It was only last year that many companies in the US and UK were forced to take drastic action when petrol prices took a sharp rise. Many who relied on large fleets of vans to transport goods all over the country were forced to slash employee pay and take a number of their vehicles off the roads.
It was avouched this month that many businesses could be in for a second pounding as petrol prices are set to take another upward spike. What is frustrating many business owners about this situation is the lack of information it gives them to predict profit margins. “Each time we plan out our business for that quarter, petrol prices are put up and our costings go out of the window” says Barry Hemstone, MD of RDA Foods. Over 20% of all American transport-based businesses were forced to cease trading in 2008, and the figure is thought to be something similar in 2009 also.
Many people and businesses are on their last legs right now and the last thing they need is an increase in their overheads. “We are being crippled” argues Fiona Potter, who runs a small furniture chain in the UK. Our customers expect their furniture to be delivered to them, which is something that is becoming financially unviable for us now. A number of similar companies are turning to cheap van leasing as a way of bringing down their overall costs. This is because van leasing enables businesses to not buy their vans outright and so this is a useful option if cash-flow is poor. Believe it or not Citroen van leasing has been the most popular choice as on average these vans offer the best MPG. LDV van leasing has also been a strong choice as their reliability is thought to save companies large amounts of money in reduced maintenance costs.
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