The number of company failures in the UK road freight industry increased by 102.13% over the last quarter, outstripping the 81.5% increase in the Transport and Logistics sector as a whole, according to figures released today in the Creditsafe Watchdog Report.

The Watchdog report tracks quarterly economic developments across the Transport and Logistics and 11 other sectors (Banking & Financial, Farming & Agriculture, Hospitality, IT, Manufacturing, Professional Services, Retail, Sports & Entertainment, Construction, Utilities and Wholesale).

While total sales in the UK’s Transport and Logistics sector were down by 1.86%, compared to Q2 2017, road freight experienced total sales of £35 billion. In addition, across the Transport and Logistics sector, total employment, numbers of active companies and growth in new companies were all up compared to Q2. Road freight specifically saw increases of 5.5% and 5.1% for the number of active companies and employment, respectively.

However, there were 95 road freight company failures in Q3, most notably Searon Logistics Ltd and T.T. Express Ltd. The number of CCJs (County Court Judgement) issued also increased by 33.3% to 268 in Q3 for the road freight industry.

While the financial health of the Transport and Logistics sector is looking positive with double digit decreases in both company and supplier bad debt, the road freight industry experienced a 20.0% increase in the amount of bad debt owed to companies and a 16.9% increase in the amount owed by companies to suppliers.

Rachel Mainwaring, Operations Director at Creditsafe, commented: “We’ve seen a healthy quarter from the Transport and Logistics sector, supported by positive figures from road freight.

“While the number of road freight company failures is a cause for concern, having doubled in the past quarter, the strength of sales and company growth suggests a strong end to the year for the sector as a whole,”

Creditsafe

About the Author: John Loughran