Newcastle’s booming transport industry ‘won’t slow down yet’

Newcastle's transport industry is booming in the area, new data shows.

Analysis of the latest ONS data by iwoca found that the transport industry was the fastest growing in Tyne and Wear over the last five years, with the number of businesses in the sector growing by 50%.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, 235 businesses were created in the industry over the past year as the demand for online deliveries grew.

That trend follows over the past five years too, with the transport industry the fasts growing in the local authority between 2017 and 2021.

The number of businesses grew by 50% to a high of 1,640 firms.

Nearby regions Sunderland and South Tyneside were the only authorities in the North East to beat Newcastle, with a growth percentage of 85.7% and 56.3% respectively.

Christoph Rieche, iwoca CEO and co-founder, said: “As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, it’s positive to see so many industries grow, and new businesses being created despite the difficulties."

Peter Coleman, owner of North East-based transport company Alpha7Express Ltd said: “There’s definitely no slowing down as of yet.

"We’re experiencing the busiest and highest peak I’ve seen in five years, and even before the pandemic we were always kept busy.

“At the moment, there are lots of jobs out there for transport workers as since the pandemic, a lot of people have been turning to online shopping. January and February are generally the quietest months of the year, but I don’t forecast them being as quiet as they have been for the past few years.

“I have friends and peers around the North East in a variety of sectors and they’re a lot busier and happier recently.”