Record-breaking quarter for commercial vehicle registrations

According to Road Haulage 2015, a new Market Report from intelligence provider Key Note, the volume of goods lifted by road in Great Britain grew by 0.4% between 2010 and 2014, while over the same period, the volume of goods moved via roads increased by 4.3%.

A good marker to evaluate the relative current and future success of the UK road haulage sector is the robustness of commercial vehicle registrations in the country. For instance, between 2010 and 2014, the number of new registrations of commercial vehicles — comprising heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) — increased from 257,373 to 363,155, representing impressive growth of 41.1%. As such, when accounting for the number of vehicles taken out of service, the overall number of commercial vehicles in use on UK roads grew by 6.8% between 2010 and 2014, rising from 4,129,755 to 4,411,938. More recently, it was announced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) that the first 3 months of 2015 equalled a record-breaking quarter for commercial vehicle registrations, with 108,456 new vehicles registered. Manufacturers claiming that the principle drivers of the booming market were the growth in online shopping, and the subsequent demand for home delivery services, alongside an improving economic climate and favourable motor financing deals.

Given that these three factors and trends look set to continue in the short term, Key Note has forecast that the number of commercial vehicle registrations in the UK will also grow in the coming 5 years, with registrations rising from 377,050 this year to 419,694 by 2019, which in turn will contribute towards a greater overall transportation capacity for the UK's road hauliers.

In addition to the aforementioned factors, Key Note's Road Haulage 2015 Market Report evaluates the UK market for road haulage in terms of size and performance. The report also analyses evident market trends, for instance fuel duty, a comparison of EU fuel prices, the effects of online shopping and the buying behaviour of consumers with regard to commercial vehicles. In addition, the report includes a political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legislative (PESTEL) summary of the factors affecting the market.