more like £20.33. So this current set of morons will try to do the impossible and borrow their way out of it like a shopaholic on speed. The new lot will have to increase taxes and cut expense just like you or I would (or have) in the same situation. If we had a half decent government they would have already done it.

What will this mean to us? Who knows? If it wasn’t that the City sits on the meridian, the financial centre would soon move somewhere they will be less regulated and taxed. We have little or no manufacturing left — and don’t blame Maggie — the unions were at least equally to blame if not more (Think Scargill).

With all those bankers, pop stars, and footballers moving off to Switzerland there will be even less tax revenue so the “average” earner (as always) will make up the shortfall. There will also be more old people on pensions, so that too has to be financed.

So what’s next? Strikes for sure — The workers who have been unaffected so far are those we pay through taxation — Their jobs are now on the line: Council workers, NHS employees, Civil Servants, Police, you name it they are going to see cuts like never before. I can see the rubbish piling up, people dying for lack of treatment, and the police and fire brigade cut to the bone. Gold plated pensions for those workers will end as well.

All this means less demand for goods because there will be less money to pay for them, and those that have money will hang on to it. So less demand for goods means less goods to transport and fewer drivers earning less money buying less stuff…

My best suggestion would be to get a job connected to the supermarkets and/or food distribution. We will still need to eat, so they will more than survive. Elsewhere the pallet systems will get a bigger share of what’s left; and yes — lots of hauliers will go out of business. Many of them are probably making a loss already, and you can bet that when the last quarter’s figures are in, their accountants will be advising them that it’s time to quit.

The thing is though that we Brits are at our best in adversity. Somehow we will get through it and no one will actually starve to death; we won’t riot and hang any politicians from lamp posts but we will just go on grumbling and complaining and doing what needs to be done.

Happy New Year to One and All

9

There will still be loads needing shifted but I honestly believe this game is finished as a way for a working class person to earn half decent money. Too many people out there with licences these days and willing to drive an artic for not much more than minimum wage as long as they can be a big wheel driver with shiny spotlights and not willing to fight for a better deal.

10

Santa:
It’s a serious question and gets the predictable silly answers.

There will be an election in May and, whoever gets in they, will be faced with Mr. Micawber’s position - Annual income £20.00, annual expenditure £19.99, result happiness; Annual income £20, annual expenditure £20.01, result misery. Except in our case the latter figure is more like £20.33. So this current set of morons will try to do the impossible and borrow their way out of it like a shopaholic on speed. The new lot will have to increase taxes and cut expense just like you or I would (or have) in the same situation. If we had a half decent government they would have already done it.

What will this mean to us? Who knows? If it wasn’t that the City sits on the meridian, the financial centre would soon move somewhere they will be less regulated and taxed. We have little or no manufacturing left — and don’t blame Maggie — the unions were at least equally to blame if not more (Think Scargill).

With all those bankers, pop stars, and footballers moving off to Switzerland there will be even less tax revenue so the “average” earner (as always) will make up the shortfall. There will also be more old people on pensions, so that too has to be financed.

So what’s next? Strikes for sure — The workers who have been unaffected so far are those we pay through taxation — Their jobs are now on the line: Council workers, NHS employees, Civil Servants, Police, you name it they are going to see cuts like never before. I can see the rubbish piling up, people dying for lack of treatment, and the police and fire brigade cut to the bone. Gold plated pensions for those workers will end as well.

All this means less demand for goods because there will be less money to pay for them, and those that have money will hang on to it. So less demand for goods means less goods to transport and fewer drivers earning less money buying less stuff…

My best suggestion would be to get a job connected to the supermarkets and/or food distribution. We will still need to eat, so they will more than survive. Elsewhere the pallet systems will get a bigger share of what’s left; and yes — lots of hauliers will go out of business. Many of them are probably making a loss already, and you can bet that when the last quarter’s figures are in, their accountants will be advising them that it’s time to quit.

The thing is though that we Brits are at our best in adversity. Somehow we will get through it and no one will actually starve to death; we won’t riot and hang any politicians from lamp posts but we will just go on grumbling and complaining and doing what needs to be done.

Happy New Year to One and All

It’s not right to blame Arthur Scargill and the NUM for what Maggie and then every politician who followed her did in throwing open the lock gates of the developed world’s economies to a free market global economy in which all of the yanks and our money and industries were allowed to drain away to the lowest common denominator.Blame those high earning bankers who engineered the whole mess and who now (surprise surprise) seem to want to jump ship to places like Switzerland not the EU which only a short time ago they were telling us that we could’nt survive unless we were a part of.Also China does’nt seem to be top of their wish list as a place of refuge either even though only a short time ago they were telling us that the uncivilised commie crap hole was the next best place to heaven.Yes us Brits are often at our best in adversity but even the strongest structure has a breaking point and we probably would have lost the Battle of Britain if the Luftwaffe had’nt given up and kept on shooting down spitfires instead of wasting bombs and aircraft on London and if we had Maggie and the xankers instead of Dowding and Churchill in charge at the time.

