🕒 Article read time: 2 minutes
Logistics Performance Tracker – taking the industry’s temperature
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the UK in spring 2020, Logistics UK has been canvassing the opinions of its members on the financial health and needs of the logistics industry and disseminating the results via its regular Logistics Performance Tracker.
Now on its twelfth iteration, Logistics UK is urging its members to respond to the latest Logistics Performance Tracker survey to help inform the overall picture of the condition of the industry.
SKILLS SHORTAGE STARTS TO BITE
The results of Logistics UK’s last tracker, based on members’ responses in May 2021, reported widespread concern over the ability to fill staff vacancies across logistics roles. The recruitment of HGV drivers was deemed to be ‘severe’ or ‘very severe’ by more than six out of ten (61%) of respondents, with a further 32.8% expecting to encounter minor or moderate recruitment issues. Exacerbating this issue was the availability of driver vocational testing, which more than half of respondents (51%) cited as a ‘moderate’ or ‘extreme’ barrier to recovery.
POST-BREXIT IMPACTS ON TRADE
Of those respondents who reported they were ‘more affected’ by post-Brexit impacts on operations, the top three reasons were: additional paperwork (92%), suppliers experiencing delays in receiving parts (91%) and increases in transport costs (90%). Compared to a year earlier, the vast majority of respondents (91%) said they were experiencing more delays on deep sea container routes, 86% said they were experiencing more delays in receiving goods from abroad, and 62% were seeing more delays in receiving goods from Northern Ireland.
DISSATISFACTION WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLE AVAILABILITY
Slightly fewer than seven out of ten respondents were either ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with the availability of electric HGVs. While this figure reduced to 37% for electric van availability, only slightly more than one in ten respondents (11%) were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’.
Sarah Watkins, General Manager – Policy Information, said: “Since it launched in June 2020, the Logistics Performance Tracker has offered useful insights into logistics businesses’ financial health during the challenging trading conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a quarterly survey designed to improve understanding of the current condition of the logistics sector, its findings are also used to inform Logistics UK’s responses to consultations or government policy.
“The feedback members provide through the tracker survey really makes a difference to our work on their behalf. I strongly urge as many of our members as possible to respond when they receive the request to take part.”
*www.logistics.org.uk/lpt
Published On: 19/08/2021 16:00:50
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