If proof were needed that Europe's trailer-makers are at the forefront of road-transport-engineering innovation it came last November at a show called Trailer, plain and simple, at Kortrijk, near Belgium's south-west border with France. Explanation for the hale and hearty display of ingenuity at this show is not hard to find. Trailers are, after all, in the front line when freight and operating conditions change, as they are with a vengeance at present. More specifically, with most tractive units still heavy, the onus for weight-saving is thrown onto trailer-makers. It became clear at European shows throughout last year that a large number of operators are now prepared to pay for the ability to carry half a tonne more load or to cut the risk of axle overloads (a particularly vexing issue in the Netherlands). All this has brought a surge in employment of engineers. Rather more cynical observers also see it as a sales stimulant in a dismal period when the European trailer market is down by more than 20 per cent and is beginning to suffer cut-price competition from the east.
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