Continued Economic Growth Should Help to Maintain or Increase the Volume of Goods Moved by Road in Great Britain, However Any Rise is Expected to be Modest

DUBLIN, Ireland--Nov. 3, 2005--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c27079) has announced the addition of Road Haulage Market Report 2005 to their offering.

The road haulage industry is a crucial part of the UK's freight-transportation system. It is, however, a mature market. In 2004, the total volume of goods moved by road in Great Britain increased by just 0.2%, to 152 billion tonne kilometres. Since 2000, the volume of goods moved has risen by just 1%. These figures refer to vehicles registered in Great Britain and exclude those weighing less than 3.5 tonnes.

The market consists of three main sectors: own-account distribution, contract distribution and shared-user distribution. Contract distribution and shared-user distribution are collectively known as public haulage or `hire and reward' haulage. Contract distribution companies are often involved in the broader market for logistics or supply-chain management.

The industry continues to experience a range of problems. These include the high level of fuel duty in the UK, a shortage of qualified staff (especially drivers and fitters), congestion on the UK's roads and a declining share of the European market for road haulage. It is believed that new legislation on drivers' working hours will also have a significant impact on the industry.

Rail is seen as a major potential competitor to road haulage, and the rail industry has introduced various incentive schemes to increase its customer base. However, developments in transport logistics, including just-in time (JIT) delivery systems, have tended to favour road transport, and this has restricted the ability of the rail industry to increase its share of the market. Reports of falling reliability levels for the rail network in 2004 could result in rail freight customers switching some of their business to the road.

Road freight activity was reported to be low in early 2005, but many companies expect an improvement in the second half of the year. Looking further ahead, it is believed that continued economic growth should help to maintain or even increase the volume of goods moved by road in Great Britain. Any rise, however, is expected to be modest.

Companies profiled in the report include:

-- ACR Logistics UK Ltd.

-- Christian Salvesen Plc

-- Eddie Stobart Group Ltd.

-- Exel Plc

-- Ryder Plc

-- TDG Plc

-- Tibbett & Britten Group Plc

-- TNT UK Ltd.

-- Wincanton Plc

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c27079