editorial comment l
ShD Promoting excellence in Editor
Peter MacLeod
peter.macleod@
informa.com 0207 017 6987
Director, Materials Handling Group Rob Fisher
rob.fisher@
informa.com 0207 017 6986
Advertisement Sales Christine Attew
christine.attew@
informa.com 0207 017 7124
Advertisement Sales Joel Martin
joel.martin@
informa.com 0207 017 6991
Managing Director Peter Hall
I
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don’t know how tough you are finding it out there, but the impression I get is that our sector continues to grow pretty strongly, despite the negative headlines that spell doom and gloom around the place. The media, eh? Tsk, what do they know about anything? My – albeit narrow – metrics suggest the logistics industry is as strong as it was pre-recession. Indeed, several of the companies I have spoken to have reported higher levels of business than in 2007, when we were all rushing towards the edge of the cliff like lemmings. One measure I use is the amount of forward bookings we take, both in advertising within ShD and for our IMHX event in 2013. We are once again seeing a growing confidence in the economy, judging by the level of commitment to marketing spend we are witnessing for the first half of 2012. A year ago, advertisers were commiting to ad hoc, one-off bookings. Today, they are extending their programmes well into next year.
We are seeing, also, a high level of interest in IMHX 2013. Potential exhibitors are making a commitment to the event, which takes place a year and a half or so away from today, which is extremely promising. IMHX 2010 was, in the end, a strong show, and 2013 looks set to be much, much stronger. Please turn to page 23 for an update on this.
I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time with the managing director of a leading 3PL earlier this month. The company shall remain anonymous, in light of the candid remarks he made which he was unwilling for me to attribute to him. His company is growing its business, and has done so on the strength of two main factors. The first is that he has pinned his growth on the coat tails of UK manufacturing. He appears to have backed the right horse, with that sector growing at a faster rate than at any time in history. The second is that his company offers and efficient, cost-effective approach to logistics by deploying the latest technology and practices, something we’re always banging on about in this magazine.
His frustration – actually, it was more akin to anger – lay with the banking sector and the politicians with whom they have an all-too-comfortable relationship. The cosy goings-on at the highest levels between these two bastions of probity incensed him. He could barely contain his fury at the way in which the banks had been allowed to carry on for so long with shoddy practices. The bail-out was necessary, but still mightily galling in its scale. The subsequent difficulties the banks seem to have in loaning out that money to businesses wishing to expand leaves him virtually speechless. Against all odds we are part of a successful sector, but the picture could have been a whole lot rosier had someone at a high level taken a view on what was going on and made a concerted effort to make some unpopular decisions and banged some heads together before it all collapsed like a pack of cards.
logistics and materials handling
Peter MacLeod Editor
comment
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