Vans more important than ever to the UK economy
13th June, 2016
As we take delivery of yet another Ford Transit bringing our fleet total to 27 vans the following headline appeared in the trade press;
Vans more important than ever to UK economy – says Freight Transport
The van and its driver are vital to the UK economy with more than 4 million of them on the road according to the FTA Logistics Report 2016, which shows the dramatic shift in the way the public shops; by the end of 2015, retailers predicted they would be delivering more than 860 million parcels to UK homes – thanks to the e-commerce explosion.
FTA's statistics have been supported in the latest Department for Transport (DfT) Road Traffic Estimates which showed that van traffic grew faster than any other vehicle type in the UK, and currently covers around 48 billion miles in 2015.
Mark Cartwright, FTA Head of Vans said: "If ever there was a need for evidence to support how vans power our daily lives, the latest DfT figures provide it. There are now over 4 million vans on UK roads, covering more miles than ever before, and their numbers are growing at a rate faster than any other type of vehicle.
"This is further confirmation of the humble van's importance to the UK's economic activity. It's been recognised for a while that there is a clear correlation between UK GDP and van 'traffic' but we're now seeing the growth in 'van traffic' outstrip economic performance, primarily due to internet shopping and entrepreneurial activity."
