As a result of the completion of the pre-brexit budget for 2018, the chancellor of the exchequer, Phillip Hammond, has declared that “Britain is open for business.” The remark is somewhat bold; but, what does this truly imply for the logistics and transportation business in the United Kingdom? the most important commitments There are a number of commitments that are directed at the transportation sector among the important promises. the government is attempting to establish a stronger more affluent economy, which will include numerous reforms within the haulage and logistics industry. The new roads investment program, which is said to be the biggest ever, will be one of the changes that will also take place. For the purpose of enhancing the transportation infrastructure in urban areas, a budget of 770 million pounds has been established. This is done with the intention of reducing congestion and enhancing the working environment for hauly drivers. This is in addition to the fact that the changing cities fund is going to be increased to 2.4 billion pounds. The fuel price has been fixed for the ninth year in a row, and £1.6 billion in fresh expenditures have been made to support contemporary industrial strategies. Other highlights include the thirty billion pounds that will be spent to upgrade roads. The freeze on fuel tax is of utmost significance for the haulage business in the United Kingdom. This is due to the fact that the fuel duty in the United Kingdom is the highest in the world, now standing at 57.95 pence per liter. The amount of money spent on gasoline is significant when one considers that 98 percent of the commodities that are sold in the United Kingdom are carried by road. In addition, there have been some changes made to the budget in response to the shortage of drivers. At the moment, the United Kingdom is experiencing a shortage of around 50,000 individuals in the driver position. The fact that the average age of hauliers is 55 years old and that just two percent of drivers are in the “under 25” group is an additional issue that has to be addressed. Consequently, in order to provide assistance to businesses, the government has implemented further modifications to the apprenticeship levy. It is hoped that this would result in younger drivers showing a greater interest in the task. In recent years, clean air zones have been constructed all around the United Kingdom. These zones are an ideal approach to promote the usage of automobiles that produce low levels of emissions. However, since there has been no centralized formula created, this has resulted in operators being required to pay the fines that have been mandated by their respective local councils in the event that their cars do not fulfill the low-emission standards of the zone. Because of this, there has been a push for more changes to be implemented in this industry. This is due to the fact that a large number of companies, especially smaller enterprises, are in need of greater capital in order to finance these more recent technology. Due to the decrease in demand for cars that do not comply with regulations, it has also had an impact on the market for used automobiles. shifts in the future Despite the fact that all of these modifications are beneficial, many hauliers are of the opinion that much more can be done. In order to considerably reduce worker shortages, businesses want further assistance from the government about how to make the most of apprenticeship programs in order to reach the greatest possible levels of success. In addition, many people have the expectation that, at some point in the future, more measures will be done to increase the costs of greener technology and fuels. It is anticipated that the new budget would have a beneficial impact on the logistics and transportation business, notwithstanding the concerns that have been raised. publisher’s plate A correspondent for haulage exchange, the most prominent online trading network for the road transport business, norman dulwich is a member of both organizations. The haulage sector benefits from the vital service that haulage exchange offers by connecting experts from all across the United Kingdom and Europe via their website. This service matches delivery jobs with cars that are available. In order to cover vacant capacity, acquire new customers, and establish long-lasting commercial partnerships, the exchange facilitates the networking of more than 5,400 member organizations from all over the world.