11

[quote="Blame those high earning bankers who engineered the whole mess and who now (surprise surprise) seem to want to jump ship to places like Switzerland not the EU which only a short time ago they were telling us that we could’nt survive unless we were a part of.[/quote]
Never have so few owed so much to so many (and then run away)

12

Vat goes back up on Friday so fuel will go up… and there will probably be a further increase on that by the government
Torries will be in come the next election so Taxes will go up
Inflation will rise so Interest will increase so mortgages will go up

For those who hang onto their job, Salaries will either decrease or stay as but with higher taxes, higher cost of living, people are going to be significantly be worse off which will have a knock on effect on consumer spending, so goods , as was mentioned earlier, will be in less demand, which means less demand for transport… next yr is gonna be tough, tougher I think than the year thats about to end. :frowning: :frowning: :cry: :cry:

I do hope an pray I’m wrong…

13

The next 3 months will be the telling time in my opinion, we all know how quiet it was after xmas last year, can it be any worse, we will see. If the Goverment want to be re elected they have got to do something very quick, i dont hold out much hope on that front, the Big firms are starting to fight each other for the work out there, cutting the rates to bare minimums something has got to give some where.

Will they carry on fighting each other or will there be more take overs, mergers or going bust, i have travelled far and wide the last 18 months to keep food on the plate, how long will i have to keep doing it? i wish i knew ,i would have a bet on it. Might be time to dust the gloves off and get back in the ring.

Wishing you all a good new year.
Ray.

14

the only good thing to come out of the economic crissis will be the rebirth of british manufactoring. for the past 20 years financial services has become a larger and larger part of our economy in the next government the torries backed up by liberals will give tax breaks to people who actually make stuff to export which will be good news for everyone.

15

Mr B:
the only good thing to come out of the economic crissis will be the rebirth of british manufactoring. for the past 20 years financial services has become a larger and larger part of our economy in the next government the torries backed up by liberals will give tax breaks to people who actually make stuff to export which will be good news for everyone.

A good plan, but the manufacturing base has shifted, we cannot compete with the far east or even near east, we have sold or moved the infrastructure, the steel industry is owned by the Indians as is a lot of car manufacturing. Foreign built containers are sat empty in storage yards in this country while even more are coming towards us on foreign built ships.

We have a good technical service industry but it has been outsourced to India. I even got a call from a Vietnamese call centre last week and I am expecting another tomorrow.

I am quite glad I am getting towards the end of my driving career and not at the start!

16

Mr B:
the only good thing to come out of the economic crissis will be the rebirth of british manufactoring. for the past 20 years financial services has become a larger and larger part of our economy in the next government the torries backed up by liberals will give tax breaks to people who actually make stuff to export which will be good news for everyone.

Yes you will get tax breaks if the torries win if you income is in excess of 100000k. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: As for us a the lower end more tax, pay cuts, higher council tax bills to pay for services already cut to the bone. :cry: :cry: :cry: Oh and nearly forgot no more NHS as we will all have to pay for medical insurance ( if you can aford it ). So dont fall ill.

17

44 Tonne Ton:
There will still be loads needing shifted but I honestly believe this game is finished as a way for a working class person to earn half decent money. Too many people out there with licences these days and willing to drive an artic for not much more than minimum wage as long as they can be a big wheel driver with shiny spotlights and not willing to fight for a better deal.

I agree their are plenty a drivers wanting to drive a big flash motor and pay via peanut wages but the vast majority drve to pay bills and the area dictates the rate of pay . Yes loads do and will still need to be shifted but most not all operators will be tripping over them selves to cut rates over the oppersition to keep or get extra work thats were to problem is , so 2010 will see more firms go to the wall and the big players just keep getting larger cutting rates and hovering up the work

18

i will be popping down to london, i will arrest gordon brown, tony blair, maggie thatcher, and some others. anyone coming.
public excecutions should not be done in a humane manner, it kind of defeats its’ purpose.

19

limeyphil:
i will be popping down to london, i will arrest gordon brown, tony blair, maggie thatcher, and some others. anyone coming.
public excecutions should not be done in a humane manner, it kind of defeats its’ purpose.

It might have worked but now they know that we’re coming to get them because you’ve told them so we’ve lost the element of surprise and they’ve all run off to Switzerland with all the xankers. :laughing: :laughing:

20

limeyphil:
i will be popping down to london, i will arrest gordon brown, tony blair, maggie thatcher, and some others. anyone coming.
public excecutions should not be done in a humane manner, it kind of defeats its’ purpose.

What about Lord Mandlebum and Darling? And can’t you drop Jaqui in the Thames while you are at it?