The transport industry is facing up to wide spread problems all the way across the board, from same day courier services through to heavy goods haulage firms. How the industry deals with these problems is a vital question in how we can move forwards beyond the difficulties posed by rising fuel prices, environmental concerns being levied on the industry and also the potential prospect of winters as harsh as the one that the UK recently experienced.

The recent cold snap has a massive effect on the transport industry, and continues to do so, as it presented multiple problems that courier services and those in the industry had to work around and deal with. First and foremost amongst these problems was the over-abundance of ice on the roads during this period. Many local councils were woefully unprepared for a winter as harsh as the one we had last, leading to salt supplies being much too low. This in turn led to many roads simply becoming unusable, especially in smaller suburbs or urban areas. Needless to say this had the potential to strike a crippling blow to the transport industry and, for many, it did just that. The industry, and Britain as a whole, was simply caught unawares by the difficulties posed by such a nasty winter, and this led to major problems for many businesses, however the transport industry was amongst the most prominently affected. Vehicles were forced off the roads and many companies simply had to shut up shop for a number of weeks, drastically affecting income.

This is something to we simply can't afford to happen again, especially due to the potentially catastrophic effect it can have on smaller businesses and urgent courier services, who rely on their ability to get from A to B quickly. As such we need to ensure that local councils all over the country have adequate salt supplies should we face the same issues in the future. Not only this, but salt supplies need to evenly spread around. We, as an industry, simply can't afford another winter like the one we just experienced and knowing that supplies could have been available in places that needed them simply rubbed salt into the wounds.

Some are attempting to take measures to minimize the impact of this problem. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has already recommended a number of potential solutions to the problems that the industry faces from a harsh winter. Amongst these are the obvious, such as ensuring there are larger salt supplies available to reduce the time queuing at salt production sites.

Another, less obvious recommendation is to provide drivers with a little more leeway when it comes to their hours. The FTA calls for a greater flexibility in the handling of a drivers time on the road, as well as calling for a modest increase in the amount of time they can spend driving when they are able, to compensate for the periods during winter when they may be forced off the road.

This call, however, comes into direct conflict with recent rulings by the European Parliament (EP). An attempt to permanently exempt owner drivers from the 48 hour week imposed by the EP failed, meaning that soon self-employed courier drivers will now have to limit themselves to 48 hours of working per week, alongside the workforce that they may employ.

While the dangers presented by driving while tired are obvious and the practice shouldn't be espoused, the work restrictions put in place by the EP do have flaws. The working week, as defined by the EP, includes all administrative and maintenance work, meaning that of the 48 hours, a driver may only spend a half to two thirds of the time on the road. In addition to this the system is extremely inflexible, as demonstrated by the FTA in their recommendations for how to deal with harsh winters.

The winter posed another problem after the fact due to the massive increase in potholes on the roads caused by the gritting of roadways to keep them useable. This presents an immediate double edged problem to the transport industry as the very measures that can help keep the industry stable during the winter months can also damage it further on down the line. This problem needs to be dealt with in some manner, either by finding an alternative method to making roads safe to drive on, or by completing quick repairs to roads that are damaged by the difficult conditions.

One way or another, a solution needs to be found to the issue. Potholes in the road can cause massive problems, both for vehicle maintenance and in terms of road safety. There are instances of potholes reaching around half a foot deep, which can cause problems for the stability of any vehicle that goes over it. This is, of course, an especially prevalent threat for larger vehicles, such as those utilised by same day courier and haulage services. A consultation of some form is certainly required as to how these problems can be solved, however with the current economic climate it would be extremely difficult for any government to devote too much money to what are seen by the industry as vital maintenance and repair work.

It is a Catch 22 situation. Councils don't have the money to pay for repairs in many cases, yet they are liable should any damage be caused by the potholes, be they to vehicle or person. The economic downturn has resulted in more problems than this, however, as the recent rises in fuel prices have struck another blow to the heart of the industry.

A mix of ever increasing demand, ever shortening supply and, some would argue, corporate greed has led to the price of fuel to skyrocket in recent years. The implications on the transport industry are obviously massive. The more fuel costs, the more it costs an urgent courier to get to their destination, which means that the cost of a delivery will increase.

In a normal economic climate this wouldn't be so much of a problem, however in a climate where everybody is looking to tighten the purse strings and save money where they can, many companies may be forced to reduce in size, directly affecting any transport needs they have. If a warehouse shrinks, the amount of goods transported to and from it will be reduced as well, causing a drop in demand for those in the transport industry. This has been seen in recent figures released by companies such as RH Group and ECM announcing a drop in profits, while other groups have gone out of business entirely.

Poor preparation for a difficult winter, coupled with the economic climate and recent EP proposals have all taken a toll on the industry. What we need now is to ensure that the industry is wary in its attempts to rebound from these problems. Some companies are expecting better than forecasted turnover for the rest of the year, but we can't allow initial good signs to distract us from the issues at hand. Preparation is the key to ensuring that the industry does not take another downturn in a similar fashion to the one it took last winter.

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