In these unpredictable times, one thing I am confident of is the resilience of our industry. Events over the last 5 months have shown this. As the supply chain of the UK, the UK recovery will need a strong transport, logistics and haulage industry. We are all impatient for this recovery and rightly so. Our business like almost all UK businesses, has undergone a severe impact, however, like many others, we have been adapting the shape and focus of our business to prepare for a slow return to the new normal, but also refocus on new opportunities.
We appreciate that our industry will not see a quick return to the “old normal”, but – if we can avoid the commercial impact of a second wave – we should expect to see economic and business recovery each and every month. Clearly some industries are making quicker returns than others, more typically in manufacturing and services, while others in high street retail, hospitality and travel are still searching for the sustainable uptick that can help bring them back. We see and feel their challenges each day in the media as job losses start to become more prevalent.
As a supplier to your industry, I am greatly encouraged by the way you, our customers, have been dealing with the last 5 months to protect your business and therefore the jobs of your staff. We have tried to play our part wherever we can as our business can only be as strong as that of our customers. Through these times, I believe relationships have strengthened as we all understand and appreciate the value of service and support when it really matters.
I would simply like to finish this short blog by expressing my deep admiration for and pride in our industry and to also express my firm belief that recovery will grow from month to month. It is clear there will be unwelcome bumps along this road caused by local and regional spikes, but, in general, our economy is learning to live with this pandemic and has an enormous will to see it happen. Our UK recovery will continue. We are all in this together and if we can adapt to change and are able to take a longer term view of our businesses, we can expect better (while slightly different!) times for sure.
