Mobilising the UK economy

Have you ever wondered how the shelves of our shops and supermarkets remain stocked? Or have you ever wondered how the goods you buy online magically arrive at your door a couple of days later?

For that matter, have you passed a building site and thought about how the bricks, timber panel walls and roof tiles have arrived safely at such an offthe-beaten-track location?

The answer lies in an industry whose purpose it is to serve others.

The logistics sector – and, for the purposes of September’s Business Matters, the transport industry – is that vital cog in the wheel that keeps the economy ticking.

Without it, the world of commerce and industry would come apart at the seams. In fact, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimates 85% of the things you own or use in life will have spent a period being transported around the country or Continent on the back of a lorry.

In this month’s magazine we look at the sector and the challenges it is encountering.

Unsurprisingly, RHA north director Martin Reid is quick to extoll the virtues of an industry which makes a multi-billion-pound contribution to Scotland’s economy each year,

However, as National Lorry Week kicked off with its Love the Lorry campaign, Martin is also upfront about the issues that haulage is facing which include a long-standing image problem and a massive shortage in the number of drivers nationally.

Regular contributor Ian Forsyth has been out and about and bagged an exclusive chat with Harry Lawson, the family man behind one of Scotland’s best known road hauliers whose green and yellow articulated lorries and tankers rack up more than four-million miles each year.

Keeping abreast of industry trends is key for Dundee haulier PS Ridgway and the firm also ensures that drivers arriving in the area have the chance to rest and recuperate at the popular Tayside Truck Stop.

Andrew Argo’s attention has been on vehicles of a smaller scale as he quizzed Scottish Motor Trade Association chairman Sandy Burgess on the state of the car sector post-Brexit and looks at a major new retail development taking shape in Dundee.

But that is far from all we have for you this month.

Our regular commercial property round-up focuses on green shoots in the Fife marketplace.

We also have the latest up-to-date business and commercial news and our star columnist, Scottish Chambers of Commerce chief executive Liz Cameron, is urging the government to think out of the box to boost the economy.

Without logistics and transport, the world of commerce and industry would come apart at the seams.

Picture: Getty/iStockphoto. Hitting the road. The haulage industry is a vital part of the UK’s economic infrastructure.