Going for bold in nervy times

The road transport industry was out in force last week at the Road Transport Expo in Stoneleigh, with 240 exhibitors pulling in thousands of visitors – helped no doubt by some sunny weather.

secure a majority in 2024. Labour has traditionally increased public spending, which should help us out of recession but won’t do much to ease inflation.

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Editor Steve Hobson 2161

Head of content Tim Wallace 2158

Steve Hobson Editor Motor Transport

The mood was generally positive, despite the clouds gathering over the UK economy. Inflation and interest rates look like remaining high for some time, and that will inevitably squeeze consumer spending. Less stuff bought means less transport.

Most people now accept that the Bank of England left it too late to push up rates and the steep rise that is likely to push the UK into a recession could have been avoided.

That recession could not come at a worse time for the Conservative government, with an election looming next year and the weakness of the SNP meaning Labour could well capture enough Scottish seats to

The biggest cost inflation facing operators at the moment – now that driver wages have already gone up – is new trucks. The pandemic saw supply shortages, long lead times and large price increases, which meant operators had to run trucks longer. Older trucks need more maintenance and right now there aren’t enough skilled technicians, or replacement parts, to keep an ageing fleet on the road.

So operators face a dilemma – delay ordering replacement vehicles because they fear a recession or keep their nerve and continue to invest in modern, more fuel-efficient trucks that don’t need frequent repairs. If RTX was anything to go by, so far they are choosing the latter.