You'll have seen in the industry media recently that National Road Carriers has welcomed two new  secondees to the NRC Board - Nikki Ellis of Marlin Transport, and Kieran Carr of Carr & Haslam. 

As a CEO, it is heartening when you see a Board focussing on deepening its pool of governance talent. Having a secondee programme is a win-win scenario, where successful candidates win by getting experience and exposure to a Board, and a win for the organisation which benefits from fresh perspectives and diversity of thought brought to the table.

I was very pleased to see the positive response we had for applications for candidates, and am delighted that we have the next generation in transport leaders coming through on our board. 

NRC understands the importance of good governance. Our organisation has been here since 1936, and the Board takes seriously its role in stewardship, as custodians to pass on the associations to the next generation in better shape than they found it. 

Regular readers of Justin's Transport Minute will be familiar with me talking about the unprecedented  foundational change we're seeing in the transport industry at the moment. The bonnet is up on fundamentals such as how we pay for roads, 30 year infrastructure plans, workforce demographics and decarbonising. 

Having a high-functioning Board is essential for an industry association to navigate these challenges on behalf of members. I'm pleased to say that NRC is continuing to grow from strength to strength in this capability.

If any members are interested in being part of this governance journey, I encourage you to reach out to us.

Mixed bag for economy in the Infometrics quarterly review.

Some good news this week in Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan's latest commentary on the NRC Customisable Cost Index. Interest rate relief is keeping transport costs subdued. Two key costs, interest rates and diesel were down, with diesel prices falling to their lowest level in late September since January 2022. This is welcome news, although tempered by a 0.7% hike in labour costs. With unemployment at 4.8% and forecast to peak at 5.4% mid next year, there is still some way to come out of the woods. 

If you haven't already, you can try out the NRC Customisable Cost Index here.

Justin Tighe-Umbers, Chief Executive, National Road Carriers Assn