Readers looking for some encouraging news about the state of the transport sector are probably going to be disappointed. While 2016 was tough and 2017 was even more difficult, things continued to look bleak during 2018. There are a whole host of reasons for this situation - one of the most prominent being Brexit. Having initially suggested - in April 2018 - that the UK would grow at a rate of 1.6% throughout the year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded this prediction a few months later, citing trade tensions and tariff issues as reasons for the revision. Predicted growth for 2019 was set at 1.5%, but this figure was very much dependent on the outcome of Brexit. In November, the IMF warned that a 'no-deal' Brexit could cost the UK 6% of GDP. After an up-and-down year for truck registrations in 2017, the market was not overly confident going into 2018. That trend has continued: figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in October showed that registrations for trucks in the '16-tonne and over' bracket were down 8% for the first eight months of the year (to 27,025). By November, new truck registrations had fallen for the fifth quarter in a row.
展开▼
