The strong rise in goods vehicle registrations continued in May, with over 15,000 trucks licenced in the first five months of the year – a 33% increase on 2014 levels.  According to Dr. John McCartney, Director of Research at property company Savills, this reflects a strong recovery in the consumer economy;

“Retail sales are now rising at their fastest ever rate, and this is forcing goods through the economy more quickly.  As a result there has been a big increase in demand for supply chain factors such as goods vehicles and warehousing space.”

McCartney also noted a pronounced shift between registrations of imported second-hand trucks and brand new vehicles;

“Fewer than one quarter of trucks registered between January and May this year were second-hand, compared with one-third in the first five months of 2015.  This suggests that confidence is returning and businesses are once again committing to capital expenditure.”