2017 is going into the books as a good year for the transport and logistics sector. Companies booked more turnover, more profit and managed to strengthen their financial position. This is according to the Transport and Logistics Netherlands (TLN) business survey.
TLN asked nearly 800 members about their company's situation and their assessment of the economy. This shows that the pick-up in the economy also led to more turnover and profit for companies in the sector: 84 per cent of companies ended the year with a profit, and 70 per cent of entrepreneurs called their company's financial position strong or very strong.
Companies want to expand
Business confidence is also high. The order book for the coming quarter has not been as well filled as in 2018 in the past nine years. This leads to expansion plans: a record number of companies plan to expand this year. Those plans mainly consist of purchasing equipment (33 per cent) and hiring more staff (45 per cent).
Staff shortage
Entrepreneurs do worry about the tightening labour market, though. 60 per cent of respondents find it hard to get staff, and the effects of the staff shortage could be large, warns TLN. "A stagnation in the growth of transport and logistics can radiate to the rest of the economy. Inadequate transport capabilities can have repercussions on other parts of the economy, from construction companies to supermarkets and from clothes shops to people looking to relocate."
