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300 jobs lost as Leeds transport firm goes bust
A LEEDS transport firm has gone bust with the loss of around 300 jobs.
Macfarlane Transport is a victim of spiralling fuel costs which have left the 20m business unsustainable.
Joint administrators from accountants KPMG were appointed on Wednesday at the request of the firm's directors but were unable to sell the business as a going concern. It has now ceased trading.
Administrator Richard Fleming said: "It's very unfortunate that this long established business has been unable to survive and that large-scale redundancies will, inevitably, be a result."
He said the business had been hit by rising fuel prices and a competitive marketplace which had put its margins "under unsustainable pressure".
Every 1p increase in the price of fuel adds 600 a year to the cost of driving a lorry, according to the Road Haulage Association (RHA). The cost of diesel is around 1.30 a litre.
It is only two years since Macfarlane Transport, based on land off Pontefract Lane, Cross Green, was rescued from administration by Yorkshire entrepreneur Stephen Cooke.
Driver Roland Stephenson, 49, of Castleford, has worked there full-time since 2006.
He said: "Everybody's upset but it's part and parcel of life these days. This is the second time this has happened to me and you've got to manage somehow."
Mr Stephenson said drivers were aware of problems last week when payments were delayed before they were paid in cash in two instalments.
He said in recent weeks many had been sent home early because there has been "no work to do".
Margaret Edmunds, Yorkshire area manager for the RHA, said: "It's very depressing. It's another nail in the coffin for the industry.
"We're having difficulty passing fuel costs on to customers because they are struggling as well. It's going to get worse unless we get some Government action."
Leeds Chamber of Commerce executive director, Ian Williams, said: "This is one of the first high-profile businesses in the haulage sector that's gone under but underlines how tough things are at the moment in the transport industry."
Macfarlane was founded in 1978 by brothers Ian and Gordon who sold it in a management buyout in May 2004.
When the company went into administration in February, 2006, it had debts of almost 5m, blamed on the loss of a key customer.
Meanwhile, Gordon Brown gave his strongest signal yet that the Government will not go ahead with the planned 2p-a-litre increase in fuel duty due in the autumn.
Giving evidence to the Commons Liaison Committee, the Prime Minister said: "It is clearly a matter that will be looked at very, very carefully over the next few weeks."
nigel.scott@ypn.co.uk
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Friday 25 May 2012
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