Road freight operators are predicting an 80% drop in their income for the lockdown period which started on 26 March and is scheduled to end on 30 April.
This is according to the results of a weekly survey conducted by the Road Freight Association (RFA) among its members during lockdown. This figure has increased by 10% – in last week’s survey, respondents indicated a 70% loss in income.
According to the survey, less than 30% of companies’ fleets are currently active. “Only vehicles transporting essential goods are on the road,” says the RFA’s CEO, Gavin Kelly. In addition, 25% of trucking companies’ staff are working onsite.
“Our survey shows a general picture of what is happening in the road freight industry, with some operators having totally closed down (as they do no essential cargo transport), while others are operating anywhere between a total shutdown to roughly 80% of capacity,” says Kelly. “That means that they have no income to meet their financial commitments – salaries, operational maintenance, financial agreements and other costs related to operating a business.”
Looking ahead, 28% of survey respondents say that they would become fully operational “immediately” after Lockdown. A further 33% said it would take them two weeks, with another 10% indicating it would take them two weeks to one month.
“It is truly worrying that – on the other side of this lockdown – we will see less transport operators than we had a month ago,” says Kelly.