CV INDUSTRY AND ROAD FREIGHT HIT BADLY IN EUROPE

The CV industry in Europe and the road freight transport have been badly hit by Novel Coronavirus.

- Bhushan Mhapralkar

Amid positive news that the 100 agency workers employed on DHL logistics contract at Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood in Merceyside have had their jobs saved in the UK, the spread of Novel Coronavirus in Europe has hit the European auto industry and the logistics sector hard. If automakers and subsequently their suppliers have had to suspend production at plants across UK and the rest of Europe, an indication of how bad things have been in Europe as far as CVs and the logistics sector is concerned, is had from the fact that sales of LCVs fell more than 45 per cent in the UK in March 2020. If the use of LCVs by e-commerce players like Ocado grocery supplier in the UK, which has been experiencing exceptionally high demand since the virus unleashed its fury in Europe may be described as a silver lining, the CV industry and the logistics sector as such is clearly not in the best of health since the second half of March 2020.

With news like the Schaeffler family donating Euro-one million to the Red Cross in the fight against Covid-19 and Lear postponing its investor day (albeit in the US, but with consequences for Europe and its other markets around the world) occupying the top space of various websites, it would not take long to figure out that the ill effect of Novel Coronavirus could further slow down the already slow-paced economy of Europe. The amount of jobs lost may only be clear in May 2020 or later, the extent of damage Covid-19 has inflicted on the manufacturing sector in Europe is no less by any means. As automakers and their suppliers join hands with the Governments in Europe to take the fight against Novel Coronavirus to the next level, the silence of machinery and the lack of movement of trucks carrying parts, autos, etc., are damning.