SPOA highlights challenges
28 June 2021
A recurring theme in many stories on the blog is the difficulties that hirers face with rising equipment costs and perennially low hire rates.
The Scottish Plant Owners Association (SPOA) is now highlighting such issues and wants to commission a business school in Scotland to produce a white paper looking at the challenges facing the plant hire industry.
SPOA president Callum Mackintosh, pictured below, said: “This will be the first white paper of its kind for the plant hire industry, and I believe it is a great opportunity for business schools in Scotland to examine an industry that is often overlooked but which contributes £4 billion to the UK economy, with Scotland accounting for £1 billion.
“Every industry is adapting to the challenges caused by Brexit and Covid-19, but I can think of no other industry where market forces dictate a reliance on a pricing structure from the 1980s. We are still hiring out 120 rollers for around £120 per week yet if you look at the price of a pint of milk, it has more than doubled over the same time period.
“Similarly, the cost of purchase of a 13-tonne excavator has risen by between 50-65%, yet the hire rate has barely moved from around £450 per week,” he said.
Key challenges that would be analysed include rising costs of equipment, especially technology required to meet emission restrictions; transport costs; finance; staff costs; and overheads such as IT and insurance.
