Welcome to the 15 May Warehouse & Logistics News. ‘It never rains but it pours.’ As we went to press the weathermen were predicting the showers and longer spells of rain that arrived in late April to continue into mid May. And the UK economy was looking blustery too, with the 0.2% drop in economic growth in the first quarter of 2012 technically putting us back into recession.
Thankfully, such things won’t put off the warehouse and logistics professionals. The industry’s attitude remains gutsy and positive: a 0.2% reduction in growth still leaves 99.8% of what was there before. And we need the rain if we want the drought to end.
In this issue we help you brush up on your knowledge with our features on Pallet Networks, looking at the major pallet networks and Conveying & Sortation, covering automated materials handling equipment and IT solutions. And don’t miss our latest special supplement, this time on The Warehouse, taking an in-depth look at the internal workings of the modern warehouse, including materials handling equipment, storage solutions, planning, lighting, flooring and the I.T. needed to run these operations.
As a nation we’re world famous for cheering ourselves up with a quick shot of humour when the chips are down. A few weeks back a joke was doing the rounds, which our late lamented colleague John ‘Chalky’ Chalkwright would have enjoyed: ‘Due to the current economic crisis Greece is cancelling all production of hummus and taramasalata. It’s a double dip recession…’
Just how worried should we be, now we’ve a double dipper of our own? As many wise people in this industry have said in our interviews in the last few years, things have been tough, but it’s not as though the whole of British industry has ground to a halt, tough though it’s been. Consumers still go on buying things, and the public sector is still working too. The goods still have to be delivered, which means work for warehousing and logistics. So the message is keep doing what you’re doing, it’s business as usual.
On a lighter note there’s some great sport to cheer us up this summer. The Olympics are now just two months away. And before that there are the European Football Championships to look forward to. Following our popular World Cup South Africa 2012 wall chart, don’t miss the exclusive Translift Bendi European Football Championships wall planner in the centre spread of our next issue, June 1st, to help you and your colleagues follow the action.
Happy reading, and stay dry and cheerful!
Warehouse & Logistics News
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